[sawnilrules]

My "Pocket Rocket" replaced by new, 2016 updated Hyundai Grand i10 Asta (O) AT.

Why replace the car

The first car that I owned in circa 2007 was the humble Maruti-Suzuki Estilo Vxi, which I had traded in against the Honda City V AT (O) in 2012. That was also the year, I got married. Ever since then, I was pushing my better half to learn driving. Initially she resisted, but later on agreed. Finally by 2014 I could persuade her to join a driving school and thus wifey starts learning to drive the car. To ensure the momentum is on even after the driving school sessions are over; she would need a car to keep practicing. This gave birth to an idea of adding one more car to the garage.

However, as she needed something to practice, buying a new car didn’t make sense, and AT being a top priority and compact being second, we ended up buying a well maintained 2009 manufactured Hyundai i10, Sportz AT in October of 2014. The only downsider was this car was no ABS & Airbags, however, considering the limited use of the car then, we picked it up.
Fast forward 2016, better half starts working once again, and the i10 which initially was only used for local errands around, started getting used for to and fro office trips, which was almost 28 km both ways. Additionally, the car was also used to ferry my 2 yr. son around in the area for any shopping outings or doctor outings. Thus buying a car with safety features became of paramount importance. Plus wifey had become a skilled driver over last 2 years of driving, and hence I didn’t look at that as an issue.

Thus a search for new car, in hatch back segment, but with AT began. And that search ended on Grand i10 Asta (O) AT.

PS- The Grand i10 Asta was always on my radar, but somehow due to lack of ABS & Airbags in AT kept me away from it for long.

Other cars considered

Safety over anything else, with this thought process; our search for the new hatch began. Options considered were

• Honda Jazz
• Ford Figo
• VW Polo

* Images sourced of Jazz, Polo & Figo through Google Images.

Honda Jazz V- AT



Being a Honda customer for almost a decade now and owning various iterations of City, and Jazz being the relatively new Kid on the block, decided to check out the Jazz first. Went to the Solitaire Honda to check out the car, being an existing customer, services rendered were good, The entire car was explained in details by the executive, and he promptly arranged for a Test Drive too.

You get into Jazz, what amazes you is the sheer amount of space the car has. But hey, that was not my requirement. The important tick box item was safety features, and the V AT variant did come with the airbags and ABS with EBD. Plus, the car came with most of the gizmos that modern car has to offer, touch screen audio system, climate control AC, auto folding ORVM’s, rear parking camera, etc. Hmm, good to have these things in today’s era I thought. One sore point in the entire interiors of the car was the Dummy Button at the start-stop slot. Err… Common Honda, you can’t be charging 10 lacs to a customer and sell him Dummy Slots. How much effort would it need to re do a dash completely? Nevertheless, while we were checking the car, the TD car was ready for the demo and off we went for a ride.

What I liked about the sales guy here was that, he was not in a hurry to finish off the test drive. He kept insisting for a longer drive so that we could feel the dynamics of the car better. But having driven the CVT on the current Generation City, I knew exactly what to expect from the gearbox. Alas, I wasn’t impressed with the way the car performed. Probably, that can be attributed to the smaller engine; the rubber band effect was far more evident as compared to the City. Though this one also has paddle shifters, but I didn’t thought it made any larger sense.

After a rather disappointing performance in TD, we came back in the showroom to discuss the financials. The all-inclusive price on road Mumbai was working out to be INR 9.81 lacs (with extended warranty and some cash discounts thrown in)

Collected the broucher, finance scheme and price list and left the showroom by telling the executive that I am scouting for other options to; we will get back to you.

Couple of weeks passed by, got busy in work and one weekend suddenly, wifey reminds me about the new car. So the subsequent weekend, I decided to restart scouting for cars. The next car I thought of checking was the new Ford Figo. Called up the SC Ford guys to check whether they had the car for TD of Figo DCT. We fixed the time of Saturday 2 PM, and the SA would come along with the finance scheme and an evaluator to valuate my i10

Ford Figo Titanium DCT



The Figo is the newest kid on the block, and by the looks of it, it’s a killer machine, and especially the Aston Martin inspired front grill is drool-worthy. Initially the SA promised to get the car by 2:00 in the afternoon, but later on the day of TD came up with reasons of how the car has gone for servicing and therefore can I get the Figo Aspire AT for TD, his reasoning, both cars being the same, will have absolutely same feeling when you drive and has exactly the same interiors, barring the color. Though reluctant at the start of it, nevertheless I agreed. Few mins later, he again calls us saying that the Figo will be with him by 3:00, is it ok if we meet at 4:00 at my place. We agreed, and thus at 4:00 he was at my place with the car, finance scheme and an evaluator. Impressed by the timelines he kept.

The Figo, in flesh looks far better than what it looks in pictures. What I particularly liked about the car was that it is well proportioned from all the angles. Apart from the Aston Martin inspired grill which looks fab, it looks particularly good from the rear 3/4th quarter.

Mind you, this was the Titanium variant and not the Titanium Plus variant which comes with an integrated Screen in the center console. Sit inside the car, everything though put together well, suddenly starts feeling claustrophobic, (probably due to tons on buttons on the center console or due to their arrangement).

Never mind, fire up the car, and she settles for a smooth clatter under her hood with those 100 odd horses firing away. All this mated to a 6 speed Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT), which is next best in business after the DSG from VW, everything else becomes immaterial and irrelevant. What stays with you are the way the car handles and the way engine and gear box complement each other. Only one word to describe it WOW!!! While driving the car I realized the foot well felt far too cramped, probably can be attributed to a larger brake pedal or religiously small foot well as a whole. On top of it, the car did not have the dead pedal to rest the left leg.

Took the car for the spin, explored the features the car had on offer, discussed the financials, and got the quote for the car. The quote offered to me for the i10 was INR 2.45 Lacs, and the OTR for Figo worked out at INR 8.80 Lacs (with extended warranty), which was a whole INR 1 lac cheaper than the Jazz and almost INR 1.50 lacs that the Polo.

Promised him to visit the showroom with wifey, so that she could also TD the car before we finalize anything, and if she likes the car, would book it the same time.

VW Polo GT TSI- DSG



I was not too keen on test driving the Polo, one, I knew it was a whole lot quicker and more involving to drive then the Figo and Two, If I would drive it, wouldn’t be able to resist myself from booking one. But nevertheless, decided to visit the VW North showroom. Went to the showroom, told the receptionist that I want to check out the Polo. She gladly directed me to the customer lounge and offered a Tea/Coffee and a packaged bottle of water. The showroom exuded premium feel.

After few minutes, a cheery SA walked up to me, introduced himself and we quickly got going with the financials and offers on the car, etc before taking the TD. As the discussions were on, the SA looked more interested in selling the Vento TSI to me as against the Polo. (May be he would earn more incentives there). After telling me twice, the third time I told him sternly, I know what I want to buy, so let’s better get talking about the Polo and not the Vento. He must have got a strong message as later he didn’t utter the word Vento even once during the conversation.

Financials discussed, we go for a TD. The car on TD was the 2016 iteration of the car. Honestly, apart from the Engine, Gearbox, Fit & Finish, nothing else excites in the Polo. The design is old, and it is showing its age. Pit it against the modern rivals such as Elite i20, Jazz or the latest kid on the block the Figo, it starts feeling bland. Few additions to 2016 edition includes auto dimming mirror inside, cornering lamps and updated touch screen audio system and a new chrome grill on the lower air damn skirting on the front bumper.

Cranked the car, and took the car for a rather longish drive. The gearbox performs brilliantly in D as well as the S mode, where in S mode; the car becomes super agile to move forward with a sense of urgency.
Apart from the hard plastics on the dash, the qualities of the materials used all around are top notch and feel German.

Post the Test Drive sat with the SA once again to discuss the offers and discounts which he could pass on. At this point, he called his SM as he was the one authorized to speak on offers.

The OTR for the Polo worked out to around INR 10.31 lacs, without any current offers. So this SM comes to us, with typical I care a damn attitude and the first statement he says, “Sorry sir, there are no offers on the Polo.” So I ask him, then why did even the SA summon you to us? Blatantly yet again he replies, he is new and doesn’t know about offers.

Fine, I said, but what can you offer from the dealership, to which he replies, sorry sir, “Take a Vento, and we can give you Insurance free.” I was like, why the hell are you guys bent on selling Vento to me. Thank You I said, and walked off from the showroom. The SA did give a follow up call few days later, however I told him, I am yet to decide and will update you accordingly.
With three cars test driven, I was evaluating one day as to which of them to pick, to make my life easier, I listed down Pros and Cons of each car, which later on ensured, I became further confused. The Pros and Cons listed were as below

Honda Jazz

Pros:

• Proven Honda I-Vtec engine, runs hassle free and is relatively low on maintenance
• Space, loads of it everywhere, of-course she would have as she sits on the City platform
• Design looks modern with those cuts all around
• ACC, Auto folding mirrors, ABS, EBD with dual airbags
• Paddle Shifter, the only car in the segment to have it
• Reverse Camera with 3 angles, easy to park in those real tight spots

Cons:

• No start-stop button, that’s fine, but a dummy button in its place, not fine.
• Interiors, though modern, but didn’t look and feel premium or built to last
• CVT, boring to drive, and the engine felt under-powered
• AT, not in the top end variant, wonder why.

Ford Figo

Pros:

• Modern Design, definitely a head turner
• The most powerful car in the segment, mated with a brilliant gear-box
• The only car to have ESP along with Dual Airbags and ABS with EBD
• Handles really well, had most of the features that Honda had to offer without rear view camera

Cons:

• Cramped foot-well, wifey particularly didn’t like it when she drove the car
• Worry some after sales of Ford, not too sure on their quality standards
• Ford looked like on a Recall Mission every-time they launched a car, and this time they had a recall for the Figo too.
• DSG was always known for issues, was not sure about the reliability of the DCT
• AT was again not in a top end spec with 6 airbags, a big downer, as then it would have been the only car in the segment to have 6 airbags and an AT, I think Ford missed an opportunity there

VW Polo

Pros:

• The engine with DSG gearbox
• Updated Polo, though looks outdated, but these subtle features are worth a try
• Premium German built quality, one can’t go wrong with.
• Hands down, the best handler in its segment with sharp steering inputs and ability to maintain calm even in the most tricky situations you put the car in
• The only other car apart from Jazz to have a touch screen audio system with mirror link for Apple

Cons:

• Callous attitude of the Sales team, nothing against the car, but if the buying experience is not good, then post buying experience will definitely be worry-some.
• Overall the car feels outdated in terms of its design philosophy and approach.

So what you do when you are confused, you either ask your wife or your friends. When I asked Wifey, she gave a typical wife type reply, “See whatever you like”, But Figo was cramped”. This is basically, wives ways of saying hope you don’t buy the Figo. And then out goes my thought of finalizing the Figo. That left me with Jazz and Polo, two extremes as Cheese and Chalk.

To help me solve the confusion, I called up a petrol head friend of mine from childhood for advice. After an hour long discussion, instead of finalizing on the car, we added the third contender to the list, the Hyundai Grand i10 Asta AT. I was not keen on buying the Grand i10, because it lacked safety features, which were important to me. That was the primary reason of selling the i10. But what the heck he said, why not simply check out the car, and as the car is 100% going to be used in City, why would I need more power. Secondly, the car was going to be driven by wifey, so car with smaller proportions would help her negotiate better in bumper to bumper traffic or even when parking in tight spots.

I agreed to his pointers and called up Sai Auto Hyundai, a Hyundai dealership for Grand i10 AT. The receptionist transferred my call to a SA, I explained her that I am looking to buy the Grand i10 Asta AT, to which she said, sir the Asta AT is discontinued and now the AT is available in the top end spec i.e. Asta (O) AT. On further enquiry, she revealed that now the AT comes with Airbags, ABS with EBD and the Hyundai famed Diamond Cut Alloys. I said, will come down to meet you to discuss this further, took her name and number and on 1st week of April on a Saturday, along with this friend of mine, went to the showroom to discuss the car further.

Hyundai Grand i10 Asta (O) AT

Went to the showroom on a Saturday morning, was greeted by the SA, whom I had spoken on the phone. She explained the additional features to me in the Asta (O) AT, viz a viz the Asta variant. Unfortunately they did not have the AT car for TD nor for display, however they had an Asta (O) Manual car on display. Sat in the car, coming from the i10 experience, I was completed blown away with the way Hyundai had screwed this car together. The fit and finish were on par with the Japanese counterpart. The less we talk about the features, the better. Hyundai was always known for packing their wares to the brim with features. And i10 Grand doesn’t disappoint on this front. What I particularly liked in the Grand was their attention to detail for every small thing in the car. For example, when you sit in the Honda Brio, from the word go, cost cutting becomes overtly evident, but you sit in the Grand, it feels from one segment above. Cooled glove box, start stop button, key less entry on both the front doors, request sensor on the boot, programmed rear view mirrors, etc, you name it and the car has that feature.


The only downsider in this fantastic package was 4 speed AT (with trip tonic) and dismissal MID with some useless information on command. Since no TD car was available, I asked the SA to quickly work the finance quote and also arrange for an evaluator to evaluate my i10. She gave me a standard finance scheme as she said; she would add discounts at a later stage when the car gets evaluated. We thanked her and left the showroom. As committed, next day the evaluator came to check my i10 & by evening, he gave me the quote of INR 2.10 Lacs for the car, added to that would be INR 30000/- for Exchange Bonus, so total value including exchange bonus would be INR 2.40 lacs. I had a figure of INR 2.50 lacs for the car, so I casually checked with my SA, if there is an opportunity to give better value for my car. She spoke to the pre-owned cars manager and immediately gave me additional 15000 for the old car. So now the value became INR 2.25 lacs plus INR 30000/- exchange bonus which totaled to INR 2.55 lacs. In addition to that, she gave extra cash discount of INR 25000/- on the new car, plus additionally INR 12000/- worth accessories free. Accessories promised were, matting, mud-flaps, car cover, Teflon coat & front center armrest. If I did the quick math, the new car was costing me INR 5.30 lacs on road.


OTR Grand 8,10,000
Old Car Value 2,25,000
Exchange Bonus 30,000
Add Discount 25,000
Balance 5,30,000

Second quick math revealed, that the depreciation cost of my i10 over the period of two years that I used it, if I add all discounts to old car came to INR 30000/- (3,10,000-2,80,000), which was not bad at all.

So now Jazz suddenly looking far more expensive for what it offered, and Polo never on my radar, Grand i10 became an obvious choice.

[sawnilrules]

On 17th April 2016, which also happens to be the 4th birthday of my Poetry in Motion, my City, we decided to book the car. I called up the SA, and told her that we would be booking the car today and would it be feasible for her to come down to the showroom as it was a Sunday. She gladly agreed and we fixed the time for 4 pm in the evening. As planned we met her at the showroom. Wifey wanted to see the car one final time before booking, my SA, Miss. Vidya Sali, obliged and showed her the car inside out. We sat down to do the booking formalities. The overall cost of the car is as follows


Ex Showroom 7,11,078
Insurance 28,299
Registration 65,023
Ex Warranty 5600
Total 8,10,000

Initially, I was to go through financing through SBI, but later on got it financed through Indian Bank, which was servicing my HL. Why and How, about it a bit later. Virtually, I had to pay nothing to book the car, but as a tradition, I booked the car Grand i10 Asta (O) Pure White by paying INR 3000/- which was to be refunded to me later once the loan was processed. There was no waiting period on the car, however as the production status of car was not known, I was told that it may take 3 weeks for the car to land and subsequently a week later once the car lands, I can pick the delivery. As far as giving the old car came, the dealership wanted the car immediately; however I told them that I would hand over the car only when I get the new car in my hands. Then came the angle of the value getting depreciated over a period of 1 month, and we may have to re-look at the car’s value. However I was adamant that I would not hand over the car immediately, and I am ok to cancel the booking and book with another dealer. After some communication up and down in the dealership, finally we came to a consensus to hand over the car once the new car lands in Mumbai. This matter solved, now the impatient wait began for the new car to land.

I expected three weeks of zero communication from the dealer (which is a standard practice). Also, mentally I had processed that the car is three weeks away. Following day being a Monday, week started running by as I got busy with work.

20th April 2016

Wednesday morning, I had some back to back meetings till noon, and as the phone was in silent mode, I did not notice that I had almost 4 missed calls from Vidya. I called her back to understand the issue. When I called her, she sounded far more excited than me and said, “Sir very good news, your car is getting dispatched tomorrow morning from Chennai”. I was like, what; I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I asked her was she sure? She answered in affirmative and said, Hyundai had started the production of this version in the first week of April and the lot they manufactured was white in color. As our booking in their system was 10th car to be sold from all Mumbai dealerships put together, they have allotted the car. She said, she has received the VIN No & Engine No, and she would WhatsApp me the same. I wanted to jump out of excitement in office, but controlled my emotions. We had originally planned to do the financing formalities a week later, however with this development she said, can we finish off the formalities today itself so that we can put the file in processing. I confirmed that I would reach her dealership by 6:30 in the evening with all the required documents.

Next call that I made was to my wife, even she was equally excited, but in the same tone she said, “That means the i10 leaves us early”. That for a moment made me sad. Come what may, we are attached to our cars, the same way as we are attached to our kids. At one end, there was an excitement of welcoming a new member in the family, but at other end, air filled with certain sadness as another member was going to leave for a new home. How I wished at that moment that I earned more.

That evening I met Vidya and handed over all the documents required for loan processing. Financing partner was SBI as it was offering the cheapest rate of interest. After having handed over the documents, impatient wait began for loan approval (as SBI known for being a slow bank) & the car to land at outskirts of Mumbai. The Finance guy at the dealership assures me that he will have the loan approval by Monday 25th April, and I will have to visit the bank branch the subsequent day for agreement signing & other formalities.

On 25th April, I called up the finance executive to check the status, to which he said, that the approval is in process and should come by evening. Come evening, there is no call from the bank or the finance guy. Next day morning, on 26th April, Tuesday, I get a verification call from State Bank Andheri branch to check whether I had applied for the car loan. I reply in affirmative, the person further confirms other financial/Proof of Address details and confirms that the approval would be there by 27th and you can come down to branch on 28th for agreement signing & PDC formalities.

I agreed and accordingly planned my work so that I could leave half day from work on 28th afternoon. The person had also mentioned that I will get an SMS of loan approval a day prior. On 27th I get the SMS stating the file being approved and please visit branch for further formalities.

I call up the branch once I get the SMS and inform the person that I will be visiting the branch on 28th afternoon around 2 PM. As planned, I reach the branch at 2 PM. Meanwhile, in the background, the car landed in Mumbai on 27th itself, and I had informed Vidya, that I will collect the car on Saturday 30th April, as I don’t intend to keep the car in the showroom for display. The number can be procured later as well. She agreed to release the car on no liability to the dealer letter.

So coming back to the bank, 28th I reach the bank, meet the person with whom I was talking on phone. He invites me to his desk, we sit and here on goes an idiotic conversation ever, which ensured that I walked off the branch without taking a loan from them. Let’s call the bank loan officer BO

BO: Welcome to the branch Nilesh Sir

Me: Thank you, so can we get started with the process

BO: Sure, meanwhile as per your Cibil, you had a Personal Loan which you closed in 2012

Me: Yes I am aware; I closed it in March of 2012 something

BO: I would need the closure letter issued by the bank, can you give me the copy

Me: I’m not carrying it now, I should have it at home, and in-case I don’t find it, I can have it sourced from the bank in 2-3 days of time

BO: Ok then we will do the formalities once you submit the letter, as it is your loan is approved, it won’t take time for me to issue a DD to the dealer

Me: Ya so let’s get the formalities done of signing the agreement and PDC’s so that I don’t have to come again

BO: No no sir, it’s a process, we need all documents before signing agreement.

Me: Then why didn’t you tell me when I had called you yesterday, I could have carried it today

BO: Actually, I saw that today.

Me: Ya so that’s your fault, you should have checked things earlier

BO: Sir, what the point in arguing whose fault, as it is no other bank will process your loan so fast, & you want to take the delivery this Saturday, so even if you go to another bank, they won’t hand over the DD in a day. Better you bring the letter tomorrow, and I will have a go ahead to the dealer and you can collect the car.

At this point, I lost it

Me: Keep your loan with you, don’t worry about me collecting the car on Saturday, that I will do anyways,

BO: no problem sir, I am just following the process

I saw wanted to tell him, hell with your processes. But nevertheless

I step out of the bank; call up my branch manager from Indian Bank. Explain him the situation; ask him how soon he can process my car loan. The reply he gives me was extremely surprising. He says, give me the invoice copy mentioning the loan amount, let me know whose name you want the Demand Draft, and in the evening please come and collect the demand draft, I will be in office till 6:30.

I immediately called up my SA, explained her scenario and asked her to immediately fax the invoice copy to the Indian bank branch. She obliged, I reached the branch, emailed the branch manager the financial documents, for records he pulls out the Cibil Report, files them, takes signature on the agreement copy, simultaneously asks the assistant branch manager to prepare the Demand Draft. I Pick the Demand Draft, thank him for support, reach home, collect the pocket rocket and at 6:00 PM in the evening, I am sitting with the SA at her dealership sipping a cup of coffee while I hand over the DD to her and the old car keys. Meanwhile I ask her what is the update on the car, she says, the car is not yet offloaded from the truck and is still in the truck safely strapped at the stockyard

Now with entire payment done, she asks the car to be got to the showroom after paying the octroi duty.

[sawnilrules]

The car landed in Mumbai on 27th late evening. 28th I had an appointment at the bank, and parallely I also had some meetings lined up on 29th & 30th I was supposed to pick up the car. I had already decoded the VIN number, and was sure that the car was April month manufactured and 2016 year. As work kept me busy, I was not able to get the PDI at the yard, secondly, the workshop PDI was to happen at the service station and the service manager Mr. Bhavin was an old friend of mine. So I knew once the car goes to him he will ensure things are proper.

28th evening after I collected the DD, from the bank, I drove my Hyundai i10 for the last time with a mighty heavy heart to the showroom to hand her over. Reached the showroom, parked her inside the compound and handed over the keys to pre-owned sales executive. I signed on the delivery note as seller, and kept the copy of the delivery note. As I was heading back, I lovingly ran my fingers over her body-line, as a way of telling her, “take-care my love, I will miss you”

Pocket-Rocket



29th afternoon, I get a call from Bhavin, that my car has come to him for PDI and will keep me posted for any abnormalities. Evening, around 6, he calls me to say all ok with the car, and can be collected the next day as per my convenience. I call up Vidya and inform her that we will come to collect the car post lunch. Now the wait for the night to dawn begins.

I couldn’t hold the excitement and so wanted to go to the dealership right in the morning. But wifey had some work at office and she was to return back by 2. So I had to wait for her to be back. She reached home at 2.30, had her lunch and off we went to the dealership along with the same chuddi-buddi childhood friend who had suggested me the Grand i10 for taking the delivery. While on the way, we collected some sweets to be distributed in the dealership


We reach the showroom, I call Vidya on her cellphone to inform our arrival, she comes and greets us and we settle for formalities. The car in the meanwhile is getting ready to be delivered. There were 2 Grand i10 Asta (O) deliveries that day, both white, both automatics. 2 cars were getting readied the same time, so I ask her which one was ours, and she points to the car parked last, the one without the number plate. The papers to RTO were to go on the Monday, and I had to give her no liability to the dealer letter. I gave them the letter.

The showroom however is very compact with at most place to park three cars inside and customer seating area around. Overall the setup looks professional and the staff is courteous enough.

I remember when I had taken the delivery of the City, it was a fanfare affair where the moment of taking the delivery was celebrated with cake cutting, singing a congratulatory songs and so on so forth. Here it was a plain simple affair. Nothing fancy or nothing to write home about.

Coming back to the formalities, she hands over the Octroi paid receipt, Insurance Copy, One Time Road Tax Receipt and the original invoice copy. Along with that, she explains the service certificates in the owners-manual and extended warranty letter from Hyundai and finally hands-over the keys to me.

With formalities done, it was time to celebrate the moment, I handed over the sweets that I had got for her, and in turn she gave us the car keys along with a box of chocolate.

She then introduces me to the delivery manager who would further explain the car to me. We all walk behind the delivery manager as he takes us to the car. There was another epic conversation that I had with the delivery manager. This one goes as follows, let’s call him DM

DM: Congratulations sir on your purchase of the Grand i10

Me: Thank you

DM: Let me explain you the features

Me: Sure

DM: This is how you start the car (pointing and pressing the start-stop button)

Me: Ok

DM: This is how you use the light stalks on the right and wiper stalks on the left

Me: Ok

DM: Use low beam in the city and high beam on the highway drives (this sends the alarm bells ringing for me)

Me: Is it always necessary to use high beam on the highway

DM: Yes sir, others use it, you should use it too, or otherwise you will be blinded by the oncoming traffic

Me: Grinning sheepishly, hmm ok, anyways, I know rest of the car, but thank you for your valuable inputs.

With the delivery manager pushed aside, now was the time to get the puja done. And Wifey steps ahead here to do the honors

That's better half and she beginning The Puja


Drawing the Customary Swastik


Puja Nearing Completion


And we pose for the customary photo. that's Vidya, our SA, Better Half, Micro Half, Me and My chuddi- buddi friend

Looks like my micro half wondering where do we insert this big key in the car

I sat in the driver’s sit to crank the car. At first I was searching for the key slot, but later I realized, the car had start-stop button. Pressed the brake pedal, pressed the start-stop button, and voila, the engine came to life and settled for an extremely mild clatter. The cold start RPM was hovering at around 1500, however in few minutes, it settled around 1000.

As I cranked the engine, the empty sign came up immediately. On asking the SA on how much fuel is there in the car, she said 5 ltr. Then I asked when it was filled as empty sign is glowing. She said let me check, and in came the reply from one of the drivers, “At Stock-Yard”. Upon that, she says we give customary 5 ltr fuel to every customer. Lol, I reasoned with her in that case then you should have filled the fuel here and not at the stockyard. But didn’t want to spoil the mood and calmly asked, will the car at least go to the nearest fuel station. I get affirmative reply, however with conscious super light foot, I take the car on the road and start heading to our next destination, the fuel station.

Thankfully, we reached the fuel station without any major hiccups. I asked them to get the full tank done. She gulped down 39 ltr of fuel that evening. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I did not expect the car of this size to have a 43 ltr fuel tank.

Once done with fueling up the car, next halt was at temple to get the auspicious puja done.

standing outside the temple


Side Profile View


The pandit in the temple, religiously conducted the puja for almost 10 minutes.

Drawing the Bigger Swastik


The Bappa getting installed in the car


Puja done of the Bappa



Having the puja done, we ate the prasad given by the panditji & shared the sweets with him too. We headed home, which was like 200 meters away from the temple post the puja.

Back in the building, we shared the sweets with our security team and parked the car at this designated spot, where my pocket-rocket used to be parked.



As the number was yet to come, we did not take the car out, however next day being a Sunday, I decided to get the detailing done on the car.

[sawnilrules]

Well, not an great expert here, but whatever I could make out from the initial driving around

What I liked

• 84 PS of power, in such small package, the car feels fast
• Quality all-around, inside-out, with no signs of cost cutting anywhere.
• Laundry list of features
• Attention to detail in every aspect
• Those diamond cut alloy wheels, they are a stunner to look at
• Comfortable to ride even on long runs ( I had taken the car to Pune the same week of delivery)

What I thought could have been better

• 4 Speed AT box, though a trip-tonic, but not anywhere close to modern gearboxes. Sometimes it struggles to find the right gear, especially during those overtaking maneuvers
• No DTE, and Average Fuel Consumption Indicator in MID, some useless information such as, Engine Running Time and Average Speed
• Its funny, how Hyundai has paid attention to detail everywhere apart from the driver side buttons console. The switches aren’t illuminated, and a pain to find in the night. What more, even the lights adjuster button is not illumniated
• Fuel Economy is southwards, not even in double digits

Overall, a brilliant small package from Hyundai. Even though it is 2 years old now, still stands strong in the market. A recent discussion with Vidya to check how have been the sales of Grand i10, she was of the opinion that the Grand after being introduced in top spec of AT, AT is selling more than the MT version.

Between, a teaser shot of car getting ready, before the detailing begins

Ohh Maa, look at those alloys.

[sawnilrules]

Fortunately, next day was a Sunday & hence decided to give the car for detailing to a trusted friend in business, Mr. Sandesh Shetty, who owns and runs Pimp My Pride (PMP). An avid biker and passionate rider himself, with his thorough knowledge backing him, I am dead sure that he would do a thorough job.

Second advantage of friend doing a job on your car is no need to get any appointment, just barge in. Well that’s what I did. Met him & Milind, his partner in crime, to get the job done. The detailing suggested on the car was Collinite Detailing. What it entails is a 4 step detailing process which starts from

• Claying
• Rubbing- first step compounding
• Finishing- Second step compounding
• Wax Coating

The overall time taken to complete the process is 6 hrs, which means I need to drop the car in the morning and collect it in the night.
Even before the process could begin, the first step for any detailing is washing the car to the core. Having washed & wiped the car, detailing process began under the watchful eyes of the team.

Step 1: Claying

The layer of paint is decontaminated. The reason of doing this is that there are lots of minuscule pores in the layer of paint which may be dirty, which cannot be seen to the naked eye. This process takes roughly 1 hr. Every panel is clayed and it is cleaned. The benefits of claying are

• Over sprayed paint
• Tar, Cement Spot removal
• Removes all type of contamination
• Smoothens the surface

Claying is a very important step in detailing. As if claying is not done, entire detailing becomes superficial

Once the claying is done, next step is rubbing

Step 2: Rubbing (first step compounding)

Rubbing helps in removing all kinds of swirl marks that are on the car. Rubbing is done through a rotary machine. It is a compound which is used for polishing the color. All the minor scratches get removed from the car. Plus now the car is ready for finishing. This action takes 1 hr.

Step 3: Finishing (second step compounding)

The product used for Finishing is SF-4000 (Menzerna, Germany). It’s a reputed German product mostly used for detailing & it approved my all high end OEM manufacturers. The process to apply this is with a dual action polisher. The reason of doing this is, the rotary machine has a wool-pad, & it has a tendency of creating marks called as merry-marring. So the dual action polishing will remove the merry-marring and give a mirror finish. Finishing as a step takes maximum 30 mins.

Step 4: Wax Coating

Once the finishing is done, next step is Wax Coating. Wax coating is done through wax applicator sponge. Product used for wax coating was Collinite Insulator Wax. This product is majorly used in aeronautics, Marine & Industrial detailing. The right method of applying this product is,

• Apply with the applicator
• Let it haze (dry)
• Use a dry microfiber cloth to buff it

Wax Coating helps in protecting the car from UV rays, acid rays and all other natural destructive rays which can harm the paint. This process takes more than 1.5 hrs to complete.

Once the wax coating is done, the car is left in for the compound to be absorbed so that the mirror finish accentuates. The more the car is kept for drying, the much better glossy affect it throws.

So overall time taken

Washing & Drying: 1 hr.
Claying: 1 hr.
Rubbing: 1 hr.
Finishing: 0.5 hr.
Wax Coat: 1.5 hr.
Drying: 2 hr.

Now let the pictures do the talking

Car Handed over to him


washing in process


alloys getting jet washed...


Spray wash


Clay bar


Actual Clay


Claying in Process


Rubbing in action




Finishing Product


Finishing in action


Final Waxing


Let the pictures now do the talking about the efforts put in 6 hr

Front Look


Side look


Side look


Side look


LTD Sticker

[sawnilrules]

Number came on Wednesday, and I had an opportunity to take the Grand to Pune, as the car was new, wifey did not want to immediately start using it, and she conveniently handed over the car to me, while she started using the Honda City for work.

Here are few impressions of driving the car on the expressway, as the engine is in running period, did not go beyond 80 kmph on the highway.

1. The engine hits 2000 rpm mark at speeds round 80-90 kmph, with 84 PS at command, I expect to reach this speeds at much earlier rpm marks. But I think, the 4 Speed AT is at fault here.
   
2. Slot the car in D mode and the car moves ahead seamlessly.
   
3. Two driving modes, Eco & Regular. In Eco mode, the gear upshifts fairly early, Apart from up-shifting early, I didn’t see any significant difference in mileage or pickup. Throttle input vs output in both the modes is same
   
4. On expressway, even during cross winds, the car felt planted, pretty surprising for car of this size
   
5. ABS kicks in pretty earlier than expected, thus reducing the braking distance significantly. Problem is, if the person trailing you doesn’t recognize the speed at which you are slowing down, may end up rear ending into you.
   
6. The car does under-steer a bit, this happens when there is an aggressive input given to it. But yes, its’ vastly better than all other Hyundai’s till date.
   
7. Suspension is set on a stiffer side, which ensures that the car handles & behaves well on the road, of course, its’ not a Polo or Figo when it comes to comparison, but yes definitely better than others in the segment
   
8. AC chills the bones in no time, ACC is sorely missed as every-time the cabin gets chilled, either the temperature gauge has to be adjusted or the AC has to be switched off-on keeping the blower on.
   
9. The Bluetooth connectivity was seamless, with songs getting played from the phone, call clarity was good enough for the other person to hear what you are saying and vice versa. The only problem with Bluetooth is, after the call gets disconnected, the music doesn’t start playing automatically. (especially if the songs are played through phone)
   
10. Doors need to be shut with force for them to close, this is prominent with all the doors
    
11. The sound output from 4 speakers, is decent enough for the segment of the car. An audiophile may want to upgrade the speakers

Came back from Pune and have been driving the car in the city as I have loved the driving experience and the ease of everything around. City and bumper to bumper traffic is the place where you start admiring and experiencing the car more. Some insights about the car during City driving, for over 3000 km of combined driving now

1. Very easy going in city traffic, maneuverability is easy in start stop traffic.
   
2. Start Stop Button comes with 3 modes viz, key detection, instrument console on, ignition on
   
3. Once the phone is paired, every-time the car is started and if the Bluetooth is on in the phone, the phone pairs automatically.
   
4. Trip-tonic, though only 4 speed, is extremely fun to use.
   
5. All around night illumination inside the car in the beautiful, everything lits-up just perfectly well.
   
6. The gear-box, does feel confused when a sudden sprint is required, takes some time to react.
   
7. Fixed headrest, though from an old era, gel well with the design on the seat
   
8. Good thigh support on the seats and are well contoured, was stuck for 4 hrs in our legendary Mumbai traffic, didn’t feel a bit tired.
   
9. Front Centre Arm Rest which was picked up as an accessory is a real boon, otherwise would have been difficult to figure out where to place the left hand
   
10. I10 had foot rest, surprisingly, this car doesn’t, doesn’t bother much as the foot-well has ample amount of space to rest the leg

[sawnilrules]

Overall

Hyundai developed the second generation i10, which was originally planned for release in early 2014, in August 2013. The i10's redesign was revealed by Hyundai's European design team led by Thomas Bürkle. The design input given by the management of Hyundai to Thomas was very simple, let the car have the fluidic theme, but make it far more subtle then other cars. The result was this well designed i10. It doesn’t have unnecessary cuts and lines like the Verna or the Eon or the Elantra. Dimensionally, the new car is 80 mm (3.1 in) longer, 65 mm (2.6 in) wider and 50 mm (2.0 in) lower than the outgoing model i10. The new dimensions result in a trunk space increase by 10%, totaling to 252 liters. The new car made its debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. The i10 arrived in European showrooms in January 2014 and Hyundai Motor India Ltd. released the new model in September 2013 as the Grand i10; it slots between the first generation i10, and the Elite i20. The Grand i10 differentiates from the European model with its wheelbase increase by 100 mm (3.9 in) and subtle design changes, like redesigned rear quarter pillar with glass inserts. This helps in improving the all-around visibility for the rear passengers.

Designed and Developed in Germany, this car is by far the best Hyundai designed ever. Just love the way every single panel in this car is designed and screwed together. Hyundai has really come a long way in the way they are designing their cars.

Exterior Design (Front Profile)

Look at the car from the front, and you can tell that this is a Hyundai. The typical hexagonal design boldly occupies the large part of the bumper, flanked with the fog lamp casing on the either sides. The single slat line and the swept back headlamps complete the front design. The bonnet lines are clean with no fussy cuts or deeps and the shut-lines are sharp. What you can particularly notice is how Hyundai has paid attention to integrating the windshield washer in the design theme around the glass area. Look further closely, and you notice that there is a small flap in the front of the tires; this flap is to deflect air. Usually, a standard feature in million dollar car, I was surprised to see this in an 8 lac car. Front fog lamps have chrome finished housing which give it a premium feel. The fog lamps do the job well of lighting up the area closer to the car. I haven’t driven much in the night on the highways so won’t be able to comment on the highway performance of the headlights, but in the city driving conditions, the headlight throw lightens up the road ahead pretty well. I haven’t felt the need to upgrade the bulbs.

Exterior Design (Side Profile)

Move to the side and the first thing that grabs your attention is matte finished black door pads around the waistline. I particularly liked the way Hyundai has tried to give a fluidic design theme to it, rather than blanking adding strips for the sake of adding. One major difference between the Asta and Asta (O) variant externally are the alloys, the Asta (O) comes with what Hyundai calls Diamond Cut. The difference between the regular alloys and diamond cut alloys is that, the diamond cut alloys come in two tone colors, and hence accentuate the look of the car. In my personal opinion, these alloys look the best in darker shades of the car. The roof rails of the car add character to the design of the car. I don’t see any other reason of adding those apart from bringing in aesthetic appeal.

Door handles on the driver side as well as the front passenger side get request sensors. Hyundai has given more importance to form over function while designing the OVRM’s & they come with sleek led styled turn indicator. Due to its tapering end design, many a times I have come dangerously close to vehicles besides me while parking the car. But, they complement the car’s design very well. I love the way mirrors open and close at the press of the button or by pressing the request sensor button. The wing mirrors are two toned in color. The first color is the body color and the second color being standard black. The glass area is airy and large and the windows roll down completely. The B pillar is body colored, which gives the car a segment below feel. Personally I would have loved a black B pillar and door frame. The sheet metal on the door doesn’t have European feel, neither does it shut with a thud. Ram the door hard and the entire car shakes.

Exterior Design (Rear Profile)

Move to the rear and the biggest change you notice now from the older edition is the longer antenna. I wonder why Hyundai chose this antenna over the short antenna that the earlier models had. If front was dominated by hexagonal designed bumper and swept back headlights, the rear has swept back tail lamps. The tail lamp consists of 3 meter cluster on each side, 1 which duals up as brake light and parking light, second one is a reverse light and third being turn indicator. The boot opener has a request sensor, which is neatly integrated inside the Hyundai logo. What is interesting is, with keys in pocket and the car locked, if I touch the request sensor, only the boot opens up without unlocking the entire car. Pretty neat I may say. Comes very handy in malls and open parking spaces, where you may have thugs suddenly wanting to steal something from the car as you are busy arranging the stuff in the boot while they merrily steal something away. To lock the car, simply close the boot and the car re-locks. No pressing of buttons on the key or pressing the request sensor again. Just as the front washer was integrated, similar treatment is meted out to rear washer. The rear washer is smartly integrated in the high stop light, which unless looked with an eagle’s eye is not noticeable. The rear bumper houses the parking sensors, and thankfully they are body colored. Otherwise it would have been sore to see it on the white bumpers. The bumper also has reflectors on the either side. Hyundai should have given rear fog lamp in either of the reflector spot, which would have added to the safety. The rear wiper though designed well, does not do the job as per my liking. Probably some problem with the wiper blades, as it leaves trail of water behind on the glass. Secondly, funnily, the wiper motor makes some weird noise when the wiper is in action. Will have to get it checked when I visit the service station next. Also, the construction of the wiper is fragile, till date the wiper arm has come off thrice while washing the car. The two lock mechanism ensures that it is a tedious task to fit it back.

Overall from design perspective I would say, Thomas Bürkle could achieve what he had set out to achieve.

Interiors (Front)

Unlock the car, open the door and the first thing that comes to your attention is the illuminated start-stop button. It illuminates moment you open the door. It’s a nice way of welcoming one inside the car. Seat inside the car and everything around you looks and feels like a million rupee car, well screwed, well thought and well-engineered. The steering wheel is tilt, but misses on telescopic. Asta (O) comes with leather stitched steering wheel, which feels nice to hold. The thumb contours are spot on and the size of the wheel is apt for driver of any height. The only downsider in this steering wheel is the number of buttons. Way too many for my liking. Some of it could have been easily skipped and a single button could have been placed on the dashboard. The three spoke steering wheel houses equal number of buttons on the either side. The entire center-pad is the horn pad; place your thumb anywhere and the car honks. The left side of the steering houses buttons for volume, mute & call answer and call reject. The right side of the steering houses buttons for mode, song selection, trip and trip reset. Probably, to get a continuous uniformity, the designers at Hyundai must have added trip and trip reset on the wheel. Looks nice, but I have lost the count as to how many times I have ended up accidently pressing this buttons while taking sharp turns. Switch on the parking lights and all the buttons illuminate beautifully. The wiper and headlight stalks look like built to last, no complaints there. The instrument console houses the tachometer on the left, speedometer in the center with MID below and engine temperature gauge and fuel gauge on the right. The tachometer redlines at 6000 rpm while it goes right upto 8000 rpm. The top speed on the speedometer is optimistic 200 kmph. The fuel tank is of 43 ltr. The empty sign glows when approximately there is 6 ltr of fuel remaining in the tank. MID houses two lines, the below line has constant ODO meter and the upper line toggles between trip A, trip B, Total Engine Running time, Average Speed & Gear indicator if driving in triptonic and currently selected gear if driving in automatic mode. I’m still trying to understand what I do with Average Speed and Engine Running Time. DTE and Average Fuel Consumption are not activated in Indian version. A quick visit on the American website of the car revealed that these features are available in the versions sold their. Probably Hyundai knew that the car has poor fuel economy and hence has switched off the feature. Apart from regular tell-tale lights, the car also has separate door and boot open indicator. Neat I did say.

The center instrument console houses the audio player, in the upper portion; AC vents on the either side of the audio player and the lower portion of the console has hazard lights button on the center and AC knobs below it. Just below the AC knobs is the 12 V charger, USB & Aux Plug. The recess on the dashboard is flat to either place the perfume bottle or the deity idols easily.

The earlier 2015 models of Grand i10 came with CD/Mp3 player; however the 2016 version is now devoid of CD/MP3 player. Other functionalities like Bluetooth, Aux, USB and Radio are present. The audio quality of the 4 coaxial speakers is of decent quality. The speakers are placed down on all the four door pads. An audiophile may want to change the setup. One problem with the system is, if the phone is paired to the car and the music is being played from the phone, if a call comes in the music doesn’t restart after hanging up. The system has to be either re-started or modes have to be switched for it to start playing the song. The system can pair six phones in one go. The call quality is crisp and clear. Thought the contacts can be downloaded in the system as it supports 1 GB on on-board memory, scrolling down the contacts is a task. The only advantage I saw here was the screen displays the name of the person calling. Calls can be answered or disconnected through dedicated buttons.

The glove-box runs deep and can hold multiple products easily. The cooled glovebox is a must have feature for those long runs where you want to store 500 ltr water bottles and some cans of aerated drinks. Personally, I have not used this feature yet, so won’t be able to comment on its performance at this stage.

Thankfully, I got the arm-rest fixed in the car through dealership, otherwise coming from the Honda City, where I am used to using the arm-rest; it would have been a struggle for me to rest my left hand. The arm rest positioning is slightly on the higher side, but nevertheless does the job well. Arm rest basically is a wooden box fitted about the rear AC vents & the handbrake stitched with leather all around and cushioning on the top.

The seat cushioning on both the driver and co-driver seats is on the softer side. The driver seat is equipped with height & reach adjustment. However it is impossible to access the height adjustment lever with doors closed. So whatever adjustment that needs to be done, has to be done before starting the car. The driver side door pad houses buttons for all power windows, electric mirrors adjustment switch, power mirror open/close switch and power windows lock button. Only the driver side power window button is back-lit that is a slight disappointment, as it is extremely difficult to figure out the buttons in pitch darkness.

Overall hard plastics everywhere, not a matter of concern as the quality of things around are good. The dashboard sports beige and black combination whereas the door pads sport a teal and black combination.

The center console lights up really well in the night with all blue illumination all around.

Interiors (Rear)

That increased 100 mm in the wheelbase for the Indian version of the i10, has helped in marginally increasing the legroom at the rear. Both the passengers get individualistic AC vents. These are just the blowers. They are adjustable to direction and can be switched off if required. Apart from the AC vents, there is also a 12V charging point to charge those smart phones. Thoughtful indeed. The door pads carry the same color scheme and have hard plastics all around just as in the front. Rear seat offers adequate back & under-thigh support. Front headrests were fixed, however the rear headrests are adjustable. All four doors get bottle holders which is a good thing, especially, if you are on the long drive with 4 people on board. Individually, each person can park his or her bottle on his/her side of the door.

Engine

The 1.2 ltr Kappa Dual VTVT, 1197 cc petrol engine now churns out 84 PS as against 79 PS in its earlier avatar in the old generation i10. Couple that power with 112 NM of torque and a kerb weight of 966 kg; this car should be a hoot to drive. Probably with MT gearbox, but not really with the AT box plonked. Keeping the performance aside the engine is extremely refined. Press the start-stop button and the engine comes to life. In cold start situation, the engine starts and idles between 1100-1200 rpm. In a warm start situation, the engine idles between 900-1000 rpm. Slot the gear in D the car lugs forward with ease. At triple digit speeds of 100 kmph, the rpm crosses 3000 mark and the engine starts feeling strained. You don’t feel like pushing the car further up. The engine is not at fault here, but I would blame the gearbox to mare the entire driving experience. Everything said and done, the car is an able highway cruiser too, if you prefer a sedate driving style. On my Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai run, I didn’t miss my Honda City much, the car lapped up the 190 odd KMS easily without any fuss. The drive usually in hatch backs gets tiring, but not in this one. The excellent refinement levels and vibration free cabin ensured that I reached my Pune office stress free.

Transmission

Grand is equipped with 4 Speed torque convertor AT gear-box with trip-tonic function. There is a rage of either AMT’s or CVT’s in the market. So at one spectrum of the market we have CVT’s & AMT’s which are boring to use, the other spectrum has the DSG’s and DCT’s of the world which are quicker than the manual shifts and in between all this sits the torque converter unit which is neither here nor there. The entire fun of having over 80 horses inside the hood is spoilt by this 4 Speed AT box. To add some fun to otherwise boring gear-box, the car does have trip-tonic mode but that does not help much. The gear shifts in eco mode change close to 2000 rpm mark, all is good till you are driving sedately. Bring in some spirited driving and the gear-box starts to get confused. For some time, it wonders as to how many gears to downshift. The car desperately asks for the 5th cog. One can feel the engine screaming for that one extra cog.

This gear box is a direct lift from Verna and my petrol head friends who drive the Verna automatic will relate to what I’m saying.

Fuel Economy

Till date in last two months I have driven 2400 KMS and in total have consumed 270 ltr of fuel in combined highway plus city use. A quick math tells us that the car is returning a fuel economy of 8.8 KMPL. Dismissal I would say from the size of the car and driven through out in ECO mode and sedate style. In same driving conditions and with same ODO on board, Honda City consumed 230 ltr of fuel, which is a whole 40 ltr less consumption.

The Grand i10's suspension hardware consists of an independent MacPherson strut layout at the front, and a torsion beam axle at the rear. All 4 dampers (shock absorbers) are gas charged. The car has an extremely compliant ride within the city. Bumps are soaked in with a muted thud. The high speed ride is planted. The car handles corners well too, however nowhere in the league of Figo or Polo, but yes definitely better than the older generation cars from Hyundai.

The handling is pretty neutral and you will know what the tires are upto in most of the situations. The stock Apollo Tires are 165/65 R14. Globally, the i10 sells with 15 inch rims; I wonder why they have kept 14 inch rims for Indian version. As I have limited highway run, I have not upgraded the tires, nor do I intend to. As said earlier in the post, the ABS kicks in very early. This results in sharp bite on the brake and the car sheds its speed really fast. Initially I found it difficult to manage and most of the time ended stopping the car with jerk. Now I have come on terms with it.

[sawnilrules]

MID Reset

Last month while driving from office, the instrument console suddenly went blank. All the values in the MID went blank and were reset. Except ODO, everything became 0. At first I thought that to be a one off case, but the same thing happened second day too. MID used to randomly reset itself. Quickly called up Bhavin, at Sai Auto Hyundai, he confirmed it to be terminals issue.

Took the car to him over the weekend, he opened all the ports and re-fixed all the terminals on the OBD Port. From that day till today, the problem has not re-occurred.

Rear Wiper Motor Noise

When the rear wiper is operated, the motor makes a weird noise. Got it to Bhavin’s notice he had all the components opened and re-fixed, however the problem still remains. He has asked to get the car back over the next weekend to re-look at the issue.

Mods Planned

• Horn, is the first upgrade planned by me, sometimes I wonder whether I honked or not.
• Hyundai OE rear view camera with integrated camera and auto dimming feature.
• Blackening of the B Pillar, to give that extra oomph factor to the car
• White LED lights on the rear number plate.

thank you for reading through patiently. Detailed pictorial review to follow soon. Stay tuned

[GTO]

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

[skanchan95]

Congratulations sawnilrules. Wish you many happy & safe miles with the car. The Grand i10 is truly a VFM product from Hyundai. The B-pillar blackening was one of the first mods I did on my Grand i10 and I always felt that its a little stingy of Hyundai not to provide it in the stock car. Its sedan sibling, the Xcent comes with blackened B pillar pillar from the factory itself. The did the same step motherly treatment with Indian and export i20s(first gen).

Do you mind sharing more details about the arm rest? Is it Hyundai OEM? The after market ones have poor fit and finish.

[sj_koova]

Congratulations Sawnilrules. We too got Asta (O) AT for my wife last month.

We did test drive all the cars you have listed here. Our conclusion was that, Grand i10 is the most suited and practical car for ladies in all aspects. Except the fuel economy and absence of rear view camera, I have nothing to complain about. Our usage is not going to be more than 600km in a month. So, FE was an easy compromise.

Horn upgrade and rear view camera are in our list too.

I heard about MID reset in some other thread too. Seems to be a wide spread problem.

I got door wiser, mats, car charger, car cover and seat cover for free. So did not have to add any accessories.

Happy riding.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Congratulations sawnilrules. Wish you many happy & safe miles with the car. The Grand i10 is truly a VFM product from Hyundai. The B-pillar blackening was one of the first mods I did on my Grand i10 and I always felt that its a little stingy of Hyundai not to provide it in the stock car. Its sedan sibling, the Xcent comes with blackened B pillar pillar from the factory itself. The did the same step motherly treatment with Indian and export i20s(first gen).

Do you mind sharing more details about the arm rest? Is it Hyundai OEM? The after market ones have poor fit and finish.

Thank you for your kind words Skanchan95.

I checked with the dealership on the blackening of B Pillar. They quoted INR 4500/- for the same. When I checked with custom accessory guys here in Mumbai, they quoted me INR 900/- for the same job. It gives a clear indication, as to how these guys end of looting less knowledgeable customers. I am not able to get the job done due to rains from last 2 weeks.

The arm-rest is not an Hyundai OEM, it does have a poor fit & finish. However, serves the purpose well. Will add the picture over the weekend for sure.

[invidious]

That is a great review. I am wondering though about the discount. In Jan when I bought an Elite i20 - the Sales Advisor was really pushing me to buy the Xcent AT. The wife already drives an MT Grand i10 so I did not want the Xcent AT although the offer he made was quite good. After discounts - he was giving the Asta Xcent AT for 8,35,000 - OTR Bombay registration. So if the same discounts exist - for a difference of some 25k, isn't the Xcent a more practical car than the Grand i10. As far as I know, the only difference in features is that the Xcent has an Automatic Climate Control A/C which the Grand i10 doesn't.

[sawnilrules]

Originally Posted by invidious

That is a great review. I am wondering though about the discount. In Jan when I bought an Elite i20 - the Sales Advisor was really pushing me to buy the Xcent AT. The wife already drives an MT Grand i10 so I did not want the Xcent AT although the offer he made was quite good. After discounts - he was giving the Asta Xcent AT for 8,35,000 - OTR Bombay registration. So if the same discounts exist - for a difference of some 25k, isn't the Xcent a more practical car than the Grand i10. As far as I know, the only difference in features is that the Xcent has an Automatic Climate Control A/C which the Grand i10 doesn't.

Thank you invidious for liking the review. I already have a sedan and did not want to buy another sedan. Secondly, primary user for this car is my wife, & she had two requirements, AT & Hatch-back. So I went ahead with Grand i10. Xcent again is a well rounded package from Hyundai. Meanwhile over and above ACC Xcent has following additional features

• Auto Dimming IRVM with integrated Camera
• 15 inch alloys, as to 14 inch in Grand
• Rear arm-rest

Eve if I would have convinced her to drive a sedan everyday, my other worry also was, I knew from day 1 that the fuel efficiency of this car is marred, adding few more kilos to the car, would further dip it down.

[anandkumargb]

I loved the Grand i10 AT, but ended up buying Celerio AMT only due to FE issue.
Celerio gives me around 14 KMPL in city. Anything below 8 KMPL is too low to digest. 8 KMPL on a puny 1.1 ltr engine is totally unacceptable. My Honda city CVT gives me FE city - 9 KMPL and 15 KMPL on Highway. Wonder whats the city FE of Brio, Figo DCT?