[nipcarlover]

Story before the i10:
Before the i10, we owned a 2001 Hyundai Santro. After serving us faithfully for 12 years, it had started to show its age. The engine vibrated like a jackhammer when the AC was turned on and the chassis had started rotting. So, it had to go.

Buying decision:
There was only one car in consideration and that was the i10. As the car was going to be driven mostly by my grandfather, who has a leg problem, we needed a tall car. i10 was the only consideration as we wanted to stick with Hyundai and my grandfather was okay with the driving position which is very rare.

Dealer Experience:
The experience at the dealership at Sharma Hyundai Ahmedabad was good, although I can't say if it would be the same with all customers as the owner is a very good friend of my grandfather's. I have to say though that the SAs were very well mannered and knew all the required information.

Cost:

Initial quote:
Car price: 5,22,722
Discount: 22,722
Exchange bonus: 20,000 [For Santro]
Freebies: Mats, mud flaps, seat covers, Remote locking
Santro resale: 70,000
Final price: 4,10,000

These prices were given at the initial discussion. My first question to them was 'What colour seat covers will we get?'. I was expecting the answer to be beige as I knew that most Indians are kind of obsessed with Beige. And, I was correct. I asked them if black seat covers were available, but they said no. I asked them to show me the design of these seat covers. Did not like it at all. So, asked if discount is possible instead of the seat covers, and they agreed.

I also wanted fog lamps, so asked them if that is possible to add to the car. They said it is possible, and it will cost Rs. 4500. But, later they agreed to include it as a freebie.

Final quote:
Car price 5,22,722
Discount: 24,722
Exchange bonus: 20,000 [For Santro]
Freebies: Mats, Mud Flaps, Remote locking and Fog Lamps
Santro resale: 70,000
Final Price: 4,08,000

Delivery:

Asked for delivery on 2nd April [Today] and finished all formalities.
Got the delivery today, they drove the car down to our house and took the Santro back. Got a box of 'penda' from them along with two 'Sharma Hyundai' keychains and a photo frame which would have been gifted with a photo of us with the car had we taken delivery at the dealership itself. It was nice of them to give the photo frame to us anyway. The car was in pristine condition although there were three stickers on it which I had strictly asked them not to put. Did not complain as did not want to ruin a happy environment and mood. Was also impressed by the sales person as he absolutely refused to take the gift we had for him and said that all sales persons were instructed to do the same at Sharma Hyundai. My Grandmother did a simple 'puja' and we were done.

Pictures:

View of the aggressive face:


The rear of the car, the badges seem to have changed in the 2013 model, noticed the same on other cars that were at the dealership for delivery:


The remote key, looks good now, but I think it is bound to be scratched soon:


The interior:




The Head Unit, pretty good sound quality for me, beware, I am not a music junkie at all, so don't take my word for it.


The Fog lamp switch colour does not match the rest of the interior, but I guess its okay.


Other shots:




Tire upgrade:

The car is going to be upgraded to 175/70 R13 Michelin Energy XM2s with HRS H220 alloys. The alloys have already been ordered and shall be arriving in 3-4 days. The cost is 15,800 for the alloys and 6000 for the tires although I don't remember the exact buyback breakup. Will be updating the thread once they arrive and are fitted. Sadly, due to this the car can not be driven much as I need to keep the tire mileage below 100 KM to get the full resale value . Will be updating with driving feel and experience soon.
Alloy picture:



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The car has been driven for just 40 kms as of now, due to the reason mentioned above. So, this report is only a 'initial' Initial Ownership report.
My likes and dislikes about the car:

Likes:

• Ultra smooth engine
• Very good quality interiors
• Stunning looks in white colour
• Good ICE
• Much better legroom at the rear than Santro
• Electric and heated ORVMs with turn indicator even on base 1.2
• Instrument console is very clear and beautiful to look at in the night
• Powerful AC

Dislikes:

• No tilt steering on Sportz model
• Puny MRF ZEC OEM tires
• Very less storage space for rear passengers
• No ABS/Airbag option on models other than Asta
• Only one cabin light
• Asta model is way too overpriced
• No alloys even on top model

Likes and dislikes in detail:

The Kappa2 engine is one of the most technologically advanced motors this side of 8 lacs and it shows. The car feels very smooth and also very silent. Haven't taken the car to high revs or even above 60 yet as it is in run-in period and also has not been driven much. The build quality of the car as has been noted by all the reviews of the car is fairly amazing for a car of this class. The ICE as I mentioned sounds very good so far, but have not experienced too many other ICEs other than our basic Sony system in our Getz and am also not a music listening type person. AUX and USB is provided, though haven't tested it yet.

The comfort in the rear is obviously nowhere near the level of comfort in the back of the Getz, but it is much better than the Santro, and can sit comfortably with 5 people unlike in the Santro. Also, very disappointed with amount of storage space in the rear, as there are no door pockets and no seatback pockets. There is only one bottle holder in the middle. Another good thing is that there are 2 12V sockets in the car, so multiple devices can be charged.

Rear seats/legroom:


AUX/USB ports and 12V plug:


The AC also works very well, cooled the car fairly quickly on a hot Amdavadi afternoon. Another plus for the interiors is the clear and beautiful looking (especially at night) instrument console.

What I don't like about the car is that there is no tilt steering available on the i10 Sportz which is a major oversight especially on one of the better equipped cars in the segment. I also don't like the fact that there is no option for ABS on any of the other models of the i10 other than the Asta. On that note, I would also like to add that the Asta is grossly overpriced a over Rs 6 lakh on the road!

As has been said by many, I also dislike the puny OEM tires on the i10. At 155/80 R13, the tires are the same width as on our 12 year old Santro, with around 25 more horses. I feel that Hyundai should have upgraded the tires at least on the Kappa version. On another note, when I talked to the dealer about upgrading the tires to either 175/70 R13 or 185/60 R14, they started saying that the steering will become so heavy that it would become difficult to park and so on! I found this quite weird as in 2006 when we bought our Getz from the same dealer, we upgraded the tires to 185/60 R14 at the dealership itself.

Cannot tell much about the ride and handling of the car so far, as it has only been driven for 40 kms, but will definitely be updating the thread once I get a proper feel of the car's handling and ride.

Overall, really enjoying the car so far, will be updating the thread with more things that I find on the car and also after some impressions of the feel of the car itself. Will also be updating once I get the 175/70 R13 Michelins and the alloys

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Arvind6488]

Congrats on your new acquisition Nipam. Hope you have a wonderful time with the white beauty in coming days. As the car was delivered at your doorstep, did you get a chance to go through the PDI checklist that has been posted in our forum. It would help you bring things to the dealers notice during your first service and have it rectified in case if there is anything that is missed out or not upto your satisfactory level.

[Jeash.vk]

Congrats on the purchase buddy. Please let me know what mileage the car gives you. I have the same one, but 2011 model and it gives me 11 - 12.5 kmpl (90% city driving with 100% AC). It was around 10 kmpl till i hit the 2000 km mark on the odo. If there is one big disadvantage in i10, that is fuel efficiency for me. Drives of >250 KM will pinch your pocket hard - especially with the ever increasing fuel prices. I get somewhere between 300 - 350 KMs on a full & topped up tank :(

BTW - Is this the Sportz variant or Sportz Optional? I thought only the Optional variant came with Fog lamps, but I see it in your pics. Not sure if this has been changed in the 2013 model though.

[Schoudhury]

Congrats nipcarlover .
I am sure your grandfather will love using this car. One more thing which i think your grandfather will like, is getting in and out of the car will be fairly easy .

Why don't change the tyre now only, instead of waiting for the alloys to be shipped and then fit them .

Once you get the alloys you can swap the steel rim with alloys , as you sticking to 13'' alloys only, so i don't think it will be an issue .

Originally Posted by Jeash.vk

I get somewhere between 300 - 350 KMs on a full & topped up tank :(

What is the tank capacity of an i10 ?



Cheers

[Arvind6488]

Originally Posted by Jeash.vk

BTW - Is this the Sportz variant or Sportz Optional? I thought only the Optional variant came with Fog lamps, but I see it in your pics. Not sure if this has been changed in the 2013 model though.

@Jeash: The Fog Lamps were not part of the Standard Factory fittings and were offered on request as a free install .

I guess you missed to read out the complete post where he has mentioned this.

[Jeash.vk]

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

What is the tank capacity of an i10 ?

The company lists it at 35. However when I fill petrol after the reserve light turns on - it takes approx 26 - 27 liters for auto cut off. I have some times topped it up with an additional 3 - 4 liters. When I said 300 - 350 KMs, that was from an approx 30 L of fuel

[narayan]

Originally Posted by nipcarlover

Dislikes:

• No tilt steering on Sportz model

Congrats on the new i10. It indeed looks stunning in white. With alloys and the tyre upgrade, its bound to look even better.

But are you sure there is no tilt steering ? my 1st gen i10 sportz model has it.


@Jeash.VK

The FE you are getting for your i10 is pretty good. If you are getting 300-350 for a tank ful under city driving with 100% ac, I would say, its a good thing.
But in highways, the i10 can really improve that figure to nearly 570-600kms if you drive largely without a/c and keep speeds in check. I have, so far, achieved around 19.5kmpl on high way drives with "active a/c management" which is basically using the a/c effectively for about 10-15% of the driving time
What you lose out in city FE, you gain in much better interior quality

[nipcarlover]

Thanks to all for the wishes!

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Congrats nipcarlover .

Why don't change the tyre now only, instead of waiting for the alloys to be shipped and then fit them .

Once you get the alloys you can swap the steel rim with alloys , as you sticking to 13'' alloys only, so i don't think it will be an issue .

Cheers

I have not fitted the new tires currently as the rims on the i10 are too narrow for 175 tires.

Originally Posted by narayan

Congrats on the new i10. It indeed looks stunning in white. With alloys and the tyre upgrade, its bound to look even better.

But are you sure there is no tilt steering ? my 1st gen i10 sportz model has it.

Yes, I am sure, even the brochure says that Tilt steering is only in Asta. No idea why they would remove such an important feature.

[nipcarlover]

Observations after a couple of days:

• If door opened from inside when car is running, the indicator lights blink for a few seconds
• Gear shift indicator on the sceen in the instrument console is really tuned for economy, suggests 3rd at 30 and 4th at 40 !
• Head unit screen is really bright at night, but good thing is that there is a day/night button which turns off the screen
• The AC is really effective, keeping it initialy on blower speed 2 and then turning it to 1 after few minutes is good enough to tackle Amdavadi heat. Same was noticed in Santro, but not in Getz
• Stock tires are MRF ZEC, forgot to mention in original post
• Gear shift is really smooth and my mother really likes the steering feel. She says that it feels very 'smooth'.

A few pics of the interiors:




Pics of the keys and the keychain:



Also, on a sad note, the alloys haven't arrived yet and I am leaving for Mumbai tonight. The alloys should arrive latest by tomorrow or on Monday, but sadly I will not be there. My dad will go and get them fitted, but will only be able to share images on Thursday.

Could someone direct me to some info on how to remove the dealer stickers safely as I really don't like them, but don't want to risk damaging the paint of the car.

[kaka46]

You can get them removed at the service center . Will not take more than 10 minutes to remove all the stickers. I got the stickers on my car removed during the first service.

[nipcarlover]

Update on the alloys:
The alloys have arrived and will be fitted tomorrow.
Sadly, will not be there as I am currently in Mumbai, and will be back on Thursday, so will upload pics then.

[nipcarlover]

The alloys have finally been fitted on Michelin XM2 175/70 R13 tires and installed on the i10! Pics coming tomorrow as I am currently in Mumbai.

[nipcarlover]

Alloy pics are finally here:

[9thsphinx]

Congratulations on your i10!

Did you purchase those alloys from Ahmedabad? PM me the details if you can.

Drive safe.