Finally I have sat down to write this piece on owning this Hot hatchback – aka
The Road Rocket
I have been wanting to do this for the last 5 months. I took the delivery on the October 14 and have been busy driving it (quite literally). I have clocked 7500 kms already
. (last time I wanted to post this my odo read 3800)
Needless to say it’s an absolute pleasure to drive and I just can't keep off it lol. I just keep finding excuses to drive it. If you love driving this car deserves more than a look.
I choose this car over the Fabia, Swift, Palio (diesel variants) for the sheer power it has, although I think if only we could get a car with the Fabia (safety features, ride quality, accessories) with this engine. Now that would be the perfect hatchback.
Buying Notes : Although I never got a test drive from the hyundai dealer here in Pune, they gave me excellent service all through and were very helpful. Initially they agreed to a 5000/- discount and accessories worth 10,000/-. I thought buying the accessories from the dealer would limit my choices so I pushed for a cash discount instead. I fail to understand why Hyundai is not doing anything to market this little monster; it deserves a separate ad campaign and a better package like the Getz 1.3 GLX in the same price.
My wishlist for the Road Rocket : in the order of importance
Airbags – an absolute necessity for such a fast car
Tubless Tyres – What was Hyundai thinking !! ??
ABS – would be nice to have it as an option.
Rear Wash Wipe – the authorities should make this mandatory for all cars in India, its time we realised this is safety feature and not a high end addon (Skoda realises this and has it on all variants including the most basic Active variant)
Rear Defogger – again a safety feature
Alloys – em.. for me a car is incomplete without a good set of alloys
In Dash CD/USB Player – adds to the overall cabin look aftermarket fitments don’t really gel well.
Keyless Entry – A better looking key, I absolutely hate the key, wish I would could have the Fabia Ambiente’s/i20’s key.
Having said that it was a much better experience than going to any other dealership (Skoda, Maruti, Fiat Included).
My Setup : Hyundai Getz Prime CRDi – 1.5 L/110 BHP
Michelin 185/60 R14 Pilot Preceda 2
Plati Alloys x 5
Pioneer 6050 Double Din Player - wish it had a green back light though
JBL GT5 650 C Front Speakers
JBL GT5 652 C Rear Speakers
Poly Vinyl Two Tone Seat Covers
Bosch Wintone Horn
Autocop XS 2500
Petes Tyre Checkers
I got all the accessories fitted at
Poona Motors, East Street, Pune. They even modified my spare tyre bolt so that it would fit after changing the rims to alloys. Excellent service.
Please let me know your comments about the alloys, I am having doubts about how good they look, I might just exchange them later on if I have the money to spare. Wish Lenso had more options in 14” alloys. Poona motors had just 1 set of lenso 14” which were not really to my taste.
Engine & Performance : Ultra responsive engine and very refined for a diesel, Autocar calls it the
Road Rocket and aptly so. The engine never feels out of power. Everytime you overtake, it will leave you smiling from ear to ear. Turbo whine anyone ? Oodles of Torque makes it a little tricky when you want to drive it in bumper to bumper traffic but I am not complaining. Having the AC on has minimal effect on the engine power as well. On my last trip to Mumbai via the expressway I floored the throttle and had the ODO reading
183 Kms/Hr! Didn’t really stick to that insane speed though, just wanted to do it once and see what it feels like. Power delivery is so smooth on this engine you will find yourself doing 130/140 without much fuss, you have to actually keep an eye on the odo to make sure you are not breaking rules or being unsafe.
Ride and Handling : The ride is a bit stiff (stiffer than the petrol, which is how Hyundai ships it to off set the extra weight of the diesel engine) but the handling is adequate thanks to the
Michelin 185/60 R14 PP2’s which I exchanged with the stock TubeType Tyres. Paid Rs. 9000/- for the exchange (Darshan Tyres, FC Road).
Interiors : Decent and very roomy interiors, hate the fake wood finish though. Wish I could have the brushed aluminum look from 1.1 Petrol GVS.
Here are some pictures of my baby. Let me know what you guys think.