[sawnilrules]

It has been a fantastic 1.5 years with our Honda City V-AT. Enjoyed driving every bit of it, having already done 22000 kms is a testimony of it.
Slowly and steadily, even my wify had picked up driving, and she too was enjoying driving the Automatic. Came August 2013, and my City met with an accident, and suddenly I was without a car for almost 45 days. And that is when I realized, that roaming around in Mumbai, without a car, can be a real pain. Suddenly I was too much dependent on the public mode of transport, and my time consumed to commute increased drastically. This is when I decided, I should look for a second car, so that I can always have at-least one standby car home for any unforeseen emergencies. Discussed it over dinner with wify, and we came to a quick conclusion that, we should buy a pre-owned car. Primarily for two reasons,

1. Didn't want another Loan and another EMI to feed
2. Wify could also practice freely and would not feel the brunt of having scratches on Brand New Car.

Took a quick look at our finances and realized, we could look for a car in the range of 3 lakhs, and so with this budget in the mind, began our search. Few important things to be decided were whether to go for a Diesel Mill or Petrol; whether to go for AT box or MT and whether to go for a Sedan or Hatchback.

Finding a good Diesel car in second hand market is tough; again, the chances of it being not misused are minimal, so opted out of the Diesel Option. Wify insisted on getting an AT if possible, so that whenever she would get an opportunity to drive the City, she should feel at home. And as we already had a sedan to do highway trips, we were comfortable with picking up the hatchback. So armed with three requirements, A Petrol car, and an AT Box and a Hatchback, I started my search.

I browsed through olx, carwale, cartrade and team-bhp classified section to browse through cars. However for 1-3 lakhs, I came across more of Wagon R, Estilo, Indica, A- Star, Santro, i10, first generation Swift, and host of first generation Honda City’s. All these cars were already 5 to 6 years old, and in the case of Honda City’s 8 to 9 years old.

Subsequently I changed my criteria from 1-3 lakhs to 3-5 lakhs and this gave me similar, however newer cars. I came across 3 prominent cars with AT options, i10, Santro Xing and A-Star. I didn’t want to own a Santro as had owned one in late 90’s, so that boiled down to two options, A-Star AT and i10 AT. Turned back to our forum to read ownership reviews of both, A-Star and i10. Both had their set of strengths and weakness, but i10 weighed heavily towards better fit and finish levels, Feature list, Overall build quality and felt premium as compared to the Maruti Sibling, and having owned a Estilo, I knew how exactly a Maruti product rattled after 4-5 years of ownership. So that was it then, to search for good i10 AT from the entire lot of cars.

So a car search which started with three options, now had boiled down to 1 option and that was Hyundai i10 AT. After 15-20 days of constantly monitoring carwale and cartrade, I finally came across a car on Carwale, which looked good at-least on paper and photos. It was a 2009 October model with 35947 kms on the ODO, White in color, and AT Sportz model .The dealer Royal Car Planet had quoted a price of INR 3.4 lakhs. Called up the dealer and inquired if the car was still available and if I could come down to see the car, his answer was in affirmative. So I fixed an appointment with him on a following Saturday to have a look at the car. This was in the last week of September.

As planned, went to check the car, the dealer was based out of Thane. The car was being washed as we reached his office. The car looked good at first glance. So while the car was getting washed, I checked the documentation of the car. As per the RC Smart card, it was September 2009 manufactured car, and the car was delivered in 2nd Week of October to its first owner. Insurance all these years was Comprehensive from Reliance. There was no claim on the car, as NCB discount was shown year on year in the insurance cover note. Service records were available for all the four years. After verifying the papers it was time to check the car now. Went around the car and was pretty surprised that the owner had maintained the car pretty well. Removed all the rubber beading around the door panels to check for any accidental damage, again no damages what so ever, it was a seal-packed vehicle. The pain coat was also original, as there was no uneven coat or any uneven fading of the car or any mismatch of the color. The battery was replaced on 12th June 2012. So it was as good as new. The tires were original factory fitted Bridgestone and would need replacement after another 5000 kms of running. The stepney was an unused one.

Coming inside, there was no sign on color fading anywhere or scratches on the dashboard. Even the seat covers were original Hyundai Seat covers that came with the car. Switched on the audio system, the four speaker standard unit sounded decently well. The gear knob had some signs on color fading, but didn't really look out of place.

After inspecting the car visually inside out, it was time to crank it and take it for a spin. What was good was, in first crank itself the engine came to life. Switched on the AC blower, the cabin took 4-5 mins to chill the cabin; I had set the fan on full mode to check for any uneven sound. Took it out for a spin and ensured I drove the car on various road conditions. I asked my wify also to drive the car so that she could also gauge how comfortable she would be driving the car. gave my wify and by now I was content that I can get this car home.

Having driven the car and we both being content, decided to sit down and negotiate on the pricing. Well, let me be honest here, I am very bad at negotiations on price. If I am happy with what I see, I don’t mind paying the price quoted. So from the initial quote of INR 3.40 lakhs, I managed to bring him down to INR 3.20 lakhs including the insurance renewal and transfer charges. Paid him the booking amount of INR 20000/- and told him would be paying the remaining amount post Navratri Festival as I would be out of Mumbai for those 10 days. He obliged to my request. Also, he promised to get the car serviced once before delivery so that I need not service the car for another 5000 kms.

10 days of Navratri went by and we were in 2nd Week of October. I came back to Mumbai and transferred the dealer the remaining 3 lakhs and decided to pick up the car on 26th October 2013. Come 26th October, and me and wify went down to pick up the car. The car was ready with ribbons and was polished inside out to give it a new look. As promised the dealer had serviced the car, apart from getting the wheel balancing and alignment done.
Filled the RTO transfer forms for RC Book name change, collected the Insurance Cover note, all other papers related to the car and went to have a final look to the car before I took the keys. The car was in as is condition as I had seen her last, in-fact due to polishing, looked much better. Garlanded the car and happily took the delivery. Garland was kept ready by the dealer. A nice gesture indeed.

So took the keys, started the car and off we went. Refueled the car to the brim and headed home. It was 7 in the evening by the time we reached home and took the car straight for a puja. It didn't matter whether the car is new or old, puja matters.

Almost one month now, and we have driven 90-100 odd kms, out of which 27 kms were driven when we got her home by me and remaining 60 kms by wify
Some initial impressions about the car

Exterior

• Pre Fluidic design, looks good from all the angles
• ORVM’s are meaty and large, give good overall view
• White looks classy on hatchback too
• Fit and finish of the panels is top notch, no uneven gaps anywhere
• Headlights would need upgrade eventually
• The car came with rear spoiler, don’t know if it’s a standard fitment or the previous owner fitted it
• Rear wiper, should really help during monsoons, my Estilo didn’t have it, neither our first generation Santro
• The Thud of closing the door, is not as resounding as the one in my Honda City, forget European levels

Interiors

• Black and beige finish looks good, the audio system has black interface with beige dashboard
• Gear lever mounted close to dashboard, frees a lot of space
• Good legroom for the size of the car
• Instrument Console surprisingly does not have gear indicator, so every time I need to shift gears, have to look down at the gear lever, noticed this during my initial test drive to.
• Has two trip meters, even my Honda does not have it
• Non electric ORVM’s gets difficult to adjust when driving alone.
• Overall visibility is good.
• Sound quality from the stock speakers is decent.
• Insulation levels are good, much better than MSIL cars.


The Drive

Though have not driven the car extensively, but from my initial driving experience, just like any other AT, moment you slot the gear into D and put your foot off the brake pedal, the car surges ahead. The acceleration is linear smooth. I have not gone above 60kmph till now on this car, so would not be able to judge at this stage, how stable the car is at speeds between 80kmph to 100kmph. The car has easy maneuverability and has good turning radius considering its tight dimensions. As and when I drive more, I would definitely add more insights on drive.

How do the two automatics stack up against each other- Honda City AT and Hyundai i10 AT

As both my cars are automatics, maybe I can share the differences/similarities in both the cars, though both are from two different segments all together.




Upgrades Planned

• I am planning to get flippy key for the car and change the entire security system of the car
• Would be up-sizing the tires after running for another 5000 kms to 175/70 probably Michelin or Yoko’s
• May plan to upgrade the speaker setup, as on higher volumes the stock speaker starts squeaking.
• A 3M quote after a month or two after my wify is thoroughly confident with her car, as I want her to settle down with the car.
• Phillips Extreme Vision 90/100 bulbs to improve night vision





The Hyundai Story Continues….

Well after having added 4900kms on the ODO from my side, thought it’s the right time to pen down my thoughts about the “Pocket Rocket” of my family. This entire 4880 odd kms that I have clocked were clocked purely in city drive only, as still for my highway trips, I prefer to use my “Poetry in Motion” my Honda City. So probably I may not be able to comment on the Highway Dynamics of the car.

Driving Experience

Engine:
The 1.2 ltr Kappa engine was always a stellar performer. My cousin owns a second generation i10 with Kappa 2 motor. The i10 beats almost every car in its segment when it comes to Power to Weight Ratio, and this easily translates in the way the car behaves out there on the road. There is certain eagerness with which this car moves forward. The NVH levels in the car are better than the competition; this is surprising considering very limited use of deadening material inside the engine bay.

Crank the engine and the rpm hovers at 1100 rpm, however after 40 seconds of idling, the engine settles at 900 rpm. Slot the gear in D; lift the foot from brake pedal and the car moves ahead. With linear acceleration, the car has the capability of attending triple digit speeds very easily. However, I haven’t crossed speeds above 80 kmph, as it somehow feels unstable at high speeds. I can attribute this to the high wear-tear of my tires.

Gear Box:
The only downsizer in this complete package is the 4 Speed AT box. The gearbox is very lethargic, as compared to modern 5 speed gear-box from Honda in the Brio. The car can only be driven in Auto-mode; there is no trip-tonic mode which would allow one to override the AT and drive the car in manual mode.

Road Mannerisms:
This car was meant to be for my wife; however, now-a-days I am the only one who keeps zipping in and out of the city. I must admit that the size of the car is just right for the city traffic drive. The car feels planted at speeds around 80 kmph; I haven’t had a single highway run with this car, so I wouldn’t be able to comment on the highway manners of the car. The car comes with stock 13 inch, 155/80 R13 rubber. This in my opinion should be sufficient for the highway runs, unless one intends to travel continuously on triple digit speeds. One word of caution, my Honda City sways during heavy cross winds on the expressway; expect a similar performance from this smaller car too.

Upgrades Done

Horn:
I knew very well that with stock horns, I cannot expect anyone to give way for me on the roads. The very first thing I did post buying the car was upgrading to the Minda Dual tone Horn. I have opted for the famed Skoda type Horn for the car. One honk and people give way on the road, especially the maniac auto fellows and bus drivers on the road.

LED lights:
The stock bulbs in the car consume lot of battery power, I realized this when once my car washer forgot to close the boot door properly and the boot light remained on all day and all night. The following day when I went to start the car, the car refused to start. Thankfully knew a mechanic who stayed nearby, who came to my assistance as a God send Savior. Using fully charged battery, he helped me crank my car. After this incident, I changed my interior stock bulbs with white LED lights which consume less power, however are much brighter than stock ones.

Services Done
I bought the car when the ODO was reading 34500 kms, today the ODO stands at 39390 kms. The next service is due know, I am planning to get it done through Modi Hyundai in the first week of May, as the previous owner had done earlier servicing through this dealer. Will keep you all posted about the cost and quality of work done then.

In an nutshell then;

Likes about the car

• Compact dimensions help to zip in and out of the traffic with ease.
• With almost 80 PS engine, the car has good power to weight ratio, which helps during sudden overtaking maneuvers.
• All orange illumination all around the car during night drives, unlike my I-Vtec which has Blue illumination on the instrument cluster and Orange illumination on the Centre Console, looks odd in the night.
• Compact on the outside, but has lots of space on the inside, can easily carry 5 passengers for short trips. The boot is huge too; I could manage to slip in entire month’s grocery in the boot when I reluctantly took it once for grocery shopping.
• Faux Wood inserts on the dashboard give cool feel to the overall interiors
• Couple of Ajar warnings in the car viz door open, boot open, seat belts off, etc.
• Couple of chubby holes in the car to store items.

Dislikes about the car

• 4 Speed AT box is a very big let-down; ideally car with this kind of power should have come with 5 Speed AT
• Mileage returned by the car is poor, City run gives me a maximum of 10 kmpl, on a similar day, City ends up giving at-least 12 kmpl to 13 kmpl.
• No steering wheel audio controls,
• Zero Safety features for a car which originally costed around 6 lacs on road Mumbai.
• Sound quality from the stock speakers in pathetic, speakers start squealing moment you increase the volume or play high bass songs.

Posting some snaps; detailed photo-shoot is planned soon, please bear with me till then.

Nifty Boot opener handle


Rear windshield wiper washer nozzle neatly tugged under the spoiler


Rear seat space/legroom


Driver and co-driver seat


Ajar Warnings; this one shows door open


Dashboard; the overall look


Stock Audio system,


AC controls, gear knob with phone charging dock


Co passenger view of the drivers console


Driver door switches and the door panel

[Dodge_Viper]

Let me be the first to congratulate you Nilesh . You got a very well maintained car. i10 is bliss to drive in Mumbai traffic, the only negative point being the low FE of ATs .

Please do upgrade headlight bulbs first. Didn't you feel the OEM horn pathetic? Or has the previous owner upgraded it?

[normally_crazy]

Great Choice for the wife. Even I got an i10 for my wife and she loves it.

Mine is the Magna though - which comes with lesser frills. No rear wiper and de-fogger, no music system and only front 2 power windows.

I have driven the car extensively and my initial impressions are the same as yours -

Positives

A very peppy engine
Perfect dimensions for the city
Quite stable till 80 kmph
A killer A/c
The autobox is a boon in traffic


The Negatives
A bumpy ride in the rear
Quite featureless (Magna)
The autobox (only 4 speed)
The FE - the max I have extracted is 10-11 kmpl (abysmal by my standards)
I find the turning radius average.


Issues faced

The first owner had an Autocop system that drained off my battery - maybe it wasnt fitted correctly. I have disconnected the autocop since.

The steering rack (as usual) was rattling away. Got it replaced outside. now perfect.

Changed the tyres from MRF to Bridgestones - major softening of ride quality. The MRF's were HARD.

All said and done - it's a perfect city hatch.

I will keep an eye on your updates.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Viper

Let me be the first to congratulate you Nilesh . You got a very well maintained car. i10 is bliss to drive in Mumbai traffic, the only negative point being the low FE of ATs .

Please do upgrade headlight bulbs first. Didn't you feel the OEM horn pathetic? Or has the previous owner upgraded it?

Thanks Kailash, I am yet to ascertain the FE as I am still running on the first tank full that I had done when I took the delivery of the car. I am definitely going in for the headlights upgrade, I find a hell lot of difference when I shift from City to i10, as I have upgraded to Bi-Xenon on the City.

Thanks for reminding me of the Horn I forgot to mention it, sometimes when I blow the horn I think, did the horn really make any sound

Probably will upgrade to VW/Skoda type horn similar to what you have on your i10, Swapzone has provided me with details of an accessories guy in Lokhandwala, so will try that out.

[Utopian]

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[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by sawnilrules

Probably will upgrade to VW/Skoda type horn similar to what you have on your i10, Swapzone has provided me with details of an accessories guy in Lokhandwala, so will try that out.

I have the same Skoda horn - I think its a Bosch or Minda ! But it scares the *hit out of the auto and bikers !

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Great Choice for the wife. Even I got an i10 for my wife and she loves it.

Mine is the Magna though - which comes with lesser frills. No rear wiper and de-fogger, no music system and only front 2 power windows.

I have driven the car extensively and my initial impressions are the same as yours -

Positives

A very peppy engine
Perfect dimensions for the city
Quite stable till 80 kmph
A killer A/c
The autobox is a boon in traffic


The Negatives
A bumpy ride in the rear
Quite featureless (Magna)
The autobox (only 4 speed)
The FE - the max I have extracted is 10-11 kmpl (abysmal by my standards)
I find the turning radius average.


Issues faced

The first owner had an Autocop system that drained off my battery - maybe it wasnt fitted correctly. I have disconnected the autocop since.

The steering rack (as usual) was rattling away. Got it replaced outside. now perfect.

Changed the tyres from MRF to Bridgestones - major softening of ride quality. The MRF's were HARD.

All said and done - it's a perfect city hatch.

I will keep an eye on your updates.

Thanks, NC for your views on the car. Some extra pointers, My car came with Bridgestone tires, and they look like either factory fit, or the previous owner changed them immediately after he took the delivery. It has another 5000 kms of life left on them.

10-11 km-pl is definitely abysmal as even the Honda City AT delivers better figures there. However, I am assuming we will end up getting much lesser mileage, as my wify still doesn't go above speeds of 40 kph, of course as time passes by, I am sure her speed would stabilize between 60 kph to 80 kph and in turn the average may go up, as currently at speeds of 40 kph, probably car must be traveling at lower gears and therefore give much lesser mileage.

Secondly, hardly will the car have any highway run, even within the city limits, as the car would be majorly used to take care of everyday errands within my area. Its only the day I decide to drive it for a change, or I get it for our meets, will the car ever go on highway and do 30-40 kms in a day.

And I agree, it truly is a fantastic hatch for its price and zips around very well despite of its AT box.

I will definitely write up more on the car as and when the days pass and as and when I add more kms on the ODO

[Top-Gear]

Hi there!
Congratulations for your new ride. The car seems to be in great condition. I must say that you really did your homework well . The thorough background check has paid dividends!

I was amused to read about the horn. My car's horn was feeble to begin with, now it sounds even funnier - as if it's down with a bad throat .

[GTO]

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

[56landmaster]

Very clean vehicle and congrats. The picture of washer nozzle threw me off for a moment. I was confused as to why you had a water pipe going out of your car instead of a regular ole nozzle

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by 56landmaster

Very clean vehicle and congrats. The picture of washer nozzle threw me off for a moment. I was confused as to why you had a water pipe going out of your car instead of a regular ole nozzle

Thanks mate... Sorry for clicking such confusing snap though. I am lucky enough to lay my hands on this one. I waited impatiently for almost 6-7 months, but in the end my patience paid off.

[Wanderers]

Hi Sawnilrules,

You seem to enjoy Automatic.

Back in 2008, when I went to buy a small car (replacing my Honda City) my choice was narrowed down to i10 automatic and Swift Vxi but choose later as I felt Swift would last longer.

I now feel that i10 is long termer too.
A very good condition for a October 2009 model car.

Happy Driving!

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Hi Sawnilrules,

You seem to enjoy Automatic.

Back in 2008, when I went to buy a small car (replacing my Honda City) my choice was narrowed down to i10 automatic and Swift Vxi but choose later as I felt Swift would last longer.

I now feel that i10 is long termer too.
A very good condition for a October 2009 model car.

Happy Driving!

Thanks Wanderers,

Frankly, even I did not expect a Hyundai to last this long. I was visibly surprised when I saw the car for the first time. Whether it is the exteriors or interiors, the previous owner had really taken good care of the car. It is a rattle free car. I used Zen Estilo for almost 6 years before selling it off, and trust me it used to rattle from every corner. Over a period of time I had started ignoring the rattles. But this small rocket surprises me, its already 40K kms on still going strong.

[sawnilrules]

Completed 6 months with the car and also had clocked almost 5000 kms. I have always maintained 5000 kms service schedule for both the cars. I was in major confusion whether I should take the i10 to Authorized Service Station or local garage. Had multiple discussion with fellow bhpians on this issue, after discussing pros-cons, finally decided the give the car to a known garage. I have by know completed 39370 Km on the ODO.

I luckily have a good mechanic who had opened up his own garage in my locality. Though personally had never given my cars to him, but couple of my friends in my locality had used his services.Plus, He was the one who had accompanied me to check this car, while I was in the process of finalizing one. Called him last evening to fix the appointment for today i.e. 3rd May 2014. He gave me the first slot in the morning to get the car at his place. Apart from regular servicing, I had following thing on agenda to rectify.

• The Horn sounded funny, after honking couple of times, had to get it fixed
• The pipe of wiper washer had broken, needed to be replaced
• Pick up had dropped, so had the mileage

Went at his garage at 10:15 in the morning with the car. He greeted me with smile. That last thing I expected was to get a job card. However, I was pretty surprised when he asked one of his technician to open a job card for the car.

He noted the kms on the job card, took down the car details and patiently heard out the complains about the car. Following activities were part of regular service

• Air Filter Change
• Oil and Oil Filter Change
• Brake-pads servicing
• Checkup of the car for all the electrical and mechanical parts
• General Check-up

Total estimated cost quoted was between INR 2500/- to INR 2700/- along with washing, battery check-up and polishing. Estimated time of delivery was 6 PM.

6:15 PM, I got a call from him as the car was ready for delivery. I walked down to his garage to collect the car. As I reached, the car was getting readied for delivery and two guys were busy polishing the car.

All the problems that I had mentioned were taken care of.

• Horn sounding funny every time I honked [Checked] Their was a problem in the wiring, the wiring was rectified.
• Wiper washer pipe broken [Checked] A new wiper washer pipe was put and replaced with old one
• Pick up and mileage gone down [Checked] Air Filter, Oil filter replaced, Oil flushed and refilled, & Tappet Settings rectified

AC Coolant was also replaced, as he found that the coolant had become watery. The overall total bill was INR 2950/-, I gladly paid him INR 2900/-

I Hardly drove some 300 mtrs to come back home, so how does the car feel out on road, would be too early to comment. But that very short drive from garage to home, the car felt much more zippier than earlier. The throttle response had definitely improved and the AC cooling had improved drastically.

So overall how do I rate my experience on a scale of 5

Quality of Service Station: 3.5
Knowledge of mechanics and technicians: 3
Knowledge of the Owner: 4
Quality of Car Wash: 4
Finishing work/ready product: 4
My likelihood of recommending him to fellow bhpians: 3.5

I couldn't take photos as it was pretty late by the time I drove back home. Will definitely take some tomorrow morning.

[sawnilrules]

Further to my update yesterday, as promised, adding some photos post service

Total Bill, though a crude one, but that's fine.


The Dashboard- Polished and looks new now


Got the reverse parking sensor removed and hence back to the original mirror; note: at the price of this car, Hyundai gives day-light mirror.


Tires polished


The engine bay, looks as good as new, once again


Wiper Pipe Joined, had broken earlier


The front look


The rear sporting team-bhp stickers


The side view


The night view of Honda City Dash and i10 Dash


PS- There are some paint stains on the car, which I am planning to get removed while carrying out detailing work on the car next month.