[vasoo]

From my experience of driving i20, I found it has got a weak 2nd gear. Other gears are good and the car does accelerate well. A/c was found to be a bit weak as well, especially for rear seat passengers. I did not have any other issues with it.

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by vasoo

From my experience of driving i20, I found it has got a weak 2nd gear. Other gears are good and the car does accelerate well. A/c was found to be a bit weak as well, especially for rear seat passengers. I did not have any other issues with it.

Almost exactly my views. I agree with vasoo - there is a very slight small flat spot in second gear. Otherwise the car is very very adequate for city and does not feel at all underpowered. While it may be the same engine, I do believe they have done some re-mapping of its parameters and also modified the gear ratios. As a result general driveability does not suffer. But yes, if you are looking for a 'hot hatch' you will need to look elsewhere.

Frankly, looking at the trend, I do not feel that either the Punto or the Jazz will be hot hatches either. Fiat may just plonk the 1.1 stile engine into the Punto and Jazz is rumoured to come with a 1.2 85-90 bhp engine, but which will be tuned in the interest of FE. Fabia has already stopped its 1.4.

[anilkalvani]

Just back from the test drive of the i20 Asta(O), very neat car imo. sat down and found a good comfortable driving position with tilt steering & height adjustable seats. The most funky part was the electrically foldable and adjustable ORVM, its really cool. Got Aux Jack & USB port on the dash. Auto a/c was present too. The steering remote was a good touch. Started the car and it being a sunday, not much traffic too but still the engine was pretty silent and smooth. Drove around for around 4 kms totally and did not find the power lacking as much as what i had heard, really. the steering was smooth and the gear shifts pretty Hyundaiish lol, a little rubbery. But i was pretty impressed with the car. Only issue was delivery, 7-8 weeks. Overall i came back impressed. See for this segment and price, you get a lot more than most expensive cars, hell the 3 lacs more ANHC doesn't have Auto a/c, Electrically Foldable ORVM's, Fog Lamps, Alloys, 6 Airbags, CD Player, Glove Box Cooling. For a city driven car, especially since this will be driven by mom & wifey within Mumbai, it is a good buy coz its loaded & the After Sales Service is good. Tell me how will i use 118bhp in real time if i don't travel much out of the city. So all in all, if any of you are considering buying this car but put off by the engine, please do take a test drive and have a look of what equipment you get plus power is not as bad as its made out to be. My 2 cents.

[sandeep108]

An update on driving the car a bit more:
1. While the EPS does not have that weird center spot issue, there is a slightly weirder issue - there is a sort of disconnect, especially on fast left/right switching/turning. Nothing that hampers or delays, but bothered me a bit.
2. There is quite a bit of road noise - surprising, the i10 actually has less.
3. The AC seems quite ok, but needs to be on 2 in the afternoon and is somewhat noisy too at this setting.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

An update on driving the car a bit more:
1. While the EPS does not have that weird center spot issue, there is a slightly weirder issue - there is a sort of disconnect, especially on fast left/right switching/turning. Nothing that hampers or delays, but bothered me a bit.
2. There is quite a bit of road noise - surprising, the i10 actually has less.
3. The AC seems quite ok, but needs to be on 2 in the afternoon and is somewhat noisy too at this setting.

Hi
Do you own an i20 or is it a test drive experience?
I am in the middle of finalising an i20 Asta. Delivery time promised here in Delhi/Noida is 4-6 weeks for Asta. Magna version is available rather easily it seems. Probably Hyundai didnt think i20 Asta will sell that much so they havent produced that many. There are no deals/discounts whatsoever!

[anilkalvani]

@joslicx
From my information, the insider told me that there is an airbag problem/shortage which is being sorted out, hence the delay in the Asta delivery. Today i spoke to another dealer in Bandra who said it would take atleast 2 months for delivery, no firm dates. Magna available within 3-4 weeks though.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by anilkalvani

@joslicx
From my information, the insider told me that there is an airbag problem/shortage which is being sorted out, hence the delay in the Asta delivery. Today i spoke to another dealer in Bandra who said it would take atleast 2 months for delivery, no firm dates. Magna available within 3-4 weeks though.

Here in Noida I am getting Magna same day (probably cancelled booking of some customers). But Asta is not available. The dealer has promised me he can get i20 Asta by the end of this month / early next month.

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by joslicx

Hi
Do you own an i20 or is it a test drive experience?

There are no deals/discounts whatsoever!

As I have said earlier, it is a relative's new i20 that I am using (sparingly of course). I may have it only for a couple of days more.

Yes - no deals / discounts whatsoever. It does appear that they are having a tough time meeting their exports, so domestic market taking a back seat.

[joslicx]

Finally I had a test drive of the i20 Asta today. Heres the summary of likes and dislikes.

First the likes:
1. Quite handsome looking car. It gives an impression of a big car from the front. Somehow gives the feeling that the front is wider than the back!
2. Loaded to the hilt with all possible bells and whistles one can think of in sub-10 lakh cars. I dont think any other car comes even close (probably Fabia does?) for the price.
3. Great set of tyres (for a stock quality)! I think i20 Asta has Accelere 185 60 R14 rubber. It looks meaty and aesthetically pleasing.
4. Very smooth gearbox (comparing to my 3 year old Alto Lxi here). It was a delight to use. Almost as good as Fabia one (I had test driven a Fabia Ambniente a fortnight back).
5. Engine although subject of so much derision on this forum is very peppy (I just drove within the city). I could overtake effortlessly. Also very silent engine.
6. Suspension is better than my Alto. I didnt feel lot of potholes that I normally did in my Alto.
7. Spare wheel is same Accelere 185 60 R14 tyre on stock alloy.
8. Dikki looks quite roomy! It can seriously accomodate lot of stuff.
9. 6 set of speakers and the sound quality was good. Not much of an audiophile so cant comment more on that. But the audio system is good enough for most people I guess.
10. Good set of safety features (ABS, airbags etc).
11. Seats are nice. Also rear bench feels roomy enough. Dont know why some people here are complaining on that.

Now the dislikes:
1. The key! Its a pathetic attempt at aping the Fabia fob! It feels very toyish. I dont think it will last long!
2. Quality of some of the stuff! The salesman, in an attempt to show off features, tried to fold ORVMs. It worked in multiple attempts! Also few other things seemed loose etc. Although it must be said it was a proper demo vehicle and might not be properly kept.
3. AC seemed to take ages to cool up the cabin. I mean once the temp was set to 22, it was like the cabin was only comfortable when the test drive was already over!
4. Didnt like the interior color combo. Very wierd. Like Fabia Elegance's interiors more.
5. No armrest. No other accessories as well
6. Dealership has no clues about extended warranty. Right now only 2 year warranty is on offer with the car(comes as standard).
7. Price. Expansive for Rs. 6.1 lakhs OTR Delhi reg.
8. No Day & Night rear view mirror.

Am I going to buy it. Good question. For Rs. 6 lakh it is probably the most suitable car for me. I wish there were more sedans with an automatic option or Honda had not stopped CVT production.

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by joslicx

3. Great set of tyres (for a stock quality)! I think i20 Asta has Accelere 185 60 R14 rubber. It looks meaty and aesthetically pleasing.

Now the dislikes:
1. The key! Its a pathetic attempt at aping the Fabia fob! It feels very toyish. I dont think it will last long!
2. Quality of some of the stuff! The salesman, in an attempt to show off features, tried to fold ORVMs. It worked in multiple attempts! Also few other things seemed loose etc. Although it must be said it was a proper demo vehicle and might not be properly kept.
3. AC seemed to take ages to cool up the cabin. I mean once the temp was set to 22, it was like the cabin was only comfortable when the test drive was already over!
6. Dealership has no clues about extended warranty. Right now only 2 year warranty is on offer with the car(comes as standard).

Swift ZXI is 185 stock.

Re: 1&2, I find that our great public loves to fiddle / fidget and generally do what they are not supposed to do. I remember at the civic showroom, one guy kept banging away at the centre armrest audio control flap - obviously it came apart. When I noticed the OVRM not working on the civic demo, salesman said one fellow forcefully held it while pressing the switch to 'check'. So I would not be too bothered about stuff on the demo car. In fact invariably when I ask for test drives and they do not respond, I know some nut has banged up / destroyed some critical aspect of the demo car.

Re: 3, I did mention AC does take a bit of time, but once it does, it is pretty ok.

Re: 6- surprised - they offer standard 3rd year - it is in standard price list sheet.

[Thad E Ginathom]

re fiddling: If it won't stand an adult fiddler, how will it stand the family children? I think the fiddling is a fair test!

re demo model: Is it too much to expect that a dealer cannot keep a demo car in good working order?

[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

re fiddling: If it won't stand an adult fiddler, how will it stand the family children? I think the fiddling is a fair test!

re demo model: Is it too much to expect that a dealer cannot keep a demo car in good working order?

Well, we do need to inculcate a certain amount of decent behaviour in our children don't we? All it takes is a 'please try and avoid that, it will cause a problem'. Otherwise growing up he/she will become adult fiddlers and in worse case damaging public/private property.

The dealer does try to, but workshop repair does take some time and often for new cars, spares are usually scarce.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

The dealer does try to, but workshop repair does take some time and often for new cars, spares are usually scarce.

Agree with you on this. It must be quite frustrating on dealer's part to keep repairing/servicing the demo car every other day. People do have a propensity to touch/twist/squeeze/pull/push anything and everything. I'll just give the benefit of doubt to the car here. However the actual customer car shouldnt have all these problems.

[Dose]

Originally Posted by krish82

I also wanted to know some facts about airbags, suppose a bike at 40kmph crashes into a car with airbags, will the airbags inflate.. and in case it inflates what is the cost of getting or reparing to new one.

If the force of the impact registered by the front impact crash sensors is high enough, yes. If not, then no, they will not inflate. The greater danger, imho, is the bike rider crashing through the windshield of the car and injuring the car's front occupants.

A good insurance company should take care of the cost of repair/replacement.

[filcord]

Had a small test drive of the I-20 Asta, as I was thinking of a replacement for the Getz 1.3.
The car is really impressive in looks and equipment. The ride is good also, up there with the Getz which has a super ride. Where I found it disappointing is in acceleration from a standing start, my three -year old Getz is better. This factor alone has pushed me to postpone my purchase for some more time, either till a more powerful engine is provided, or some other competitor comes in from Maruti or Honda.