1st September 2011, 22:26
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| Senior - BHPian  | Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT Nah, I didn't really name it Pablo, but I got your attention didn't I? Let's get this show on the road then. Most conversations about the car go like this I went against all conventional wisdom, just because I could. I still remember talking to a friend of mine, a very value conscious one. “Kaunsa gaadi liya?” “i20 Asta” “Awesome car…how much?” We Indians have an obsession with numbers. Fuel efficiency, on road cost, the number of runs Sachin scores, item numbers; these are just a few of the numbers that we are obsessed about. I knew I’d make his jaw drop, but it was something I was ready for. “Close to 9 Lakhs on the road.” “What??? Are you mad??? You could have bought a City…” “I know, but I didn’t.” “…or a Vento, or a diesel gaadi.” “I almost did buy a Vento, but that’s a different story for a different day.” “Yaar, you’ve gone mad. 9 Lakhs for an i20…baap re baap. Kitna deti hai?” "  "All I can do is smile. The heart wants what it wants. Every day I step down and look at my silver stallion, ready to gallop out in the world with me and I know every single rupee is worth it. Beauty and value, after all, is in the eye of the beholder and I don’t think there is a more hassle-free, premium and yet value for money city commuter at this price point in India. It was love at first sight. But it almost wasn’t. Prologue Old is gold, and my old Palio ELX 1.2 was almost certainly worth its weight in gold. I loved a lot of things about it; it was spacious, reasonably powerful, handled well and looked great. What was not to like about it? Well, there was the *** from FIAT, which was a bit of mixed bag, and there was the eventual lack of resale value. But heck, it too was a car I loved. All good things must come to an end though, and one fine day I woke up and just knew it; the time was nigh for me to get a new car. One more modern, but just as spacious, maybe more. The Palio wore its age well, but the age was beginning to shine through. Like a loyal old dog though, she soldiered on and tried her best to please me despite knowing the writing was on the wall. So out came my imaginary checklist and I started to list down things I wanted in a car, absolute must-haves that were deal-breakers or very nearly that. • It had to look good. Anything else would be an insult to the memory of the Palio. • It had to be reasonably efficient, not purely in terms of mileage (that’s the good thing about the Palio, it taught me to live with sub-par mileage!) but more in terms of the overall build quality and the reliability of the car itself. • It had to be spacious. A car might be little more than a tin can for those that aren’t motorheads, but I am most certainly not a Sardine to be fitted in a tin can. My 5”11 frame likes its freedom. In fact, if I were a girl I’d almost certainly be a supermodel, for I have never-ending legs. More on that later…or not. • It had to be backed by a reliable after sales network. The early FIAT years were terrible, and while it had improved dramatically in recent years I wasn’t willing to bet on another one just yet. I don’t know why, I just wasn’t. Looks aside, I wasn’t sold on the Linea. Maybe FIAT is the Indian Alfa Romeo in that you have to love the car for just what it is. I wasn’t ready for that commitment yet. • There are no more bullet points. Stop reading this and move on to the next paragpraph. Right now! So that said, which cars did I consider? I had a budget of 10 lakhs, give or take, so there were quite a few cars to consider. Among those I looked at, the frontrunners were the Honda City, the VW Vento, the i20 and the All New Hyundai Verna. Mind you, I didn’t rate them in that particular order, but it’s fair to say that the Vento was pretty much top of my list even though I’d give each one of those cars a fair crack of the whip. What’s the commonality among them? Elementary, my dear Watson; they’ve all got automatic versions. Give yourself a quick pat on the back if you spotted that. Now, let’s carry on. The reason I settled upon an automatic was simple. Mumbai’s traffic is like being stuck inside a giant Boa Constrictor, and you’re passed mercilessly through the intestines of the serpentine roads of the city I love if you’re to get anywhere. I didn’t mind a manual, but an automatic gives you a level of convenience that you don’t quite realize you’re missing out on until you experience it firsthand. And since all of these automatic cars were in my budget, why not consider them? Ze hunt was on Hyundai: My visit to Shreenath Hyundai was quite…disturbing. You know that feeling when you’re ready to spend 11 lakhs and you’re ready to buy your first car and you feel you should be treated like a king? Yeah, I didn’t get that treatment. If anything, I felt as if they were doing me a favor by deigning me fit to step inside their showroom (okay, so I hadn’t shaved in a week…so what?). I walked inside, flitting around the Verna like a geeky boy would around a college beauty and I hoped to get someone’s attention. Unfortunately, all the sales executives were too busy playing 20 questions to notice me. None of these questions were mine, sadly. After some 20 minutes and with mum getting a bit antsy, I finally managed to reel in a sales executive. I’ll give you the brief version of the dialogue that followed. Test drive? Nope. Can I get it soon? Nope. Are you interested in trying to sell me a car? Nope again. It was frustrating and disheartening; I wanted a Verna, but it was selling like hot cakes (cool!) and the sales executive couldn’t be bothered if I bought one or not because someone else would (not cool!). I was quoted months as the waiting period for the Verna, and it was a bitter pill but one I’d happily swallow since I liked the car. It seemed refined on the inside, if a tad too flashy for my taste. It was reasonably spacious, well priced and offered a lot really in terms of kit. But if I were to buy a Verna, it wouldn’t be from here, that I was sure. As an aside, the i20 AT was quoted as having a 2-3 month waiting period and again, zero interest to sell the car. I gave myself a quick look around the i20, but it’s nothing I didn’t know of. Friends of mine own the i20 and I did like it, even if the rear space is a bit disappointing for me. I knew all of the kit on offer with the Asta AT, but I had hoped to thrash out a deal for the Verna. That's why I wasn't so saddened to be told that there was no TD model available. Somewhat disappointed, I headed out and promised to look elsewhere. Sadly, I forgot all about that promise as I looked elsewhere very soon. Volkswagen: At about this time, I realized the VW Vento AT was a very realistic option. It had everything going for it, but one thing; mum’s approval. I’m no mumma’s boy, but why make her unhappy? Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, nor heaven a rage like love to hatred turned and all that. Quietly, I went and took a TD of the Vento at Volkswagen Mumbai West and was quite pleased with what I saw. The staff was courteous and I got a TD right away. The car was composed and was classy inside and out. The design lines were more subtle than the “look at me, I’m all liney and fluidic!!” Verna and for some reason, that appealed to me immensely. I didn’t get too much of a drive, but it was enough to sell me on the car; the Verna was Hystory. This was it. And so operation ”I must convince Mum” was in full swing. I don’t know what she had against the Germans, but it was deep-seated. She just wasn’t keen on a Vento for some reason, and after weeks of cajoling and me laying on the charm as thick as it gets, I got her to come for a TD. She was quiet once all was said and done. I didn’t need to be sold, but she did. And I saw she was. I was thrilled, for this was it! The Vento it was going to be! Or was it? More on that in a bit. Honda: The City was absolutely on my shortlist, but I didn’t even go to see it eventually. The reasons for that were simple. I didn’t like the overall design (no, seriously, I don’t) and I feel I could get better kit on other cars. I’m not going to pay more just for the Honda badge, no matter how snobbish it is and no matter how reliable its after sales is. I need value for money; I am after all Indian and I love a good bargain! It was reassuring to see its popularity, but I did love the Vento’s looks, and I believe that’s what it boiled down to at the end of the day. Love and the combination of some more kit at a better price can drive you to do some strange things, and it drove me not to drive the City. At all. Twist in the tale I know my mum can change her mind about these things quicker than India’s batting collapsed in the recent test series against the Poms (overpaid fools), so I whipped out the cheque book and sold off the old Palio so I could go and make the down payment for the car pronto. In all, it took me a week to ten days to find a buyer for the old car. My mum took a fraction of that time to veto my decision once we sold the car. “You don’t need a big car. Not easy to drive in the city. Take one when you get married in a few years.” I couldn’t fathom the logic in that last sentence. What on earth does marriage have to do with a car? One is an affair of the heart that never ends and where you have to make sure you have the perfect match made and the other is just…marriage. I tried and tried to convince her to no avail…the Vento was a goner. My cheque book had to be put away. So this left me in quite a pickle…no car to get around in and no Vento either; quite the predicament. This made the whole issue of getting a car quickly even more vital. But with the Verna too far away, me vetoing the City and mum vetoing the Vento, what was left for me? A hatchback that cost almost 9 Lakhs OTR…I could buy a City for that much! And besides, how soon could I get it? Everyone was quoting a waiting period of months, frustrating me further. I’ll spare you guys the details of what followed, for you know how it ended. I got the number of a Direct Marketing agency and they said they’d get me an i20 Asta 1.4 AT in 2 weeks. I filled out the paperwork and was skeptical, but they promised me they'd be as good as their word. I didn't pay them any charges per se for their services, but I availed their loan and insurance services, so that was the catch. Fair enough, no problem on that front. 2 weeks and a day or two later I was greeted by a call. The call. They were as good as their word. It was here, and pending the receipt of a special number I requested, it was mine. All mine. *Insert evil laugh here* Well, not all mine. mum can drive it on some days if she behaves well. That’s a big if though. So, about 1100 kms in the journey has been smooth. A few days in, I noticed the grey carpeting below the glove box had come undone, so I called Modi Hyundai and made them fix it, which they did quite well, to their credit. Other than that one incident there was a time where the switchblade key got stuck and I couldn’t fold it back, and besides that I’ve had no complaints. Yes, the mileage is iffy (8.05 at the last tankful) and the AC leaves a lot to be desired, but I love the car. Even mum, a staunch hater of automatics, quietly admits I made the right decision in pushing for one. Her grumbling during the first drive lasted for all of 10 minutes after which she piped down! The sad part is that mum now wonders why we didn’t buy a Vento and I can only give her a blank, baleful stare. No matter. I love my i20 AT and it’s here to stay. At least for a few years before I upgrade  Modifications None. Zip. Zilch. Nada. I did get the seat covers changed to some reasonably priced art leather ones, I don’t remember how much they cost, but I think it was 3-4k. I do love a good bargain! I considered changing the alloys and the ICE system, but it seems all good for now. Maybe one fine day I’ll wake up and realize that needs changing too. But for now, all iz well. The big deal, the numbers Right, I’m not fussed about it, but I imagine you might be. This beauty cost me Rs 8.8 Lakhs OTR, give or take, and it gives me 8.05 KMPL right now, 100% city driving in bumper to bumper traffic with 100% AC on. That’s all I’m going to say about that. Just so you know, my usual drive is at least 25 KMS per day in traffic that makes you wish you could fly. Thoughts on the car There’s plenty of grunt under the hood, but the 4 speed AT transmission doesn’t really harness it well enough for me. If you need to overtake someone, playing a game of chess is vital since you’ve got to think ahead. Instant acceleration is not something this car does well, and it takes a few seconds for the kickdown to make its effect felt. But once you do get past that, it flies. The car is stable as…well, anything that’s really stable. I haven’t really floored it yet, just taken it to 100 so far, but the car felt great and I’m sure I could go to 150 and beyond without a hitch. I’ll definitely be doing that on the Mumbai Pune Expressway! The steering, as many have noted, is a bit limp but I guess it was designed to be easy to drive in the city without needing much of an effort. In that respect, it’s excellent. You can drive for hours and hours without feeling the strain, but it’s not a car that handles on rails, I’ll tell you that. I honestly didn’t get what people were on about when they said that the i20 was very wobbly when straightening out from a high speed turn. But I experienced this first hand soon enough, and the operative word here is smooth; you need to treat this car smoothly. It’s not going to respond well to hard turns or flooring the accelerator. Be gradual in your input and you’ll find that the car is more responsive, more well behaved, almost as if it were to be thanking you for being kind. The car comes with a ton of goodies that you won’t find even on the City or the Vento, such as Automatic Climate Control, Electric OVRM’s, Bluetooth and so on. For about 2 lakhs or more less than the Vento, Verna or City, it’s hard to argue with the VFM proposition of the car. If you need a boot, this is not the car for you. If you can do without the boot but want a premium automatic car that is refined and loaded to the gills with features, the Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT is a hard car to pass up on. The one big thing I do miss for sure is the Tiptronic on the Vento or the Paddle Shifts on the City, because it would make the car more driveable. That said, it’s plenty driveable in bumper to bumper traffic. You’ll only feel the lack of a more evolved transmission once you hit the open road. Being in Mumbai means you’ll run across (and over) potholes soon enough, and the i20 tackles it as well as it can, but I do feel that the suspension doesn’t do enough to dampen the impact of driving over these craters. The seat support on the whole is excellent, but I can’t really talk about sitting in the back, but I’ve not heard anyone complain to me so far! Build quality too is very solid, no rattles or squeaks and the build quality on the whole is excellent. Brakes are excellent, and even when some fool catches me by surprise by stopping suddenly (at the entrance to a flyover no less!) or running across the road, the brakes are always there to do the job. Haven’t tested hard braking from higher speeds, but I hope it’s just as solid when I need to do so! The car is very easy to get into and out of, and the two things that I can’t believe I got on without for so many years is the Bluetooth functionality and the electrically adjustable an foldable OVRM’s. Setting BT up is easy as cake, and folding away those mirrors when someone is getting too close for comfort in bumper to bumper traffic is such a huge relief. Yes, I might be lazy, but you’ve got to admit those two features are great to have! The rear space is decent enough to seat three average sized people, but 3 people nearer 6 feet will find it hard to sit comfortably. It’ll need some to’ing and fro’ing, but I guess it’s a squeeze that could be done. On the whole though, I’d recommend the car in a heartbeat. The only sticking point? The price and the mileage. If you can live with that, the car is so easy to own. Can’t speak on service costs just yet, but I will post that soon enough! Things I like • The little goodies, like Electric OVRM’s and Bluetooth. Love it! • Just how easy it is to drive. I’m a reasonably sedate driver, so the easygoing style is very welcome. If you drive with a heavy foot, I reckon this might not be the car for you. • Decent boot space…for a hatch. • Great interiors, very nice and upmarket. • The looks of the car...not too loud, but not too quiet either. • USB and AUX input…sure, it’s slowly becoming a standard in hatchbacks now, but I laugh at my friend (also a BHP’ian) whose Cruze doesn’t have Bluetooth and one of USB/Aux. Heh! • Safety features. A must have, in my books. Glad to see that the New Jazz comes with safety features standard! Hope that becomes the norm rather than the exception • Did I mention how easy it is to drive? Things I don’t quite like • The mileage is sub-par, but it’s as much as my Palio used to give, so no biggie! • Rear space is just about acceptable. But then that’s because I’m very considerate and like extending the driver’s seat as far back as I can to become comfortable! • The AC…it’s not that powerful as many have noted on here. It’s something you have to live with. • Forget to tell Modi Hyundai not to stick that ugly sticker of theirs above the Hyundai name :( Is there any way to remove it without damaging the paint job? On the whole, I absolutely love the car. I’m not much of a photographer, but I promise to put up pictures soon, very soon. Also, the car is due for its first service soon. Will report back with costs and what not and will keep updating the mileage figures. I know it’s what everyone wants to know! Later then. K Last edited by iliketurtles : 1st September 2011 at 22:28. |
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2nd September 2011, 15:52
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2nd September 2011, 16:31
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| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Pune
Posts: 1,251
Thanked: 343 Times
| Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT @iliketurtles - Congrats on your Pablo or whatever name you decide for it finally  Loved your writing style and checked your profile. Got the answer. I should say Rs.8.8 lakh is steep for my liking with that average. But as you said it all depends on individual choice. I was a tad disappointed that there were no pictures complimenting the superb write up. I hope you would oblige. |
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2nd September 2011, 16:39
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2nd September 2011, 16:41
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2nd September 2011, 17:54
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| Senior - BHPian | Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT Quote:
By the way, didn't Hyundai solve the AC problems that were there in the initial lot of i20s? I thought they did, but it seems they hadn't. | |
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2nd September 2011, 17:58
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| Senior - BHPian | Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT Before anything, I apologize for the sub-standard photo quality. I went to find my camera and instead found its battery was fully discharged. Anyhoo, look past the rubbish image quality since I'm stuck with my smartphone wonly, m'kay? Cool. Let's move on. I'll post better quality pictures as soon as I'm free.  Please note the tasteful and sophisticated MS Paint job over the license plate. I do graphics work on a retainer basis if you're interested. Call me.  The view everyone sees as I speed away while laughing like a madman. Also note the ugly Modi logo over the Hyundai one that I forgot to tell the fools not to stick on :(  More paint job awesomeness from me. I'm not a big fan of chrome, but it works over here for me.   Because every Indian car is incomplete without tying a chunni in the name of the almighty....  The Electric OVRM and window controls. I always say 'Open Sesame' before hitting either one of them. True story.  A pic of the display with most of the electric indicators on...  ...and off.  The 2 DIN audio system complete with Ambi Pur "goodness". Also note how the car thoughtfully tells me I have three lives left in the little display above the CD slot, just as if I were in a video game. So reassuring.  I suspect I paid extra because of this, but there's no way for me to be sure of that. I'm sure someone more knowledgable than I can answer that.  And there's the little compartment for the sunglasses, parking tickets and speeding tickets I might accumulate. Real nice touch.  The glovebox has a nice dual design, but not nearly as nice on the Jazz. Still, nicely designed once all is said and done.  Love the feel of this leather steering wheel, no sarcasm intended. No seriously, none at all.  The console right next to the driver (aka moi). can't take too much, but it does take a few bottles of any drink of your choice, so yeah, that's cool with me.  The space available for a 6" person right behind the drivers seat, because I can be so merciful and considerate.  It gets a bit better behind the passenger seat, but I still say that rear space is only just about passable in my books. Your opinion may vary. That said, I've sat in the back of a Cruze and I feel the i20 is just as good or bad. Perhaps I've set the bar too high...  Mum thought that our "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" agreement extended to the car as well. It's why she scratched the car while backing up, or so she said. As they say, the first cut is the deepest :( Last edited by iliketurtles : 2nd September 2011 at 18:03. Reason: Typo!!! |
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2nd September 2011, 18:02
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| Senior - BHPian | Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT Quote:
If this is Hyundai solving the AC issue, then I pity the poor souls that bought the i20 before me. Admittedly, I run the AC at 23.5°C with the blower at the lowest just to see how bad it can be so maybe I'm being overly harsh! I tried 18.5°C for a laugh today with the blower on 2 and it was a whole lot better. Still, when I compare it to cars like the Figo, I feel Hyundai dropped the ball on this one. It's good enough, but that's the thing; I didn't drop that much money on the car for it to be "good enough". It's niggling issues like this that rankle. But I still love the car  | |
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2nd September 2011, 18:47
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| Distinguished - BHPian   | Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT iliketurtles: iloveyourthread! And welcome to the AT club, membership growing by the day! You're sure to have the usual AT-lovers camping out here soon: dot, mdsaab, charthom and if you're lucky Dippy  Two reasons why I think your i20 is a better buy than (my) Vento AT in Mumbai:
Back to your car, I love the looks of the i20, especially in pristine white or berry red. Not a big fan of silver but that's what sets your pulses racing, so good for you! Nice that it has bluetooth- miss this badly in my baby. Incidentally, the Vento at least has both ACC and electric ORVMs, which you've mentioned as missing in your original post. Hyundai service too has been good over the years, with a few notable exceptions- I have fond memories of them from my Accent days. All in all, a great buy and an excellent write-up. You need to add more and better pics my friend! |
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2nd September 2011, 19:17
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| BHPian  Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: -
Posts: 332
Thanked: 92 Times
| Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT What a hilarious write-up my friend! I was giggling and  ...on other thoughts maybe not!The way you have presented everything is just amazing to say the least. When I started to read your thread, I was like Why i20,pablo,etc? Before I could ask a question you had an answer. Of course if I was in your place then I would not have been able to get past the 9L barrier for a AT petrol hatch. Anyhow, congrats on the hatch! Wish you many many happy S-miles in this one. Please keep updating the thread, And yes loved the pics (not the quality) but the write-up beneath them. Stumbled upon a well written thread after a very long time. Rated it 5 stars. Thanks a lot for sharing it with us. Your friend, Furebo Last edited by Furebo : 2nd September 2011 at 19:27. |
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2nd September 2011, 20:13
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Boston
Posts: 1,215
Thanked: 4,739 Times
| Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT Hi iliketurtles, you have done the best choice by selecting i20. I have been driving i20 CRDi from past 2 months and loving each and every mile clocked in it.I got the first service done two weeks back and the car has become even more smoother after that. Please insist for enabling autolock at 40 kmph feature which is done for free. Got the under-body anti-rust coating done during the service Quote:
Not faced any issues with AC. Maybe its due to the pleasant weather of Bangalore. Any upgrades planned? | |
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2nd September 2011, 20:49
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| Senior - BHPian | Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT Thanks for the kind words noopster! I look forward to hearing from more of the automatic owners as time goes by. Quote:
 I'm more than ready to fund an AT petrol car (perhaps an excessive luxury in major metropolitan cities today), but 6 KMPL is just ridiculous. Come to think of it, I wanted the Vento because of the boot just in case I stepped out of town for a long haul drive (Goa is on the cards this month, but I doubt I'll drive down!). But yes, the smaller form factor of the i20 is a blessing. I'm glad I didn't pick up the Vento in hindsight, but not too happy since my reasons for that right now are purely practical, and I'm not one for practicalities. Quote:
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 A pleasure to know my words were entertaining. See you around. K | ||||
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2nd September 2011, 22:36
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| BHPian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Bangalore
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3rd September 2011, 00:08
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| Senior - BHPian | Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT Quote:
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I considered an upgrade of the ICE system, upgrading the default music system to a touchscreen player with the same features, but I really don't see sense in it. Nor am I going to tinker with the tyres and alloys since the OEM Apollo tyres seem to be just fine. I'll just do the bare bones once I get the time, an anti-rust coating and tints above all! Quote:
@noopster: Just realized I overlooked your mentioning my erroneous reporting of the lack of ACC and electric OVRM's on the Vento. My bad, it's been ages since *that* visit to the VW showroom. And one last thing; I didn't plump for white since two friends had a white one too. I didn't want it to seem like a "buy two get one free" scheme, especially since mine is the most expensive one  | |||
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3rd September 2011, 00:36
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| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pune
Posts: 2,042
Thanked: 3,451 Times
| Re: Say hello to Pablo, my Silver Hyundai i20 Asta 1.4 AT You do have a way with words. Fantastic review! Rated a well deserved 5 stars! Quote:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modifi...your-ride.html Many congratulations & wish you a million miles of safe & happy driving! Cheers, Vikram | |
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