Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/)

-   -   My Red Hyundai Xcent SX(O) Automatic (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/163487-my-red-hyundai-xcent-sx-o-automatic.html)

It has just been a little over a fortnight and 300kms on ODO, since I rode home with my New Hyundai Xcent SX(O) AT from the Residency Road branch of Advaith Hyundai. It makes me proud to say that I am still as excited as I was on the day of taking the delivery of my vehicle. No day goes by without taking out the vehicle on at least a short drive around my apartment. :D

And here I am, trying my best to put down in words, My Views on the Vehicle and the experiences with it so far. What I like and what I don’t like.

The thought process had started when I was married to the love of my life 2 years ago. But, it did not become serious thinking until about 6 months ago, when we felt the need. We are a family of 5 and already own a Two Wheeler (Bajaj Discover 125cc) and a Four Wheeler (Maruti Suzuki WagonR LXi Duo). Ideally, these vehicles have been sufficient to cater to the whole family at most times. However, there were times when one of the members is already out; the others would have to wait until his\her return, more so during the rainy season (which is like the whole year in Bangalore). So, Missus initiated the topic and we hit the road to showrooms. We decided to go with the sub-4 meter sedans and the Automatic version for its comfort.

Considerations:

1. Maruti Suzuki Dzire
2. Honda Amaze
3. Toyota Etios
4. Tata Zest
5. Hyundai Xcent

Decision Making:

1. Maruti Suzuki Dzire: This definitely was the most trusted brand on Indian Roads. Selling in the range of 17000 units a month, the distant second was hardly selling at 5000 units a month. However, we felt that it lacked features. Also, seeing the car being used as a Taxi all over the country was what made it not so-enticing for my Better Half.

2. Honda Amaze: Personally, this was my choice before I went to Test Drive the Hyundai Xcent. A great package and a comparatively powerful engine as well. The only thing that made us avoid it was lack of a few features for the high price it came for.

3. Toyota Etios: No Automatic option available. I did not even bother to go to the showroom for the test drive. Scratched off the list at home. But, this is definitely a good car in my opinion.

4. Tata Zest: This car was making big news around the time I started looking for cars. I registered for the Test Drive on its launch day. The Diesel AMT variant was tempting. Received a call from Tata Call Center and they took down my details. But alas, that was it. No follow-ups. No proper response even when I called their showrooms. Although disappointed, I dropped in at one of their showrooms. It was a great car, feature-rich, fuel efficient, etc. I somehow did not like the interior build quality. Also, the showroom personnel’s interaction was a big letdown for me. As a customer, I would like to be explained the car and its features. Had I taken my family along, I would have been left embarrassed. Scratched!

5. Hyundai Xcent: First Test Drive – Xcent AT was not available at any of the showrooms. I had to settle with the manual for the TD. Mighty Impressed I was. Advaith had the Grand i10 AT available with them for TD on which the Xcent is based. I tried it out. Butter smooth! Sales team at Hyundai does a great job in taking care of its customers. From the time we shook hands when entering the showroom, till we bid goodbye, we were accompanied and explained all details of the car. Brought my family along with my in-laws at the next TD and I was glad that they all liked it from the word GO. Hyundai ticked most of the boxes and the decision was made. Booked!

Booking & Delivery

Booking Amount of INR 5000 was paid. We were promised delivery in 2 weeks. Twist-in-the-tale. I was asked to travel to the US by my company immediately on a short duration. Right – So, I made calls asking them to postpone delivery of my vehicle to April when I was going to be back. Finally, I landed back on our Motherland while the sun was setting bidding goodbye to 11th April. I had to visit the showroom the next morning to complete financial formalities. The sales team had been informed two weeks before to get the vehicle ready and I was promised delivery in 3 days when I completed the formalities. I could even go to their stockyard to perform an initial inspection of the vehicle. My god-fearing family found out from the temple priest on the auspicious date which was communicated to the showroom as well.

Then came the day we were waiting for. We went to the showroom at around 11 AM on Akshaya Tritiya. We were greeted with a smile as always and were seated. Lots of crowd in the showroom and lots of cars that were awaiting to be taken out for their first drive. A walk around the showroom brought me to the Delivery Schedule Board. It listed 39 Deliveries for the Day!!! This made me anticipate a delay in completing the formalities. To my surprise, it all went smoothly and all formalities were done one after another without much waiting to do. We were explained all the technicalities of the car, its handling, its under-the-hood prowess, maintenance schedule, service centers and their contacts, etc. The Sales person then handed over the relevant papers and explained what-is-what. Thanks to the Team BHP’s PDI Checklist, we knew what we needed. After the customary celebrations at the showroom, it was time to drive my Red Beauty home. :Cheering:

About the Car

Car: 1.2 Kappa Dual VTVT 4-speed Automatic
Variant: SX(O)

83 BHP Power
11.6 kg.m Torque
4 Gear Automatic Transmission
43 Litre Fuel Tank Capacity
175/60 R15 Alloy wheel

Exteriors - The Design & look in itself is IMHO sedate. Uniform and without much contouring done. The Waistline Moulding is a good add without which the car would have most likely looked duller. I am happy with the use of Chrome on the Door Handles, Front and the Rear. I also like the look of the wraparound Tail lamps which brings in the uniformity factor in it. I think that the Radio antenna could have been smaller or concealed. Loved the design of the Diamond Cut Alloy wheels that come with the SX(O) variant. Ground clearance is better than my WagonR which I found out at a few high speed breakers.

Interiors - Interiors on the Hyundai Xcent is top notch and I think it matches with those available in the next higher segment. Quality of plastics used is very impressive. I did not see anything which may seem out of place. Finishing has been taken care quite excellently. More points to Hyundai for the features they decided to add in this vehicle. Its a long list and some of them are - Immobilizer, Rear Defogger, ECM with Parking Camera Display, Climate Control, Keyless Entry, ABS with EBD, Dual Front Airbags, Steering Mounted Controls for Audio and Bluetooth Telephony, Electric ORVMs, Push Button Start\Stop, Rear AC Vents, etc. Phew!

Space & Comfort - I have to tell you, contrary to what some reviews on TV said, seating 5 people in this car was not a problem at all. I still have not taken the back seat since I do all the driving, but my family tells me that they were quite comfortable with three of them seated behind. Well, I do have to make this confession, that no one in my family is taller than 5' 10". Legroom and the under thigh support is quite on par for their needs. This may have been an advantage of sorts. Front seats have ideal support for the thighs and one can use the Seat Height adjustment knob and the Steering wheel adjustment to get to his\her optimum driving position. Boot Space is a comfortable 407 litres which will swallow up all your holiday luggage.

Overall NVH Levels - Having driven a Maruti Suzuki WagonR for the past 10 years, this particular feature was the most impressive for me. With the windows rolled up, one would hardly hear any noise from outside. The usual Traffic Jam incessant honking is now dim and non-irritating to the ears. I can now have peaceful conversations and listen to music better than before. When you crank up the Engine, you can hear a mild screech and then silence. Engine noise doesn't creep into the cabin even when cruising at 80kmph - which is the top speed I have done so far.

Multi Information Display - Frankly, this was a disappointment for me. Apart from the Digital Clock and Tripmeter, I expected Hyundai to include Fuel Efficiency and Distance to Empty indicators. I am not sure why and when I will need the Average Speed and Engine Running time. However, MID has gear indicator when you opt to change manually. You can also use it to set the ECO mode when needed - to ensure optimum fuel usage.

Automatic Transmission - Apart from the convenience and the comfort that this AT offers, I would say that the Pick up is sluggish. However, thats not a concern for me since my usage will mainly be in the City than on highways. I can feel a mild and gentle push when the AT switches to a higher gear when I floor the accelerator. This may go unnoticeable to the passengers though. It has its shortcomings, but I have no real concern for those since it suits very well to my sedate driving.

Engine - Its a 1.2 Litre Engine. My WagonR itself is a 1.1 Litre Engine. So a 100cc difference in terms of displacement. Probably around 15 BHP more power as well. I haven't revved it up until now. I want to keep it that way until the first service is done. However, what scores on this front is its Noise level. Its quite! Something that Hyundai has done a great job of. More on this, I will detail in follow up posts after the first service.

Fuel Efficiency - I have just driven it for about 300 kms now. Its just been in the City so far. Bumper to Bumper traffic. AC was always ON. Approximately, a little over 20 litres of petrol used. I can say that the FE is hovering at around 12 - 13.5 kmpl. I had expected the same from earlier Ownership reports by Rajain.

Steering & Handling - Steering is first of all equipped with mounted controls which makes the horn a hard reach. I have had times when I have changed music tracks trying to sound the horn. However, it holds well on speeds at 80kmph. Handling is great and the car carries itself without much bother. It has a good turning radius as well. Brakes are quite sharp though, probably because it is a new car.

Driving Experience

Crank up the Engine and the first thing you notice is that you can hardly hear the Engine noise. There are alerting beeps that remind you to wear the seat belts, which continue to beep for about 10 seconds. Its a great thing because I still have relatives from the country region who do not have the habit of using seat belt! My insistence of using a seat belt, more often than not, falls on deaf ears. The instrument console lights up bright and blue. It dims down a little when you switch on the fog lamps and\or headlights. The ECM display immediately dims out the bright light coming from the rear windshield. When inside the cabin, noise gets filtered out, so-much-so that, I had the impression that the Xcent's Horn was too meek for anybody to notice - which it is not.

Driving is as simple has pressing the Break Pedal and shifting the gear to 'D'. There is that initial lag from the point you start moving till speeds of about 15kmph. While in ECO mode, It takes its time to kick in that power and is underwhelming. Acceleration is relatively slower and this is the case even when you floor the pedal. When the ECO mode is switched OFF, there is a slight bit of enthusiasm in its pick up. However, it is not enthusiastic enough to call it a SPORTS mode. I feel that the engine hasn't been tested enough so far by me. I would love to take it on the NICE Ring Road for a drag. It is a breeze to drive this AT in the city limits. I have had zero stress driving this beauty around in the Silk Board-Jaydeva Flyover-like traffic. Add to that, the excellent suspension nullifies the effect of small potholes to a mild thud and takes on the big ones pretty confidently and doesn't throw passengers around in the cabin. For a seasoned driver,

Highway is where I have had the best time with Xcent AT. You see an open road, you gotta floor that pedal. The fact that it takes a second longer to respond is the only downside of the drive. Be cautious while performing the overtaking maneuvers for long vehicles, this is where you will have to count in that extra second. However, the driving in itself is fun. Hold on to that accelerator and in no time you are cruising at 100kmph without even realizing it. This is mainly due to the fact that even at speeds of 100kmph, there is hardly any noise creeping into the cabin. It makes it so easy to enjoy listening to music and having those fun conversations with Friends and Family. When on a steady pedal, the engine revs between 1500rpm - 2000rpm. When accelerating, it quickly touches that 3000rpm mark. I would have to add here that, I was able to take 5 people (three full grown in the rear seat) with no effect on the vehicle's performance. What more, the adults were so very comfortable in the rear seats and one of them took a short nap while on the drive!

PS: You may want to turn that Speed Dependent Auto Volume Adjustment to OFF or LOW. At times, it seems to get way too loud for my liking - unless you want to wake up your co-passengers from their nap.

In the first two weeks of my driving, I have so far achieved the Fuel Efficiency of 12.5 - 13.5 kmpl in the City. This is well above my expectations. I haven't been on long Highway drives yet. So I hope to provide an update on Highway FE in the next few weeks.


The Likes:

1. Interiors – Plush and Posh is how I would like to put it.
2. Features – Climate Control, Keyless Entry, Parking Camera, Rear AC, Electric Folding OVRMs, ECM, ABS with EBD to name a few.
3. NVH Levels – So silent that at times I wonder if the Engine is running or not?!
4. Engine – Smooth to drive. Free from fuss. It suits my style of driving.
5. Comfort – Spacious. Family had no problems sitting (dozing) in the Rear.
6. Service – Hyundai’s service is, as known, among the best in the country.

The Dislikes:

1. Non-Enthusiastic – Although, I am a calm driver, I would have liked a Sport feature in the AT for overtaking on highways.
2. Rear AC – Takes longer to cool and not very effective.
3. Music System – Not the Best. One might want to upgrade.
4. Non-Alloy Spare wheel – This is the most disappointing of the lot. Wonder why Hyundai chose to go for steel rimmed spare on an otherwise well thought of car.
5. Extended Warranty - Unfortunately, the AT comes with only 2 years \ 40000 kms standard warranty and No Extended Warranty has been offered so far with any of their Automatics.

On-Road Price Details

Cost of the Car: INR 772,624
Road Tax: INR 120,068
Insurance: INR 28,741
Handling Chgs: INR 8,000
Std Accessories: INR 1,000
Discount: INR 6,000
0% Ad On Price: INR 3,299

Total: 927,732



Signing off with Pictures (Apologies for the Low Quality in some of the Pictures)

Thread moved from Assembly Line to Initial Ownerships section. Thanks for sharing!

It's nice to see the increased adoption of AT vehicles as old misconceptions about FE, driving control etc. are laid to rest. Good on Hyundai for offering an SX(O) trim on the Xcent which gives it a straight advantage over segment leader Dzire which is only offered in Vxi trim without airbags and ABS. Congratulations on your red beauty and wishing you many million miles!

Congratulations Man for your new purchase! Are they OE fabric seats? I guess the same thing in Elite i20 as well.

Congratulations on your Xcent AT vincyf1. The diamond cut wheels look really nice in this shade of the car. And I must say, a nice choice of color too! And you made a wise decision in going for this feature-laden car rather than the Dzire Vxi AT which looks bland in front of this. Wish you lots and lots of happy miles in your new car. The fact that there is no extended warranty option available for AT may be a huge letdown for prospective buyers IMO.

Even I had the "there is no replacement for displacement" thinking until Ford came up with the 1.0 EcoBoost engine!

Can you elaborate more on the effectiveness of the rear A/c and the effectiveness of its direction control?

Congratulations vincyf1! Your ride in red looks stunning. I wish you millions of miles, smiles and a trouble-free ownership. By the way, the rear AC vent, is it just a blower which collects air from dashboard vents or is it connected to the airconditoner?

Once again Congratulations :) Very nice write-up.
Regarding Eco mode - my understanding on reading the manual is that it's always ON. The MID control is just for the indicator to turn on or off - means if you set it to Off, only the indicator won't come on to tell you that the car is running in Eco mode.

I am having a challenge with braking period - my RPM is Always between 1500-2000 whatever speed I am at (0-60) and Eco mode is on 90% of the time. I believe the recommendation during braking period is to drive at different rpms but only once when I was able to touch 80 it jumped to 3000 rpm and swiftly settled back to 2000 with eco mode on! Ofcourse I have only driven 100 kms so far but in 1 week this is my biggest challenge!! (apart from trying to operate ACC - i always end up manually controlling the AC).

Did you do the 3M underbody coating? Where did you do your seat covers? I haven't decided whether to leave the original or go and get art leather seat covers.

Anyways, your Red color car looks dashing and it matches well with your shirt :)

Thanks for sharing your initial ownership experience.

Thanks so much!

Hyundai Xcent also had an AT option in the Mid variant S(O). Unfortunately, they have retired that in March this year. I feel that people would rather opt for the Top of the range AT rather than go for the lower variant.

Moreover, Hyundai ATs are a pleasure to drive. Indian Roads are known for their speed breakers \ potholes \ pedestrians crossing wherever they like - AT will reduce that stress and make driving pleasurable.

Thanks Buddy! These seat covers (Synthetic) are actually provided by our Dealership Advaith Hyundai. We had a contact who knew somebody from Advaith. Thanks to him we got this for free! :)

Thanks Buddy! Diamond Cut Wheels are my favorite as well. It makes a great deal of difference to the car's look if you pit them against the regular alloy wheels.

Well, the Rear AC isn't as effective as I had liked it to be. But, it does the job. Takes a tad longer to cool than at the front. However, Its a great addition for summers where those seated in the rear don't have to wait longer. The vents themselves are quite small and have restricted directional control. I haven't experienced much of the rear seat to detail on this yet.

Thank You for the wishes! I feel its just a vent with air coming from the dashboard vents. You will feel the difference in the blower speed from the front ones.

Thanks so much for your comments. I haven't had the time to go through the entire manual yet. If ECO mode was just an indicator, then I don't see the value add here. :) I have the same concern using the ACC. Haven't used much of the Auto yet. Tend to use it manually most of the times. Hope to get to start using it in the future.

I am thinking of getting the Underbody coating done after the first service from the 3M in HSR Layout. Seat Covers were provided for free by Advaith after quite a bit of insistence.

Hearty congratulations on your new car purchase. Wish you many happy and satisfying moments with the car.

I read that there is no extended warrantee on the AT. So, I will suggest you to keep aside some saving (say Rs. 1000 per month) to create a fund for possible AT maintenance cost in future. I have read about the relatively high maintenance costs for the AT on this forum.

Non alloy spare wheel is really a letdown. But you can search for an alloywheel on quickr or olx. I could find one for my BIL's i20.

Do the window glasses / windshield turn darker when you drive in the sun? I am asking this because I did not see this feature mentioned in any brochures of i20 but found it on my BIL;s i20.

Congratulations on the car vincyf1! Not a big compact sedan guy myself, but Hyundai has done a great job of offering a well equipped package. That red colour with those wheels look pretty slick too. Your positive sales experience shows that Hyundai is on the right path and isn't letting its rank #2 position in India get to its head.

When will Tata learn that there's more to making a sale than just stuffing a car with features?? Sales/ A.S.S continue to define their baggage and yet we see such uninterested behavior. Very sad.

That's a really great figure to manage in city, especially considering this is an auto. A little sluggishness from the gearbox is okay, when you consider the fact that performance is not a strong suit of this segment anyway.

Dzire AT comes only in one variant and it comes with ABS and EBD by default.

Pradeep

It is not correct to say that there are no extended warranties on the AT. The DZire AT, for example, has a standard warranty of one year and an extended warranty for 3 years (total 4 years) that includes the automatic transmission.

Hi Vincyf1

Many congratulations to you on the car, the color and the experience of owning one.

Looks like this particular color is much in demand and certainly looks great.

I like your balanced review.

These are just initial days and soon the engine will settle down. I am sure you will be taking it around long distances very soon.

Keep up the good work and keep this thread updated. Certainly more pictures are needed.

Cheers.

Extended warranty is still not offered for Xcent AT (all other variants of Xcent have extended warranty).

Nicely written review. Congratulations and wish you many happy miles with the car:).

We used to own a first gen i20 Asta(2009 model) which used to, at that point of time, come with a spare alloy wheel. I used to curse other car manufactures for not providing a spare alloy wheel. Apart from the cost cutting reason, I think there is a practical reason behind it and I respect that decision of the car manufacturers of not providing a spare alloy wheel.

These days cars come with tubeless tyres, chances for the tyres going completely flat are extremely rare(unless there is a tear). Repairing a puncture in a tubeless tyre is easy as well, wherein you do not have to dismount the tyre from the rim. Therefore you may never get to use the spare alloy wheel.

In our 5+years of ownership of the i20, that spare alloy wheel was used only once( that too for only around 5 kms). The tyre pressure in one of the mounted alloy wheels became too low to be driven around. So I forced to use the spare alloy wheel. Drove to the nearest puncture repair workshop, repaired the punctured tyre and mounted it again. As a result, at the time of the i20's sale, the spare wheel and the its alloy rim was almost brand new and was a waste really.

Thanks Rahul. The Windshield and the window glasses do not turn dark in sun. They remain the same. I think the i20 might have been added with the sunfilm to keep the car cooler.

Thank You Tushar! Hyundai is really taking on Maruti and upping the ante towards reaching the top. They seem to have fairly understood Indian Market by now.

Thanks so much Rajain. I shall soon plan a long distance trip and update the performance of the vehicle here with pictures ofcourse. :)

Thanks for your wishes and that Suggestion skanchan95. You are right. More often than not, we may not even use the spare wheel. Probably would get to use it when I go for the periodic wheel rotation (probably once every 5000kms).

Many congratulations. While I did read your update on my thread but the last few weeks have been rather hectic. So my apologies for a late best wishes.

I like the compro. I had even bechmarked a segment higher. There are so many features in the Xcent that a segment higher was easy...it is total value for money.

It does make for a complete package. Well rounded, fine engine, great features and lovely overall driving experience.

I like the way you have summed up the +ves and -ves.

All in all its a great car with great value and a perfectly modern compact sedan.

Thanks for writing the review. Keep up the updates.

Cheers

Rajain