[swarnava.ch]

The RED Pocket rocket – Our Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Asta AMT Petrol
This is an ownership review of our new small car purchase during the lockdown and the next two months 650 kms ownership experience with our new Hyundai Grand I10 Nios Asta AMT petrol.

Rewind Back - My earlier car was Mahindra E2O which this car is replacing.To know more about the life with Electric Vehicle and why it was sold, you can go through the same here (Life with an electric car - Story of my Mahindra E2O). So there is definitely going to be some comparisons between these two.

My other drive is the Tata Hexa 4X2 XT for my highway and weekend trips. I have already penned down and ownership for it here (Life with our Blue Hippo, our Tata Hexa XT 4x2).

There is already the Nios Turbo official review in Team BHP here (Hyundai Grand i10 Nios 1.0L Turbo Petrol : Official Review) and another Grand i10 Sports AMT review by BHPian Rahul link (My Hyundai Grand i10 Nios Sportz AMT - Titan Grey) so I will stick to the key highlights and differentiators for the Asta AMT Petrol version from my point of view.

Summary:

Key Likes:
1. A relaxed city car that is easy and fun to drive in the city, easy to park in the corners, short turning radius
2. Very smooth, silent and refined engine – you will love the linear acceleration when you are patiently driving without sudden acceleration
3. 90% of the time the AMT is working as per expectation, choosing the right gear, smooth and quick shifting action
4. Great ICE with Android Auto and Apple Carplay with 4 Speakers setup having good sound quality, Keyless entry etc are some features which we love

Key Dislikes:
1. AMT behavior is very Jerky while starting off in the mornings for the first few mins specially
2. I absolutely hate the Lock / Unlock sound of the car – it’s horrible. I wish Hyundai would give some way to disable or improve this.
3. Evident cost cutting in quite a few corners by Hyundai
4. Minor Niggles which need to be sorted at the first servicing

Some Pics to get the mood going:


Let’s start with the need for a new car:
I had previously owned the Mahindra E2O Electric which needed to be replaced as the lease tenure of that car came to an end amid the lockdown. So, our search began sometime in April / May sometime during the lockdown period. Additionally, we have the Tata Hexa for our weekend getaway needs and occasional highway runs. This new car was going to be my wife’s primary car and main purpose was to get her to gain confidence during driving.

Usage pattern post Covid would be daily office drive for 8 kms roundtrip and some short in city commutes over the weekends.

Key Requirements:
1. Needed the smallest car possible
2. Should be easy to drive, automatic only (Any – CVT, AMT, TC etc)
3. Petrol only as the kms driven would be less than 3 - 4k per year.
4. Needed a reliable, no fuss ASS support

The search for cars started in May / June mostly over phone and online as these were times of pandemic and visiting showrooms was to be kept only for the last 2 final options maybe. It was difficult given the social distancing norms; sanitization needs etc. so it was necessary to be sure of the car model before requesting for a test ride.

This was very tough time for the car manufacturers, sales guys and for customers. It was good to see the kind of professional handling from all these big brands in terms of Online sales platforms, Home test drive initiative, temp checks and sanitizers before getting in the car etc.

Cars considered:

In Showroom Options:

Tata Tiago: Fitted most of the requirements however when we went to the showroom to have a look at the car, this option got rejected outright by home ministry, perhaps due to the interior experience and also since we got to this car right after coming back from Hyundai. Didn’t go for test drive as well.

Tata Altroz: Loved this car, features, interiors the only reason for rejection was lack of Auto or even any announcement for the same. As of writing this review there are only scoops and test drive sightings without any announcement of the Auto at all. Loved the 5 Star safety rating and proud of Tata and Mahindra to bring a revolution in the Indian Car scene.

The below cars were considered only during online research:

Honda Jazz: The new model launch was just around the corner but there was no date in sight for BS6 Jazz. There were no more BS IV models available.

Honda WRV: It was a nice car but there were again no formal dates announced for launch and the sales executive told us very clearly that there will be no auto gearbox on this model.

Ford Freestyle: This was one car which had a lot of potential. I considered it based on some of the user feedback, safety features etc but soon realized that the Auto option was not available post BS6 upgrade. I mean come on Ford – do you not want to sell cars in India?

Hyundai Santro: Liked the car for nostalgia, took test drive as well. However the 1L engine leaves you wanting for more when you are driving on an open road. Nios came across a better value Proposition.

Electric Car Options: It would have made sense to purchase another Electric car to replace the E2O however at present there are not many options in 8 to 10L pricing bracket. The best option would be Nexon EV which starts at 15L and the Tigor EV at around 12L is not desirable, specially considering the economics behind the KMs that need to be driven.

I didn’t want to go for any of the Maruti models or Renault for this segment so pretty much the choices were limited to Hyundai from here onwards.

The showroom experience at Hyundai was very professional. Courteous staff, good to follow up, knowledgeable and ready to help. I was following up with Advaith Hyundai and Pavan Hyundai and both were above par in their dealings. My choice of dealer was dependent on the leasing vendor tie-up so had very little flexibility here. I finally brought my car from Pavan Hyundai.

So after some thoughts and a look at the Nios in the showroom, small test drive, going through online reviews here and on YouTube, it was pretty much finalized.

But there was a catch. All the dealers across Bangalore had only cars manufactured in Feb 2020 and March 2020 which is understandable as these were delivered for sales just before lockdown started. And opting for a Feb manufactured car in June 2020 was not acceptable. There was also no news of Hyundai restarting manufacturing for Nios so we had to wait for a fresh manufactured car. SA told us that we may have to wait till July to get a fresh piece. Now in July when finally, Grand i10 dispatches restarted, Hyundai again started sending the March manufactured pending inventory first so some more wait time. Finally, first week of August we got a confirmation that new Fiery RED Nios Asta AMT petrol was on its way, VIN confirmed and blocked for us. Requested the SA to arrange for a Pre delivery Inspection as per the TBhp Standards and he arranged everything and all was in order. Delivery happened around 20th August and the SA was kind enough to send the car for Home Delivery, didn’t want to take my family to an AC showroom for several hours during these times considering the risks involved.

Final Price and Offer: Got a cool 20k discount from Hyundai, SA agreed to remove handling charges etc so the final Ex Showroom was around 7.54L. Additionally I got the default rubber mats and some basic accessories kit free. Opted for 5 Years 40Kms Wonder warranty package offered by Hyundai for Nios owners as I am sure I would not be driving more than this in 5 years.

Next up is the car itself, driven roughly 650kms at the time of writing this review and first service is Scheduled. Driving has mostly been within city with two short Highway drives to get some feel and feedback on ride and handling etc. Here are some details of my observations in this short ownership so far.

The Car Exteriors:
It’s a good package for what the car offers. The external design language is evolution over the previous gen Grand I10. Now I am no fan of the latest Hyundai design trends – Look at the latest Creta or the Tuscon. However I like the New Verna design and the new i20 spy images. I would say this is a “Please all Offend None” design philosophy followed on the Nios.

So all in all, the Nios styling also is on the same lines. The RED was our favorite as the E2O this car replaces was also red and we wanted to keep it that ways.

The car looks aggressive from the Front, decent from the sides and rear. Infact the sides and the rear remind me often of the First gen i10 which was in the family for a long time. The front has a few distinctive elements which stand out. Projector Fog Lamps which have grooves in the sides which aid in air flow but I am not an expert if it really makes the car like F1.

Also points to note would be the small groove at the bottom of the front fascia. The bonnet has neat groove lines on both sides to give it a bit of muscular look. There is a small plastic skirting in the front bottom which I am scared if it will scrape during a uphill drive on a slope. The DRLs and the front grill give the car a character look. The fog lamps are also unique to Nios but I saw similar ones on Aura and I20 as well. The body panel gaps are consistent however a tad too big for my liking.



The sides look clean and compact. Window lines slope up towards the rear. Chrome handles come default on the Asta variant. The Alloys on the wheels are smart and I love it more than the ones on the Sports variant. The car came with Goodyear tyres from factory. Don’t miss the smart auto badging on the sides. Door unlock request sensor is only on the driver side. Boot can be opened independently of the doors with the key in your pocket. The emergency manual unlock fob is also there.

At the rear, the integrated spoilers look good and a smart bumper design. No extended use of chrome, except the long chrome line, which is the way I like. I feel this car would really look fab with a Blacked-out roof like a dual tone treatment. I didn’t get this option however Hyundai is ready to do it at 15k or something as an add on service which is feel is really high price and I am sure a local Accessory shop or 3M would do a far better Job of a wrap work at lower cost.

The centered Nios badging add character again. I love this kind of styling. However the Grand i10 lettering could have been a bit small or done away with all together. The shark fin FM antenna looks neat and don’t miss the red reflectors which actually blend in with the RED colour.

Notice the nicely integrated reverse camera however I am at loss to understand why there are only two reverse parking sensors? This seems to be the latest trend at Hyundai. Nios does not get adaptive guidelines rather the fixed ones but it’s all well integrated in the ICE during reversing. There are also 3 grooved markings in the rear dummy skid plates which may be a design element.

I didn’t opt for much accessories during purchase itself but want to get the official body side moldings – not in chrome but in black plastic later.




A key point of check for the exterior is the thumb test. Press your thumb on the external body panels and the metal doesn’t flex easily. Doors close with nicely and firmly and give a good feeling.

Paint quality is decent. I am no expert here of the quality but coming from general observation from Tata, Maruti, Hyundai ownerships, I would say it’s the same. What I would complain on here is the lack of finish / Cost cutting that Hyundai has done in terms of paint in two places – the Engine Boot lid and the rear hatch door interiors. You can argue that these are hidden places not in sight always however It really feels cheap to say the least. I have not seen this kind of foolish attitude in any other car so far. Not sure how much money Hyundai saved here to get rich.



The Car Interiors:
This is where Hyundai has done well over its competitors in this segment. As soon as you step inside you get a very airy feeling and a lot of this is due to the light colour elements used in the interior design. Let’s be honest, Beige is so 2010. A lot of the competitors are choosing Black interiors for a more premium look however the downside of that is the claustrophobic feeling you get with all black interiors. The seats are Fabric with light colour usage which comes with its own Pros and Cons. Comfortable to sit and feel but maintaining them over time would be a challenge when you have kids at home like mine. Don’t be fooled though, the plastics are all hard plastics which can easily get scratched but they look and feel which premium.

I am not really a fan of the Seltos style integrated ICE and MID which actually makes you feel that the dashboard is raised a bit but surprisingly it does not hinder forward visibility at all eve for a short heighted person like me.


ICE is centered and at eye level so the driver doesn’t have to take his eyes off too much to look at the ICE. Its well laid out and within reach of the driver and co passenger. The best thing is that the ICE also has buttons along with the touch screen which I feel is a must for drivers. These buttons will control some of the key functions in addition to the steering mounted controls. The MID for the driver has an analog Tacho for revs and digital display for Speed and all other details. Its ok for this segment. There are a lot of useful info on the MID but I am old school and stick to just the basics.

Small point here is I prefer old school symmetrical layout of MIDs and not a real fan of part digital and part analog MIDs in the new age cars.




The Steering is nice and chunky and feels good to hold. Light at parking speeds and weighs up at highway speeds. I wish the buttons on the steering were symmetrical as the left side has buttons, but the right side is empty. The Driver seat can be raised for height which is a must for short people however the seat belts don’t come with height adjuster. It still fits well for me so no complaints.


The footwell area is well laid out with a footrest in the AMT version and well spaced out Brake and Acc pedals.


The Door pockets are a bit small and the door width feels skinny even the door pockets are not so useful and can barely hold a 1 lit bottle. The buttons on the door are not illuminated and this is a bummer. If anyone gets any ideas of putting iridium stickers or something on them which will make them glow in night please do share. Would love to have something of a “Jugaad” here. The interior door opening latches have a nice brushed chrome finish.


The Air vents are round and gel well with the rest of the interiors. Nice to operate and passes a good airflow. Lot of cubby holes and nooks to store stuff like mobile, hand sanitizer and keys for the driver. The co passenger gets an additional open storage area and a closed glovebox which is air cooled. The IRVM is ok and the ORVMs are also of the right size for me. No complaints here but wish I had the electrically operated IRVM for dimming. Even if there was a paid accessory I would not mind.

The front seats are nice and well cushioned I really cannot comment on long drive comfort as I have not done it yet. The rear seats can seat 2 adults and a kid easily or 3 adults with a little squeeze. Small hump in the middle for the 5th passenger is not much of trouble. The front seats have a scooped back and some small space to push your feet below for the rear passengers. Rear seats come down with the latches and I wish they were 60:40 split which would have increased their usability.

The sound system is decent for this segment and its good enough for all passengers. I am not an audiophile so I can only compare this with my Hexa 10 speaker JBL system which feels a bit more superior in the sense.

The Boot space is decent and works well for usual city needs. All shopping bags, groceries and then some more stuff. The only fly in the ointment here is the high loading lip which means you have to really pull the heavy stuff up before you can put it in.



Driving the AMT with 1.2L Kappa Engine:
This section is very important and I would like to go in some details for the future owners so that they can understand what they are getting into with the Nios AMT.

The 1.2L Petrol Kappa engine is smooth, refined and a real gem. The revs build up linearly and it builds the speeds gradually and revs till almost 5000rpm+ but there is not much movement beyound that. Lets be real, compared to the Nios Turbo, there is not much torque however what you get is a smooth acceleration without turbolag. The engine revs at a leisurely 2000 rpm at speeds of 80 with 4 passengers.


Now lets come to the AMT Gearbox.


It’s the standard R - N – D setup with the additional Manual mode in the Drive slot if you shift the gear towards right. While in manual mode, push up to shift up and pull down to shift down, just the way I like it.

Now the AMT experience in general in the Nios is very good and I can compare it to Celerio AMT and its much smoother and intelligent. Like I said earlier, 90% times the AMT will find the right gear for you as long as you are not aggressive with the throttle.

Slot the AMT into drive mode and it settles to a creep speed of 7 /8 kmph in the morning. Then when you press the accelerator further and the rpm reaches around 1900 / 2000 rpm, the gears shift up smoothly. Now the gear shits from 1st to 2nd at around 17 kmph, 2nd to 3rd at around 28 kmph and so on. 5th gear comes up finally at around 58 kmph. On a regular highway run, you will really enjoy the drive with the AMT experience. You have to build speeds gradually. If you kickdown, the gearbox takes 2 seconds but then shifts down a gear or two sometimes and gets you in the torque zones. The gearbox is also eager to shift down during braking.Now the principle of the gearbox is that it is trying to keep the revs below 2200 rpm and shifts accordingly.

There is clear head nod and small pause when the shift actually happens but other than the driver other passengers in the car will not realize the shifts. If you really floor the pedal, the rpm starts building, a lull of 2 seconds and then the rpm climbs till around 4000 / 5000 and then things start moving. If you let go of the accelerator in this case, then the gears will be increased to do rev matching.

Anyways if you want a bit of fun and drive in 2000 to 3000 rpm range, you can always shift to the manual mode where the car allows the rpms to climb to almost 4000 rpm without shifting.

Another observation I have is you can cruise in the second gear if you want at speeds of around 18 kmph. However, suppose I am coming out of parking and I am at around 15 kmph to 16 kmph, now this is where the AMT is confused whether to shift up to 2nd gear or wait in the 1st gear and you will kind of feel a hesitation from the car. This results in slight jerkiness.

Another problem that I faced and posted on Bhpian Rahul’s own Nios AMT thread to confirm was the initial jerkiness of the gearbox in the mornings just after starting the car.

I have a basement parking and my slot is a bit tight. On top the opposite cars parked are two SUVs which jut out from their own slots a bit. So this means I have to take a 3 point turn to get out of the parking. Now when I start the car and put it into drive mode and start moving, initially there is an hesitation of 1 sec and then the car just lunges forward as soon as I step off the brakes. The car start moving, and I have to again press brakes again. Then if I shift to reverse there is a loud “TAK” sound. All of this I have now learned to control and after talking to multiple owners I have realized that these are all normal behavior of the AMT. SO to mitigate the behavior, what I do now is while taking out the car, I keep the brakes half pressed rather than completely taking my foot of the brakes.

I am though worried for my brake pad life. Moreover, all of the above behavior is only for the first 10 mins and once you are past that its all smooth after a few kms. I guess even the initial high rpm when the car starts may be one of the factors for this behavior.

But to summarize, I drive a bit lazily, I don’t rev high and generally build gradual speeds, so I love the AMT and how it behaves. My wife loves the car too and She is slowly gaining confidence. The Brakes are good and will stop the car when you break hard. They have good bite and inspire confidence.

Out on the highway, you must plan your overtakes carefully. Suppose you are around 50kmph and you want to do an overtake, the car takes a second and will not hesitate to drop to 4th if required to give you that extra push. If you are doing 80kmph you will have to build the speed gradually for a overtake maneuver and with a slight hesitation, the rpms start rising and the car starts moving forward. Cruising at highway speeds comes naturally to the Nios and straight-line drives are not an issue. If riding on Ghats or slopes, shift into manual mode and enjoy the Nios holding longer to the gears and getting additional traction from the Engine while coming down or going up.

Where the AMT feels home is when you drive the car in Back to Back traffic. The AMT with the creep function is great for stop and go scenarios and you will love the convenience. Like explained earlier, the initial jerkiness is not there after a while and a slight press of the brakes will get the car to stop and just lift off and the car starts moving forward ever so slightly. For long stops, just shift back to Neutral. The Gear stick is very nice to hold and slots nicely.

Driving Comfort and Suspension:
Now driving the Nios within city is fun. Small potholes and humps are better taken over at slow speeds. All undulations are felt slightly inside the car at slower speeds and but the car feels planted and not much to worry. Not much drama from the suspensions in general. At highway speeds small road imperfections and expansion joints can be felt easily and creates some vertical movement. I honestly feel that this suspension setup is biased towards a city driving comforts rather Highway driving. Unfortunately, I had the E2O I had was very rough and the Hexa I drive is on the other end completely so it’s a bit difficult for me to be objective on Nios. The engine and the competent 1.2 litre NA engine is rev happy and peppy so driving on the highway is as fun as in the city speeds.

NVH Levels in the car:
One of the best things with Nios is its super refined engine. Below 3500 rpm the engine is not audible at all inside. On a highway drive at about 80kmph, the only noise that comes inside the cabin is the tyre noise that comes up. Closer to 100 kmph, you will get wind noise as well. The best is around 60 - 70 kmph, super silent car and you can put on the music and enjoy the drive.

Kitna Deti Hai ? Aka Milege:
I have done two tank fulls so far and filled from Shell - Normal petrol so far. For a mixed City + Highway drive the first tankfull came up to be around 15+ kmpl. This is not he MID reading rather Tank to Tank. The second one showed 13 kmpl which included only in city driving. However please remember as I had said earlier, my driving pattern is sedate, I hold to steady city speeds and not just for mileage-oriented mindset but more towards a leisure driving.

AC and Cooling: The AC in Nios is best in the business and chills the cabin quickly. The key highlight are the rear AC vents which are a key differentiator in this segment. It’s a great boon to have, on a hot sunny day, when the car is parked out in the open and the cabin is hot inside. The two vents together cool the cabin nicely and quickly. There is also the Auto mode which controls the temperature and speeds automatically and a good feature to have. I have not seen any visible drop in power with the AC on for a regular city drive.

Safety Features:
There is a small anecdote I want to share first on Safety. When I was about to buy my first car back in 2010, my colleague and friend told me – Give first prio to Safety – Airbags, ABS, if required Pay extra for these. These are like FD in a bank. You keep it for future in the hope that you don’t have to use it. The day when you will need this FD (Airbags and other safety equipment) you will be happy that you invested in this and it might be a life saving decision. So from that day onwards, my views and priorities for features in a car changed completely.

The Nios comes standard with two Airbags for the front two passengers and ABS with EBD. There is nothing more to add for safety as a feature. I wish I had a choice to get 6 Airbags but that is where the i20 comes in. Let me be very honest here, I wanted to purchase the Altroz if I had the choice. Mainly for the crash test rating part. What would have otherwise changed my mind would be a 5 Star NCAP rating for Nios with a proper crash testing and I hope someday Hyundai also takes this seriously. Another Wishlist would be ESP. I was driving on a wet road just after heavy rains in Bangalore and on an empty stretch it felt like the tyres are loosing traction a bit on the curve. I had to slow down immediately to get the car back in control.

Credit where its due is the seatbelt reminder for the co passenger. The car starts beeping above 20 kmph if either of the driver or the co passenger has not put on their seat belt. Below 20 kmph there is no beeping however once you cross 20 kmph, it will let out continuous beeping which doesn’t stop even if you slow down again.

Horrible Lock / Unlock Sound:
When you lock the Nios or when you unlock, you get a terribly loud honk (One beep for locking and Two beeps for unlocking). This is very loud and irritating to say the least. Unlike other Hyundai cars like Verna, Creta, Venue where this sound can be switched off or switched on, in the Nios this cannot be controlled independently. I have called the Hyundai service people many times and have not found any way to disable this without violating warranty. The problem here is other cars have a two Horn setup where the main horn is the loud one and there is a secondary horn which handles the lock unlock sound and it has a much soother sound. On the Nios there is just one single horn which is very shrill and loud to say the least. So when the lock / unlock sound plays, its very embarrassing. Specially if you are in the basement or in a lobby the sound echoes a lot and small kids get scared. If anyone has figured out a way to deal with this please do let me know, will be very grateful.
You can in general hear the horn inside the car as well during regular driving and its not a very pleasing sound. Lets see if this horn can be replaced later or this problem can be resolved.

Niggles that I faced:
After the delivery and after the first few 100 kms, I have noted down a few small niggles that I would have to get sorted during the first service. Look, I come from TASS experience, so I am not at all bothered by small niggles etc as long as they are taken care by the ASS.
1. Closing the boot door takes multiple tries and would not easily close. My success rate is only about 60% times and rest of the ties I have to really slam it hard the second or third time.

2. The fuel gauge has an issue. After complete fuel top-up, the needle does not come up to the top for almost 8 days or 50 kms and then it slowly shows full. But then the second problem here is once it reaches full, till the first 90+ kms it will not budge an inch. It keeps showing tank full. This creates a lot of confusion and doesn’t show accurate results on MID for the distance to empty or mileage. See the picture here.


3. When the car goes over humps with a little high speed, the front left suspension gives a very strong Thud noise from the front left side. I need to get this checked as I feel there is something amiss here.

Small Titbits:
1. Cannot close left wiper without closing the right wiper first when both wipers are pulled up.
2. While Reversing, it shows the reverse lights with honeycomb effect, see the picture here.


3. Boot light is very useful in the dark like in parkings. Its angled towards the boot and very useful.
4. Cabin light is placed in the middle and not convenient for the driver to reach out to. Also this is not sufficient for the front seat or the rear.


5. Asta variant gets the rear wiper which is a must I feel when it’s raining heavily.
6. There is no place to stow the Seatbelt for the 5th middle passenger and it lies in the seat unnecessarily.
7. There is no damping or covering in the bonnet and it looks a bit odd. NVH is still well controlled.
8. Front wheel wells have plastic covering however rear wheel wells don’t have enough covering of plastic material. Looks a bit bad. During rains or driving over slush, you are bound to get a lot of dirt etc stuck up here.


9. The car has great Bluetooth connectivity, two simultaneous phones can be connected at a time however only one can use the Android Auto or Apple Carplay.
10. The wireless charger has a mind of its own. Sometimes it works nicely the first time and sometimes it does not work after multiple tries.


11. You must press on the brakes to shift gear from R – N – D. If you forget to press the breaks and shift, the car gives you warning as beeps with a flash on MID. If you are lazy and don’t want to repeat the shift, when the warnings come, just press on the brake again and car accepts the shift and starts moving.
12. I must mention - while I was looking to finalize the car, the thread for Hyundai Quality issues came up on TBhp and I was worried like hell. I tried my best to cancel Nios and wait for Altroz however due to the urgent need for the small car, had to finalize. Anyways would keep praying to GOD to have a fuss free ownership.
13. If you step out of the running car with the key in your pocket, you get a long beep warning and MID shows Key Out message.
14. Roof rails are provided for aesthetics only and are not load bearing.


15. Nios has a 35Lit Fuel Tank so expect something around 400 - 420 KMs range on a full tank.
16. If you open the driver side door to the max and peak from the side, you can see an open access area till the front headlight.


Summary:
If you are looking for a car in 7 to 8 Lakhs bracket and want a competent city use car and an occasional highway drive car, you can look at the Nios. It’s a Jack of all trades and packs some good features to please the owners.

Signing off with a front three quarter view:

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Maverick Avi]

Congrats on your new purchase!! You have nicely pointed out your observations and some common sore points for all owners is the lock/unlock sound from horn and non illuminated controls on driver door pad.

I am on the lookout for auto hatch too and had borrowed my cousin's Nios Sportz AMT model for a day. Its indeed a good proposition in its segment but I felt that Maruti's AMT specially with 1.2L engine is more sorted and predictable with no early morning laziness or 'tak' sounds. In smoothness Nios trumps it though and one of the reason for that is that it holds onto gears a little longer. An average buyer making a decision based on test drive would surly appreciate Nios AMT more than any Maruti.

Most of the niggles you shared should be easy fixes except the suspension which are always hard to explain to SAs who brush them off as "special traits" of this model. Hope you get it sorted without much hassle and enjoy the ownership experience. Meanwhile my search is still on and am yet to decide between Nios, Wagon R and upcoming Celerio.

[medicineman1987]

My wife drives a Santro AMT and it also suffers from some of the issues that you have reported.
1) If I fill up the tank the fuel guage rises to 60% immediately and then takes anywhere between a few hours to a few days to show the proper reading.
2) The last door to be closed requires some effort as opposed to the other doors. (due to air lock?). In your case it's the boot. Check if the boot is easier to close when one of the doors is open.
3) The AMT is super jerky during cold starts and judders a lot. If you're on a steep incline when it happens then it tried to engage the clutch a few times and gives up causes you to roll back. Works perfectly once warmed up. (I asked the service guys if there is a software update for the AMT TCM and they said there is one for the Nios but not the Santro so look into that, it may solve your issue.)
4) Very irritating during slow manoeuvres and parking as the clutch has a all-or-none action. i.e. when you take your foot off the brake it engages the clutch slowly but the moment you even slightly touch the brake pedal it fully disengages the clutch instantly making your parking manoeuvre unnecessarily jerky.
5) The sounds from the AMT box. The service guys tell me these are the normal sounds of the various servo actuators. This is especially irritating during parking (Due to constant use of the clutch actuator which is accompanied by a "tak" sound each time. Refer point 4 above)
6) Not exactly the same issue as yours but the paint quality is terrible on the car. The clear coat is super prone to scratching.

Despite all these issues it's a good car for city use and my wife loves it.

[MasterChief]

Congratulations on your new pocket rocket. ENJOY.

Yes, the lock-unlock sound (honk) of most of the cars nowadays are very irritating and often startle people around the car. I disabled it by pressing both the lock and the unlock button on the key-fob together for a few seconds. Hope it helps you (and the people around your car ).

[sathya.bhat]

Congratulations on your red beauty!

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

2. I absolutely hate the Lock / Unlock sound of the car – it’s horrible. I wish Hyundai would give some way to disable or improve this.

I think you should be able to turn this off. Press both lock and unlock button on the car key together for few seconds. The turn lights should blink and the car should not make any more sound while locking/unlocking.

[shubhamAT]

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

Congratulations on your red beauty!



I think you should be able to turn this off. Press both lock and unlock button on the car key together for few seconds. The turn lights should blink and the car should not make any more sound while locking/unlocking.

I took delivery of a Grand i10 Nios Sportz 2 weeks ago and tried all the tricks in the book. The lock + unlock press technique did not work for me. I now use the good old key to unlock/lock the car.

BTW AMT is not only Jerky, it is unpredictable as well. Sometimes, during kickdown situations, it refuses to downshift and car over revs. Other time it actually upshifts. I have to be extremely careful while overtaking.


The sound system is good but can do better. Any one tried adding additional speakers or a mini amp ?

[chiefpk]

Congratulations on your new Pocket rocket. Wishing you a very happy and safe fuss free ownership with your Red guy. It seems you are a Red lover right? Your E2O was also a red one.

But anyways, great detailed review. The Nios is a more balanced looker among Hyundai's current stable. While deciding for our next car I did check out the Nios but we were kept away from Hyundai just because of the dissatisfied design and steering feel but as a product Nios is still much better than the Swift. Congratulations again.

Regards

Pranav

[swarnava.ch]

Originally Posted by Maverick Avi

Meanwhile my search is still on and am yet to decide between Nios, Wagon R and upcoming Celerio.

Thanks Maverick Avi for you wishes and I wish you the best for your car search and the ownership there after. You have chosen some good options.

Originally Posted by MasterChief

Congratulations on your new pocket rocket. ENJOY.
Yes, the lock-unlock sound (honk) of most of the cars nowadays are very irritating and often startle people around the car. I disabled it by pressing both the lock and the unlock button on the key-fob together for a few seconds. Hope it helps you (and the people around your car ).

Thanks MasterChief, unfortunately this mechanism does not work for Nios to disable the sound.

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

I think you should be able to turn this off. Press both lock and unlock button on the car key together for few seconds. The turn lights should blink and the car should not make any more sound while locking/unlocking.

Thanks Sathya, as explained above, unfortunately this mechanism does not work for Nios.

Originally Posted by shubhamAT

I took delivery of a Grand i10 Nios Sportz 2 weeks ago and tried all the tricks in the book. The lock + unlock press technique did not work for me. I now use the good old key to unlock/lock the car.
BTW AMT is not only Jerky, it is unpredictable as well. Sometimes, during kickdown situations, it refuses to downshift and car over revs. Other time it actually upshifts. I have to be extremely careful while overtaking.

Congrats Shubham on your new car and wish you many miles of happiness. Also I see your feedback on the AMT. May be tweaking the driving pattern may help a bit here. Let me also try this and will get back to you with feedback. Other point was the Manual key definitely works however it’s a bit cumbersome to use everytime. But when there are people around the car I use this as last resort.

Originally Posted by chiefpk

Congratulations on your new Pocket rocket. Wishing you a very happy and safe fuss free ownership with your Red guy. It seems you are a Red lover right? Your E2O was also a red one.
Pranav

Thanks a lot Pranav Sir for remembering, the RED is Nios looks better when viewed in person. The Pics I have used don’t do enough justice.
The other colour we liked was the Grey and White however finally settled on RED due to the E2O continuity factor as you guessed.

Originally Posted by medicineman1987

My wife drives a Santro AMT and it also suffers from some of the issues that you have reported.
1) If I fill up the tank the fuel guage rises to 60% immediately and then takes anywhere between a few hours to a few days to show the proper reading.
2) The last door to be closed requires some effort as opposed to the other doors. (due to air lock?). In your case it's the boot. Check if the boot is easier to close when one of the doors is open.
3) The AMT is super jerky during cold starts and judders a lot. If you're on a steep incline when it happens then it tried to engage the clutch a few times and gives up causes you to roll back. Works perfectly once warmed up. (I asked the service guys if there is a software update for the AMT TCM and they said there is one for the Nios but not the Santro so look into that, it may solve your issue.)
4) Very irritating during slow manoeuvres and parking as the clutch has a all-or-none action. i.e. when you take your foot off the brake it engages the clutch slowly but the moment you even slightly touch the brake pedal it fully disengages the clutch instantly making your parking manoeuvre unnecessarily jerky.
5) The sounds from the AMT box. The service guys tell me these are the normal sounds of the various servo actuators. This is especially irritating during parking (Due to constant use of the clutch actuator which is accompanied by a "tak" sound each time. Refer point 4 above)
6) Not exactly the same issue as yours but the paint quality is terrible on the car. The clear coat is super prone to scratching.

Despite all these issues it's a good car for city use and my wife loves it.

You sir are a genius and please take a e – Bow from me. You are absolutely spot on with your feedback and its very helpful.
Pt 2 that you have mentioned, I tried it out. So if any other door is open, then the boot closes easily. If all doors are closed, then this problem occurs. On a reverse testing, if 3 doors and boot is closed, and I try to close the last door then this the door also shows similar problem as boot – does not close easily. So I am guessing there is a problem with the pressure release flaps behind the rear boot.
Will request the SA to check it tomorrow.
I will get the TCM updated tomorrow.

Lastly your observations on the AMT is also very similar to mine and agreed fully.
Did you get any solution for the Fuel indicator issue ?

[Merc_Freak]

Congrats on your new i10. Great Review. I feel that the Nios is the best option for someone looking for a city runabout under 10 lakhs. Hope you have a fuss free ownership.

[furyrider]

Excellent review. Congratulations on your new purchase. Grand i10 is a very good city car.

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

1. Closing the boot door takes multiple tries and would not easily close. My success rate is only about 60% times and rest of the ties I have to really slam it hard the second or third time.

2. The fuel gauge has an issue. After complete fuel top-up, the needle does not come up to the top for almost 8 days or 50 kms and then it slowly shows full. But then the second problem here is once it reaches full, till the first 90+ kms it will not budge an inch. It keeps showing tank full. This creates a lot of confusion and doesn’t show accurate results on MID for the distance to empty or mileage. See the picture here.

1. Cannot close left wiper without closing the right wiper first when both wipers are pulled up.

Hyundai carried over niggles from the previous iteration I guess. My 2018 Gi10 has the exact same issues. I gave up on the boot door after running around different service centers.

You were spot on with your observations on the AMT. My father owns a 2019 Santro AMT and the car is very jerky on cold starts. We have a steep incline in our basement parking and the car sometimes struggles if the engine is not warm enough. Once the engine heats up, the gearbox feels smooth. Unfortunately, Hyundai did not include a temperature gauge in the speedometer console of new Santro.

[medicineman1987]

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

You sir are a genius and please take a e – Bow from me. You are absolutely spot on with your feedback and its very helpful.
Pt 2 that you have mentioned, I tried it out. So if any other door is open, then the boot closes easily. If all doors are closed, then this problem occurs. On a reverse testing, if 3 doors and boot is closed, and I try to close the last door then this the door also shows similar problem as boot – does not close easily. So I am guessing there is a problem with the pressure release flaps behind the rear boot.
Will request the SA to check it tomorrow.
I will get the TCM updated tomorrow.

Lastly your observations on the AMT is also very similar to mine and agreed fully.
Did you get any solution for the Fuel indicator issue ?

Thank you so much for the kind words sir. But I am far from being a genius. I didn't even know such a thing as pressure release flaps existed. I had just consoled myself that the car is built so well that there is no way for the air to escape out
No they couldn't find any solution to the fuel guage issue and since it's hardwired and not in software I doubt they will find one. Please do keep us updated when you do find a solution to these things. Apart from these minor issues they're great little cars and I hope she gives you many miles of happy motoring.

[nisfish]

Originally Posted by swarnava.ch

3. When the car goes over humps with a little high speed, the front left suspension gives a very strong Thud noise from the front left side. I need to get this checked as I feel there is something amiss here.

Great review and congratulations on your new ride.

This is a niggle which I have observed on my NIOS Magna manual as well. I wasn't being able to articulate it so thank you for this. I noticed it since the beginning but I was under the impression that I may have been a little too fast. However my mind was not at peace with this as this used to happen at normal city speeds. I had no such problems driving over those same humps in a Baleno or an Alto at similar speeds. My second service is due in a few days time so I'll surely bring this to the attention of the SA.

[swarnava.ch]

On a general note, I read on Facebook when this thread was shared by TBhp, there were a lot of comments why would I call a 1.2NA engine pocket Rocket. Have I never driven a Turbo ?

Well to be honest, I was reflecting back on the thread title and realized why I have named it pocket rocket. Its not because of the speed, I rarely drive above 60 on ORR in Bangalore. I drive peacefully so its not about speed.
The real reason is as follows:
If I have to take my Hexa out for a short trip to the market or to my relatives place, I have to start the car, wait for 2 mins for the diesel engine to settle, then drive, parking hassles in the market etc. again wait 2 mins before shutting down while if I take my Nios, I can just step in, start and drive out, parking in the market is easy and convenient and I am back in a jiffy. There goes, this is the reason a small 1.2NA is a pocket rocket

Meanwhile First service update:
Kms covered so far – 1119 kms, mostly city driving. 1st Service was just a regular check-up.
Took almost 3 hours, nothing to write about.
Issues faced and addressed:
1. Fuel Gauge not moving after refilling full tank - resolved, now I can see the marker moving as soon as refill is in progress.
2. Fuel indicator stays at full tank till first 90kms or so then degrades rapidly in the next 100 kms. Issue not resolved. Have decided to live with this.
3. Boot door needs extra effort to close - Its a bit better now after the service but may be need to request again.
4. That horrible lock unlock sound – no solution yet, have to live with this.
5. The initial AMT judder during the first 5 mins its terrible. But I stay put and start moving only after a few mins and secondly to avoid juddering, I take it out slowly from the parking then give some gas, once rpm is above 1k, then the juddering is very less.

Originally Posted by nisfish

Great review and congratulations on your new ride.

This is a niggle which I have observed on my NIOS Magna manual as well. I wasn't being able to articulate it so thank you for this. I noticed it since the beginning but I was under the impression that I may have been a little too fast. However my mind was not at peace with this as this used to happen at normal city speeds. I had no such problems driving over those same humps in a Baleno or an Alto at similar speeds. My second service is due in a few days time so I'll surely bring this to the attention of the SA.

Hello nisfish,
Almost similar observations as yours. Unfortunately the first service didn’t solve this. Had given this as an issue to resolve however its still there. Even if the speed is a bit more than normal, there is always this Thud sound from the left suspension. I will have to send the car again to get this resolved sometime to be honest its just my laziness.
Please do let me know in case you get it resolved so that I can then follow-up as well.

[TejasKinger]

Originally Posted by furyrider

You were spot on with your observations on the AMT. My father owns a 2019 Santro AMT and the car is very jerky on cold starts. We have a steep incline in our basement parking and the car sometimes struggles if the engine is not warm enough. Once the engine heats up, the gearbox feels smooth. Unfortunately, Hyundai did not include a temperature gauge in the speedometer console of new Santro.

Sorry for hijacking this thread. Furyrider, I tried to DM you, but it turns out that you don't have the option open. I too drive a 2014 MT Grand i10 Petrol, and I am evaluating the Santro AMT and Nios AMT as potential replacements. I was wondering if you could help with me a frank opinion on the Santro AMT and how it compares with the Grand i10.