[Bala_R]

Dear team members,

After a long and agonising wait, I upgraded to Berry Red i20 Asta.

Current Car: 1997 model M800 AC.

Initial requirement: Hatchback in the range of 4 to 5 lacs, which will serve me for atleast 10 years. No Sedan for me as I don't have a requirement of a car with a boot & it will be difficult to park in Mumbai / Navi Mumbai.

Cars considered initially: Zen Estilo, Swift, Getz & Palio.

After finally deciding to take the plunge of buying a new car by first week of April, I & my wife went through the options available.

Zen Estilo: This was well within the budget, had sufficient space for 4 passengers & sufficient boot space to hold the luggage for a weeks trip. My wife was more interested in buying the Zen Estilo. After going through the reviews & opinions of the team members, I was hesitant as the high speed stability was suspect, due to the tall boy design. After a family friends opinion on the high speed stability, we finally decided against it. We did not even visit the showroom for a test drive.

Swift Vxi: This was a very good car & was definitely a better choice. Since my father in law has the Vxi & I had driven it, I liked it. My wife did not like the rear seat of Swift as she was feeling claustophobic. Aslo since we had a swift in the family, we decided against it. We did not visit the showroom for a test drive.

Getz: This was a very good option as it fit all my requirements. The car was very spacious & had very good boot space. Had the option of having ABS, etc. Again on discussion with other relatives & family friends, many of them discouraged us in going for Getz. Even I was little bit skeptical as Hyundai had launched i20, they may face out Getz after a couple of years & I did not want to have a car that was out of production. My wife also agreed & we decided against it. We did not visit the showroom for a test drive.

Palio:This is one great hatch & I had read rare reviews about Palio Stile. Stile SLX was well within the budget & even we thought of 1.6 Sports. The cars has solid built & is spacious. We decided to visit a showroom for a test drive. We visited Fortune Motors & asked to be shown a Palio Stile. One Sales guy came to us & explained about Palio Stile. He did not know much about the car. He informed me that the Palio sales person is not available. We asked him about the test drive. He said that they did not have any test drive cars with them & it was not possible. We had a look at the 1.1 Stile that was there in the showroom. Everyone liked the space & solid built. I had a secret desire to finalise on 1.6Sports. I asked the sales person regarding the availability & delivery time, etc. He said that it will take almost 3 weeks for delivery from the date of booking. I showed the salesguy the alloy wheels that was displayed at the showroom & asked him whether the same alloy wheel come with the palio 1.6. The sales guy replied that it was not alloy wheel & it was a normal steel wheel . I told him that it was indeed alloy wheel & the same design is offer with 1.6. He did not agree & I decided that it was enough.

After a couple of weeks, while searching of other dealers for Palio, I called up Wasan motors chembur for a test drive of 1.6. The dealer informed me that he will be able to provide a test drive vehicle in 4 days time. Finally I got to test drive a 1.6, this was the dealers car & used by the dealer himself. The test drive changed my opinion as the engine was very rough & was clearly audible inside the cabin. I was expecting very good refinement after driving the i20. The suspension was very stiff & even on the Sion Panvel road, which is very good, I could feel even the smallest undulations of the road. Me & my wife immediately decided against the car. Please note that this was after we had finalised on Palio & were having a test drive just before booking. I still think that this could be because of how the car was maintained. But since the first impression was very bad, we did not want to again proceed with test drive with some other dealer.

i20: This was a choice that came out of blue. I had read about the i20 from various magazines & in this forum, but never thought that I will be able to afford one for myself. I liked the features offered in this car. On Gudi Padwa, myself, my wife, my inlaws & my sister in law decided to visit showrooms for deciding on the car to buy. Since I stay at Vashi, we left to Nerul to visit Fortune Motors (Tata dealer to have a look at Palio Stile). On our way, we decided to check out other Hyundai models at Sharayu Motors. We just thought of having a test drive of i20. They immediately offered the demo car for a test drive. I promptly took the drivers seat & four people were sitting behind including my cousin of 12 years. I started the car & slotted into first gear & it moved smoothly, without any jerk. Every body was happy with the interiors & the refinement. I was feeling very comfortable driving the big car & did not feel out of place. (Whenever I had driven the swift or Santro, the first time I started the car & slotted into first gear, the cars jerked). The suspension was very good. I also wanted to check the 2nd gear acceleration as many people had indicated about lack of acceleration in 2nd gear. I slotted the car to 2nd & pressed the accelerator, till about 1700rpm, nothing happened (no fast acceleration), but the moment it crossed about 1700/1800rpm, the car was accelerating well. Every body was pleased with the car (demo car was the Asta version). Then we went back to the showroom to discuss the price. Based on the price, we thought that we will not be able to go beyond the base Magna version. We asked about the delivery & we were told that the delivery period will be about 2 months from the date of booking. We finally proceeded to Fortune motors to have a look at Palio Stile.

Final Choice:After lot of deliberations & the test drive of Palio 1.6, we decided to go for 120. Now the question was whether to go for Magna or Asta. I had decided that I will book the car through company for tax benefits. The Asta was costing around Rs. 6.47 lacs onroad (company registration without insurance). Finally decided to go for the Asta bearing the additional cost as it had ABS with EBD & Airbags. The choice of colour was uninaimously decided as Berry Red.

I will write about the booking experience & delivery later.

Note: Since I am a M800 user, please read my comments as what I felt about each car. It is my personal opinion & not hurt other members feelings towards the car they own.

[manish7]

Nicely written! Congrats on your i20 and do post pictures here.

Do they have waiting period of 2 months?? I don't think many people are buying i20 - so why such a long waiting period? Any reliable information of i20 sales available?

[iPai]

Could probably be due to the workers strike that Hyundai is facing. Was in the news recently.

@Bala: Great choice!! Wish you many happy and safe miles in your i20!

[Bala_R]

Now coming to the booking part.

I got a quote from Sharayu Motors Nerul for company registration. The only accessories offered free was floor mats & mud flaps. The delivery period quoted was no less than 2 months from the date of booking.

Company in turn obtained quote from Jayabharat Hyundai also, who offered a discount of around Rs. 5000/- & also offered Anti-rust coating & teflon coating. Jayabharat was also ready to deliver the car within 45 days from the date of booking. Due to the faster delivery & the additional accessories, company booked my car through Jayabharat around 14th of April.

The car reached Jayabharat's Godown at Taloja around 27th of April, but the registration formalities could not be completed as the RTO employees were deputed for election duties. The car was ready for delivery after registration formalities on 8th May.

I reached Jayabharat at 2:30 PM, with the exhaustive team-bhp checklist. After checking, I received the key. The pooja was performed at the Showroom & drove the car to Vashi. I was little bit scared to drive from Prabhadevi till I reached Western Express Highway as I did not know the route & this was the first time, I am driving a big hatch. After reaching home, went to the nearby temple to do the vahan pooja at 6:30PM.

I will write more about the initial ownership experience soon. Little busy with work. It will take some time for me to put up the photos as I have not taken any snaps to publish as of now.

[jayakumarkp]

Congratularions Bala very nicely written. . Enjoy your new ride!! And please do post some photos ASAP.

[PSA]

I booked I20 Asta on 10th March from Sharayu Motors & still waiting .
I'm surprised That You got the car already after booking on 14th April ? Something wrong with My dealer ???

[Bala_R]

Originally Posted by PSA

I booked I20 Asta on 10th March from Sharayu Motors & still waiting .
I'm surprised That You got the car already after booking on 14th April ? Something wrong with My dealer ???

PSA, Nothing wrong with your dealer. Since our company makes bulk booking through Jayabharat, they put a pre-condition that only if they deliver the car within a month, they will book the order & hence the earlier delivery.

[GTO]

The i20 definitely has a feel-good factor to it, one which got your family bowled over. That's a heck of an upgrade from an M800. The ride quality, dynamics, space and highway stability will be a revelation for you the first couple of months. Plus, the looks will have you (and your neighbours) ogling everyday. She looks especially nice with a nice set of shoes (alloys + tyres). One of my favorite i20 pictures:



Congratulations! How about pictures of your new beauty?

[Ram]

Originally Posted by Bala_R

Dear team members,
After a long and agonising wait, I upgraded to Berry Red i20 Asta.
Current Car: 1997 model M800 AC.

Congratulations, Bala R:
Do post pics of your Berry Red Hyundai i20 Asta, exterior and interior and if possible next to your M800.

[nitrous]

Is it me or are those brake discs really large?

[roms]

Congratulations Bala, I20 makes a perfect top grade family car, given the ever increasing space constraints in our city. Both the I10 & I20 are fabulous vehicles and have feel good interiors with great plastics and general build quality. If I was in the market for a super hatch, the I20 would be it, albeit after they plonk in engines with some grunt.

Sad that the used Palio 1.6 TD car turned out to be a disappointment, and I would agree on the refinement, especially noise levels of the engine. It is a car that is now a decade old and you just cant compare the new age petrol motors to the buzzy 1.6 engine in the Palio. A well maintained car however, should have a smooth engine and gearbox.

Nonetheless, you've got yourself the best possible upgrade for yourself. Enjoy you ride and upload the pics. Good luck!

[StarVegabond]

Congrats Bala on your new car,

It is good that you chose a car that has ABS with EBD & Airbags. Safety is very important. I see that you are bit worried about the performance at high speeds, my suggetion to you is to drive safe (90-110KMPH) is the optimum even for express ways and 70-90KMPH max for any other road

Enjoy driving your car, post your booking experience, delivery, first (long) drive
look forward to it.

[loving_alaap]

Congrats.

nice description of comparison.

even though a bit expensive, i20 is far better than other hyundais (Honda like feeling).

May be because of this reason, people are going mad for i20.

[chetan]

Congrats buddy . Man the i20 is a lovely car , wish it had a more powerful engine .

[rudrah]

Aaah finally your i20 is at your home!

Congratulation Bala! Lets hope your Berry Red meets my Formula Red very soon

Whats the accessories you got in?

Cheers~