| BHPian
Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: Cochin / London
Posts: 120
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| Something new in Life : My Hyundai Elite i20 Sports (O) CRDI
Little background:
After we sold our old faithful Maruti 800 three years back, my dad wanted a small, cheap and good looking diesel car. Like any Indian at that time, we went ahead and booked the Swift VDI. At the time waiting period for a Swift was around 6-8 months, with a caution that it may be longer. But after waiting a few months without any hopeful responses from Suzuki dealership, my dad had lost his patience and hope. At this time, the Chevy Beat Diesel was released. One day, while talking to him on the phone, he mentioned about the Beat and told that it was cheaper and had better mileage. After a few days, he cancelled the booking for the swift and the next weekend, we had a Chevrolet Beat Diesel in our porch.
Though I learned to drive on the 800, the little Beat was the car that refined my driving. Still enjoy the little torqey engine, the small turning radius, the almost fit anywhere size and the awesome looks. We took the middle model (LS), a decision my dad regrets to this day. The top (LT) model had a stereo and climate control, and we missed both in our car every day. He used to say afterwards that the next time when we buy a car, definitely we should get the top model.
Present day:
Things were going normal, and I was happy using my bike for office as well as weekend trips to home from Office. Though the 9 month long rainy seasons in Kerala made me think of getting a car, that alone was not a good enough reason for me to get a car. The Beat was being used by Dad for his office trips and family purposes. Then I got married and things suddenly were a lot different. Daily trips to office and home on bike during the rains with my wife turned out to be risky as well as led to my parents almost banning me from using the bike. Monthly shopping and the weekend trips to my home (180 km from Cochin) with my wife on bike were impossible, and thus started the search for a car.
The Preferences:
1) Wife: Wanted airbags, good resale, not so expensive maintenance, good interior space, chrome door handles (Still no idea why)!
2) Parents: Sedan, cheap to maintain from a trusted brand (Read Swift Dzire)
3) Me: Had to be diesel, ABS, Audio unit, good interior space, decent power.
Went through all options from Nano to Honda City, though serious options were only a few. Liked the duster, but was way out of my range. Due to my monthly average of around 1500-2000 km, and my home being on top of the Western Ghats, a diesel car was a must. I had an on road budget of 6.5-7.5 lakhs maximum. The following cars were considered.
(The for and against are my own feelings, no offense intended for any owners)
1) Polo
For: Great build quality, great engine, safety, Good brand value.
Against : Expensive services & spares, doubtful ASS quality, low resale value.
2) Grand i10 CRDI :
For : Good looks, good equipment levels, Hyundai quality and ASS.
Against : 1.1 diesel was new, NVH levels were not impressive, and had mixed opinions after a short test drive.
3) Punto :
For : Had been a Punto fan for long time. Great build quality, good styling, great handling, feature rich models and huge discounts (was offered upto 1 lakh for the old model)
Against : Bad ASS, lack of dealership network, poor resale value in Kerala, unavailability of spare parts at the time.
Though I preferred a hatchback mainly for the narrow roads in Kerala as well as parking troubles in cochin, my parents like most Indians wanted me to get a car with boot, AKA Sedan. So had to consider these :
1) Dzire VDI :
For : Trustworthy Suzuki car, cheap maintenance, great resale value, looked like a sedan for my parents.
Against : Side profile looked awkward, thin, narrow tires on the VDI, lack of interior space, non practical boot, too common on the road, almost everyone around my home had a Dzire!
2) Amaze :
For : Honda badge & Quality, looked better than Dzire, great power and mileage.
Against : Cheap looking & bare minimum interior, comparatively low resale value.
3) Xcent : Same as Grand i10, with the added benefit of looking like a sedan.
The decision Making:
My family was insisting on a the Dzire, and finally with half heart and not much excitement, had to fix and book the Dzire VDI. We felt that the ZDI was overpriced and the equipment level just did not justify the price. Strangely, The Suzuki dealers were willing to give upto 25000 rupees discount along with the usual freebies (mud flaps, mats, cover, perfume etc...), and the delivery was promised within 4 days of the loan getting approved & credited.
So, things were set. I should mention that all this time, i20 never came to our discussions. Though I knew that the car was great, I was not a fan of the looks and always felt that i20 was overpriced. My wife somehow had a belief that i20 is a premium luxury car and was not for the common family. My parents didn’t have much previous experience with Hyundai cars. My dad had driven an underpowered eon with 5 people onboard a while back, which didn’t leave him with a good image for Hyundai. Mom on the other hand, was a fan of eon for the design, but hated it for the lack of space in rear, but still did recommend eon at some point.
Things were about to change. I started to see scoop pictures of elite i20 online. The first looks were from odd angles and the car looked disproportionate to me. Still, I called up the Hyundai showroom and asked about the details. The call was answered back by an executive, and he politely told me of the release dates and the approximate prices. He promised to keep me updated. I thought that was the end of it. Few days before the launch, the same executive (Sarath) from Popular Hyundai Kollam, called me back and told me that they have received a few cars in their Yard and If I was interested, could share few pictures via Whatsapp. I told him its fine, and he sends me few pictures of elite i20 (white & red) from front and side. Did not realize that those pictures were about to change my life.
The car looked really awesome, and the executive mentioned that the price of Magna CRDI would be similar to Swift VDI. That was more than enough for me. The pic, was forwarded to my wife, and even before the new model, i20 was sort of her dream car. My wife’s brother, who had almost no opinion while we booked the Dzire was almost jumping up and down with excitement on hearing my plans. So no convincing was needed on that side. But parents were a different story. Somehow, a car with a boot meant a lot to them in society. After two days of heated discussions, comments, and reasoning, I got the "Its your car, get whatever you feel is good" response. So, went ahead and called up the same sales exec, and told him that I wanted to book a white elite i20 magna. He was happy to hear the news and told that he will start the initial paper works for the booking as well as the loan, and keep me updated on the exact price. The car was released the next day, but official pricing in Kerala was known only two days later.
Though I did not get a test drive or even had never seen the car in flesh the initial booking was done on 17 October 2014. Booked a white elite i20 CRDI magna. The same day evening, heard that a car is on Demo at a different Hyundai showroom near my home. So convinced parents and wife to go upto the showroom just to check out the car. Though a bit reluctantly, parents came along. The visit was again going to change a lot of things. My parents, so far had seen only pictures of the car in my mobile and old i20's on the road. We reached the showroom and a red elite i20 was on display. My dad walked up to the car, kept looking at it for a while, asked the showroom executives about the model of the car and few questions on the features, but he did not ask about the price. He told me that the grill looked nice. The smile on his face showed that he did like the car a lot. Usually whenever he sees a car, he points out something wrong about the design. Hate to say that most of the time, he is right. After Again, my dad was asking me which model I had booked and what it lacked. Finally, he said something for which I would be thankful for my entire life. "Any way you are spending money and you don’t buy a car every day, so if you are buying, get the top model or else don't buy".
He had a point also, as most of the features; I could not add them later even if I wanted. And the car did look nice in the big 16" alloys. Also, the red color appeared to be better suited for the car than white. The car on display was a Sportz (O) CRDI and the sales exec explained that Asta had no major difference, except for rear wiper, auto headlamps and passenger airbag and personally recommended the Sportz (O) model telling that though an airbag alone is not expensive to replace, the single piece design of the dashboard will be an issue if the passenger airbag is deployed. He mentioned that if deployed, the dashboard would rupture and damage parts of the audio unit and AC vents. So the entire dashboard had to be replaced after an airbag deployment, and it would be very expensive. Though compromising for safety, I saw some point in his reasons, but did not believe the entire thing. Still not sure if an airbag deployment would need an entire dashboard replacement. I asked him about the prices of Sportz (O) and Asta CRDI. The Sportz (O) was around 30000 Rs cheaper than the Asta, but still around one lakh more than my initial budget, and still more expensive than a Dzire VDI. The price was almost in the range of full sedans like City & Verna.
Went home, and tried to convince myself, my wife and mom about the added benefits of Asta or Sportz (O), checked out the overheads on the planned loan and EMI as I was about to stretch out my planned budget by more than a lakh. By evening, convinced to change the model and go for the Sportz (O) CRDI, a decision that has left me smiling every moment now. Though a bit skeptical, called up the sales exec from Popular and asked him whether I can change the model as well as color. He was more than happy and told that Asta or Sportz (O) was definitely a better choice. He promised to send me the updated booking details the next day itself via whatsapp. But mentioned that the availability of the model and color will be entirely dependent on my luck as the first batch of cars were already on transit from Chennai to Trivandrum. I kept trying to get a test drive, but got a response from all Hyundai showrooms that though they had a demo car, the test drive car would come only along with the first batch of unallotted cars.
I also had to cancel the booking for the Dzire. Actually, was delaying the delivery for Onam, though a delivery was promised in 4 days. Thankful to god for that. Called up the Suzuki showroom, and told them that I have booked an elite i20 and wanted to cancel the Dzire booking. I was expecting some worried responses, or maybe some negative language, but the responses from the executive was a sign of the buzz the elite i20 had created. He asked me about the price, features of elite i20, and told me the car did look great, especially from the rear end, and that it did remind him of some BMW's.
The loan process from SBI went smoothly for most of the part. Thanks a lot to Kannan from Hyundai finance section for handling all the paper work and arranging the meeting with the bank for account opening. My loan was approved and the money was credited to their account on 23 August. As soon as the remaining amount was paid in cash, the showroom manager asked me to wait while he checks the availability of the cars in all their yards. He was calling up Popular showrooms at Trivandrum, Cochin &Aleppy and was asking to check their stocks. After 15 minutes of nervous waiting, he told me that they have a un allotted red Sportz (O) CRDI at Trivandrum yard, and they could do the delivery by next Friday, 29 August.
I had never been happier, and started to call up few close friends and relatives to tell about the car. So far I had not mentioned about the car to everyone. One of my friends was actually mocking me for booking the Dzire,
telling that "Have u seen the new i20?" Waited a while for him to stop and then told him that I am getting my i20 next week. And then the waiting started. Most of my friends were talking about the elite i20, and the web was full of reviews, test drives, comparisons. Was reading everything I saw. Everybody had nothing, but praises for the car. Reading the reviews did make me happier on my decision.
Though the car was ready for delivery on Friday, parents insisted that it may not be a good day to take delivery, so had to wait till Sunday. As recommended, the car was delivered on Sunday (31 August, 2014). The showroom was open just for deliveries. The car was washed, polished and a small pooja was done by the showroom. They keys were handed over, along with few instructions on keyless entry, controls stalks, run in rpm limits and service guidelines.
Details :
Model : Elite i20 sports (O) red passion 1.4 CRDI
Dealer : Popular Hyundai, Kollam.
Freebies : A cheap perfume, 250 Rs Diesel voucher, and a small box of chocolates. (Car had Hyundai rubber floor mats, and waiting for the promised Hyundai mud flaps)
On road Price : 8.48 lakhs without 3rd year extended warranty
Extra work : 3M under body coating from 3M Cochin, 5 year warranty and 10 free checkups.
First drive and first impressions:
Pressed the clutch and pushed the engine start button. (Kept pushing it till the car started, like in my bike, but realized later that a quick push and release was enough to start the car). The car started and settled to a gentle idle. After coming from the Chevy, the NVH levels were highly impressive, and everything about the interior felt premium. Had to fiddle around with seat height and steering rake a bit to find a comfortable position. The seats were very comfy, but getting in and out was a bit difficult, as the sides were raised and had to lift legs a bit more to get into the car.
I was a bit nervous while driving the 60 km back to home. The car felt much longer and wider, and the turning radius was huge. So, though a bit longer, decided to stick to the wider NH47. After a while, dad took over and he was impressed by the power, and space inside. He mentioned that the steering, once turned, had a strong pull back to center, but was totally confused by all the switches and controls. And often, did forget about the 6th gear. Brakes were much better compared to our Beat, but had a bit more travel or a spongy feeling. Hyundai advices that 6th gear is to be used above 90kmph, but seemed non practical with the narrow, twisty and broken roads in Kerala and 60-80 kmph speed limits! However, moved to 6th gear after 70+ speeds and was pulling nicely. Later, found that if you are in no hurry and just need to keep the current speed, the car even pulls in 60+ speeds in 6th easily.
The gearbox was a whole another level of refinement. Shifts were precise and shifted with clear clicks for gears. Even the reverse gear engaged without any difficulty. The clutch travel was normal but did feel a bit stiff. The dead pedal was new to me, but soon got used to the comforts. After a few weeks, had to drive alone back to home from Cochin, 200 kms, at late night. So, the empty roads were taken with Left hand on the armrest, palm resting on the gear knob, right hand on the bottom of the steering, left foot on the dead pedal, a bit reclined seat, and a slight tap on the accelerator! Almost felt like sitting in my living room.
Back at home, everyone liked the color and the style of the car. Rear leg room and AC vents impressed my mom and wife. After a short trip to the temple for pooja, mom mentioned that the rear bench was inclined at an angle, but felt nice. The middle area was raised, while both sides had a depression to seat passengers. It made my sister complain of back ache after a 30 minutes ride. The rear end, the more I looked at it, the better it felt for me.The first night after I got the car, woke up around midnight from sleep, went upto the window, looked outside to see the car there, just to confirm that it was not a dream, and kept looking at the parked car for few minutes.
The interior fit and finish was one of the best that I have seen and left me with nothing to complain about. The brakes, though it felt a bit spongy and had a bit too much of travel, felt powerful, and occasionally, while taking curves on roads with gravel, did feel the ABS working also. Initially, because of the over inflated tires, we felt that the suspension is a bit rough and wife was complaining about too much shaking and noise from the suspension. But after changing the pressure to normal, it felt good, and all the noises from suspension was also gone. One thing I noticed was that while taking corners, the car was not moving around much and felt a lot more planted. Rear passengers also had the same opinion. The OEM wipers, performs their duty well, but looks ordinary. Planning to get them changed to a better looking one. The headlights, together with the large fog lamps do provide ample light, but felt that the spread is a bit low.
The first three weeks went quite fast. Wherever I went, the car was sort of a crowd puller. Not many cars were seen on the road here in Cochin, at least till first weeks of October. So, had people looking at the car and asking questions all the time. To be honest, did enjoy the attention. After I got the car back to Cochin where I work, did the under body coat from 3M. The Beat also had a 3M under body coating, so was completely happy that I could get the same coating done by 3M directly. The long drive from home to Cochin and then back to home the next weekend helped me a lot to get adjusted to the car. The size and the turning radius needed a bit more time behind the steering to get used to. But still, got used to all the controls, including the steering mounted controls. Also, got used to the reverse gear position, and the presence of a 6th gear. Still was searching for a good setup of seat height and steering adjustments. Growing up from the Chevy, I had to get used to the 32 extra horses and 60 nm of extra torque. The turbo lag was also something to get used to, but once you cross 2k rpm, the pull was linear and strong.
From my driving, learned that there are two ways to drive the car.
1) Inside city and bad roads: change gears around 2000 rpm, keep the car around 1500-2000 rpm, just to crawl around and move around and enjoy the torque pulling the car slowly in low rpms.
2) Highways & open roads: Change gears around 2500 rpm, keep the engine above rpm and enjoy the turbo boost.
First Service:
The first service came within 3 weeks of delivery, at 1250 km.
Since I had a popular Hyundai service center right in front of my home, gave the car to them for first Service. Called them up ahead to check if I need to book a service, but got a polite reply that there is no need to do that, and told me that they open at 9am and asked me to reach there by 9am the next day. Next morning, upon reaching there by 9 am, an executive was assigned to me to receive my car. He was friendly and asked when I took delivery, checked the odo and car body for any scratches. He mentioned that it might be their first service for an elite i20. I was told that the car would be ready by 2pm, and can pick it up any time before 6 pm.
Issues Mentioned:
1) Bumpy ride + too much noise from tires: Stock pressure in the tires was 45PSI+, reduced them to 34, and the sounds were gone and ride was much better.
2) Boot lid malfunctioning: Confused me telling that it could be confusion in the way I lock the car and use the remote key. Decided to check it on my own, but found later that the lock release was not functioning.
After the service, I took delivery of the car around 6 pm, it was dark and I headed straight home and parked the car, but did not check the car much. Next morning, wife was asking me whether I scratched the car somewhere on my way back from the service center. I was shocked and on checking the car, saw that the car had white colored scratches on all four doors, and few on the bonnet. Apparently, the service center, while washing the car, scrubbed on the body with all the mud that was there, and the lower part of my doors looked almost white because of the scratches. (I was sure because I never washed the car with a sponge or cloth before that, just used to wash of the dirt with water from hose)
Took the car back the next morning. Felt a bit irritated as well as sad to look at the car with all the small scratches. Was in no mood to shout at anyone, so told them if the scratches don’t go away, they will have to repaint. But a bit of some white 3M product and a through polish solved the issue, and the scratches were gone. The service manager apologized for the incident, and mentioned that the scratches are on the clear coat, it may be a bit delicate, and advised me to get some protective coating. A few deep scratches did re appear on the next wash, but didn’t wanted to go back to the service center and start arguing with them, as I was planning to get a full body coat from 3M. Was not much pleased with the experience, but should mention that the service center executives were very attentive and helpful.
After few weeks, again, had to take the car back to the service center to get the boot lid checked. They confirmed that the electric release latch was not working, and ordered for a replacement part. A week later, got a call back from the service center, asking me to get the car back for replacing the boot release latch. It was replaced under warranty. The part was replaced in an hour and the car was given back. After that the release switch is working fine. After a week, did a short trip to Kumli and Cumbum on a weekend through KK road. (One of the twistiest roads in Kerala) My dad was right; the steering had a very strong pull back to the center. The car was pulling nicely with five people on board.
Since the trip meter had no information about mileage, I was depending on the fuel low light to check my mileage. Tried multiple times from one low fuel warning to the next low fuel warning. Know that this may not be accurate. Inside city, I was getting around 15 kmpl and on the highways; the maximum I got was around 19.5 km. The highway run was with 5 people and luggage onboard, and climate control at 22 deg. I believe that the average mileage should be somewhere around 18kmpl.
Received my RC from RTO few weeks back and noticed a strange thing on the records. The car is classified as a 5 door Sedan, and not a hatchback. Not sure if the RTO made a mistake or not, but better than having a notch back classification.
Thing I felt nice about:
1) Looks stunning, from front, rear and sides and upmarket feel all inside.
2) Class leading 16" diamond cut alloys, and 195mm wide tires - Could not ask for more.
3) Spacious and feature rich interior.
4) Reverse parking sensor + adaptive camera is a great boon.
5) Torquey and powerful engine wit decent mileage.
6) Additional 6th gear for extra mileage as well as highway cruise.
7) Lots of small things which make u feel nice and put a smile on your face every time,like the piano finish around switches on the door and audio unit, leather wrapped steering, rubber padding under the dashboard, boot light, hooks on carpet to hold floor mats in place, slots to hold the rear seat belts when not in use, the sun glass holder, cooled glove box, a small slot that exactly fits most cell phones near the aux & USB ports.
The not so nice things:
1) Not so great service experience. (Own personal experience only, I Should try other service centers in Cochin)
2) Boot lid electric release was not working after two weeks, though got the part replaced under warranty, had to live with a new car with no boot for around four weeks.
3) Though the display has trip time, average speed, two trip meters, outside temp, it does not have a distance to empty or mileage indicator.
4) Reverse lamp only on right side, so at night left side of car will be almost dark, even in the reverse camera display.
5) Still waiting for the offered mud flaps to come, for now the big wheels are spraying mud everywhere on the body.
6) Clear coat in paint is very delicate, can scratch very easily, a light touch with finger nail is enough, planning to get a 3m body coat soon.
7) Keyless entry request button only on driver side door, irritating when you walk upto the car from the Left side.
Though the keyword for elite i20 is uncompormise, should mention that I did compromise on the following :
1) No keyless entry request sensor on LHS side.
2) No mileage indicator.
3) No auto locking doors, misses this badly.
4) Spare wheel is not an alloy wheel.
5) Would have liked the rain sensing wipers from the previous model.
6) Reverse lights on both sides would have added more safety and visibility at night.
7) A power outlet on the rear AC vent area could have been nicer, think the Xcent has this?
8) Though not a great fan of DRL’s, not sure why it was missed as the outgoing model had it.
Final Words:
The long list of things I feel not so good does not mean that I am any less happy with the car. Every time I walk upto the car, I enjoy the curves and the pose. Every time I walk away from the car, I do look back more than once, just to see the beauty. Every time I put my hands on the steering and gear knob, it puts a smile on my face. And every time, I overtake a car on the road, I do have a grin on my face. I am extremely happy with the choice I made, and feel lucky that I could achieve the same. Looking forward to more happy miles and hopefully a trouble free ownership.
P.S : Though I have been reading reviews and ownership threads in this forum for the last 4 years, this is my first post, still learning to attach pictures. Request everyone to look over any mistakes or anything felt offensive.
Last edited by moralfibre : 30th October 2014 at 08:42.
Reason: Correcting typo.
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28th October 2014, 22:53
(24)
Thanks
Car looks stunning in that colour. Test drove the same car a week back and oh my the car sure does fly after 2000 RPM ! So much luxury and comfort for a premium hatchback ! I have the same car but the pre facelift version. 
Helps me a lot ! Gives you a better view of the road when reverse camera is engaged. Just my opinion. 
Even I feel the DRL's should've been there. Nevertheless you can go for an aftermarket one, I'd say the Helps Flex2 DRL's. They are awesome and would compliment your already great-looking car.
