Team-BHP
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https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)
I wanted to put this post up sometime back but I found time only now. I owned a 2002 WagonR Lxi. This was a great car and brought out the driver in me. 2008 was the time when everyone around me were buying new cars. Then the came the urge in me to buy a new one. In my family, I and my dad drive. My dad is a bit short and he prefers small cars with good visibility. I stuck to small cars. Also, I did not have the idea of going for a diesel car. I wanted to stick to petrol.
We shorlisted Indica Vista Safire, Maruti Suzuki A-star and Hyundai i10 Kappa. All of you know a lot about these 3 cars and I'm writing this to post my impressions after the test drive. I chose the i10 finally. Here it goes.
Looks:
The Indica vista looks aggressive in the front due to the upswept head lamps and the rear looks more like a mini van. In profile, it still looks like the old Indica. Overall, a nice job by Tata. I really loved the A-star's looks. The muscular form is seen throughout the car. The contrasting front and rear ends look really nice. Many say its an upscaled Alto or a downscaled Swift. I disagree. It looks totally fresh. The i10 on the other hand as many say is very subtle in design. The front gives it a big car look and in the rear/profile, it reminds me of the first gen santro. On the whole, it did not impress me much. A-star wins in looks followed by the vista followed by the i10.
Build, Fit and Finish:
The Vista seemed like a huge improvement from the previous version as everyone said. But I was still able to see some inconsistent panel gaps and unfinished interior plastics. The Vista loses in this front. Still a long way to go. The A-star, true to its made-in-india-for-europe tag has a great build quality, fit and finish. In my opinion, its the best built Maruti. The interiors also were of impressive quality. The i10, there is nothing new to say about it. Build, Fit and finish is simply outstanding. Here the i10
wins followed by A-star followed by the Vista.
Engine and Gear box:
The vista is powered by the Fiat's 1172cc 65BHP engine which I believe started its duties on the Uno Fire. The engine felt refined and the NVH was quite contained but I felt that it was underpowered. It had decent performance to drive in the city but I'm not quite sure of its top end/full load performance. The Gear box was pretty slick and the gears slotted perfectly. Overall, it did not leave much of an impression. The A-star is powered by the suzuki's new KB series engine. The 997cc unit felt refined, was low on NVH and had good driveability in the city. I'm not sure if it was the test car but the engine felt stressed at high revs. The gearbox was the best among the three. The short and slick throw was really good. The i10 Kappa easily won here. The 1.2 litre 80 PS engine feels rev happy and moves right from Zero. The NVH level was near zero (though not actually) and the engine never felt stresses. The gear box was slick but the throws were a bit long and made noise during shifts. The i10 wins followed by A-star and Vista.
Ride, Handling:
The Indica with its wider profile, taller design but smaller wheels did not handle so great. There were rolls above 60 Kph but the 175/70 tyres helped to some extent. It feels a bit neutral in the city but does not feel exactly like a "corner carver". The ride was excellent. It took anything the road had to throw. The A-star was the winner here. Its wide profile and chassis setup allowed for brilliant handling. I felt the steering was a bit oversized but it provided accurate feedback. It feels at home on all corners and it quite flickable in the city. Ride is a bit stiff owing to the great handling. The i10 lost here. Being a tall boy in terms of design, the skinny 155 section tyres did not do good for its handling. It felt as it would roll at speeds even above 50 kph. That engine really deserves a better chassis. Ride was neutral, good at low speeds and bouncy at higher speeds. The A-star wins followed by the vista followed by the i10.
Practicality:
The vista, like the previous indica is a sure winner here. It had space everywhere, lots of stowage spaces and even underseat storage. The A-star on the other hand loses easily. The car is completely cramped at the rear and the boot space is close to nothing. The i10 falls in the middle. It does not have lot of space but doesn't feel cramped. There are enough stowage spaces and a decent boot. Here, the Vista wins followed by the i10 followed by the A-star.
Features, VFM:
The Indica vista offers lot of features for the money such as audio warnings, Integrated stereo, Rear wiper/washer, adjustable steering, height adjust for driver seat and so on. I did not really like the
central console. It takes away the driver focus. Also, the lack of ABS and airbags shows the lack of attention to safety. The A-star is the real star here. The ZXi version for the 4.5 Lacs OTR chennai offers everything you can ask for. Its a clean sweep for the A-star. The i10 is the loser here. Though it offers a lot of features, the top end Asta is priced equivalent to the Ford Ikon! i10 is not equal to pure VFM. Here the A-star wins followed by the Vista and the i10.
I have briefly explained my impressions of the 3 cars I test drove and to me, the A-star was the winner. It is compact, fun to drive, fully loaded, safe and is a great handler bUt graduating from a WagonR, I did not want to go for anything that is smaller than it. Also, the cramped rear and lack of boot (literally) pushed me back. The vista though practical and spacious, lacked a quality feel and the engine seemed a bit lifeless to me.
I finally chose the i10. I took the 1.2 Kappa Sportz Oyster grey. Here is why
- Brilliant engine and Performance
- Not as cramped as A-star
- Excellent build, fit and finish
- Hyundai's Customer service was great.
I will post the pictures and also the details on price, accessories shortly.
COngrats bro!! Where are the pics ?
Here are the offers that I got:
Total OTR chennai - 4,68,000
Discount for 2008 model (couldn't avoid) - 20,000
Corporate Discount - only 1,000 :Frustrati
Exchange Bonus - 7,500
Acessories and Extra Fittings:
From Dealer:
Hyundai Remote lock system - Provided free by dealer
3M Sunfilm - Provided free by dealer
Hyundai 6 spoke Alloy wheels - set of 5 - Rs 16,500
Bumper lamp (never want to call it fog lamp) - Rs 6,000
Outside dealer:
Wheelskins Leather steering cover - Rs 600
Autographix faux wood finish on the console - Rs 900
Top gear Vinyl seat cover - Rs 5,200
Full floor mat PVC - Rs 1,800
Door Sill guards - Rs 600
Door Edge Guards - Rs 200
Autographix body and hood graphics - Rs 1300
Matte Finish on B-Pillar - Rs 350
I'm attaching some photos. Sorry about the not-so-good-looking garage.
Congrtats on your new car, hood graphics looks great.
seat covers looks good but I see lot of wrinkles, you may ask them to fix it.
para_7k congrats man!
i10 is indeed a very nice buy. its a popular hatch option these days.
seat cover go well with the car and alloy are also decent. personally m not a big fan of wood finish on the inside and body graphic. but if you like them, then nothing like it. :thumbs up
drive safe and enjoy your car!
Para, congrats ! Looks neat. Good job on the interiors, the fake wood and seat covers look awesome. The fake wood looks better than the one on the Getz:D. I think Swift vxi is available around same price. Any specific reason to give it a skip??
Congrats on the purchase.
I too am not a fan of the fake wood on the dash.
The alloys seem good but why did you not try purchasing it from outside.?
para 7k, congrats on your purchase man, nice colour and nice seat covers but they seems not fitted properly as lots of wrinkles are been seen. Also why was swift not considered, with it being in the same price range. Alloys are good too but you could have got it from market as well with lots of designs options available.Have a safe ride.!!!
Congrats on your purchase. IMO, after spending so much on alloys, why did you not go for 175 tires? The difference would have been 3.5k. These would have gone a long way in improving the i10's handling. I like the leather steering cover. Much better than many others.
Welcome para_7k to the Hyundai i10 Family.
The Alloys and seat covers are looking great.
The Bumper lights(as you like to call them) costed you 6 Grands?
An after market one was costing me 750. 6K is huge difference.
Also, do post us your initial observations and review.
Thanks Everyone.
I did not consider the swift as my dad is a tad short and he felt that the overall visibility was not good for him.
Alloys: The dealer told me installing alloys from outside would void the warranty :Frustrati . That's why I took it from him. But I will go for 175 section tyres soon and will consider better alloys by then.
@achopraa, yes the dealer charged me 6k for those lamps. I will be crossing the 1000 km mark soon and will post on the practical aspects of the car by then.
congrats on your new car,kiran!
I'm also looking to buy a i10..me from chennai too.can you tell me from which dealer you bought your car.This will help me in negotiating for discounts.
Thanks !
Congrats Para on selecting the i10 Kappa. I am sure you will enjoy every moment with the car, as i am doing currently :). I don't think buying alloys from outside will void the warranty if so many of team bhpian's would be OOW by now.
Hey para_7k, that's some really nice looking car you have.
:)
especially interior-wise.
Personally I never liked wooden (rather "wood like") finish on dash. But I must say this is one the best looking wooden finish I have seen. Also great sync between dash, door & seat covers. Quite an impressive. Only thing is if you could get the wrinkles of the seat covers fixed, that would be really great!
Congratulations and drive safe!!!
:thumbs up
congrats friend, an excellent looking car with a good set of accessories. love those steering cover. DRIVE SAFE.
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