[sandeep108]

Originally Posted by manish7

The salesperson just came to my office for a test drive of i20 and I took it to chandani chowk here to test if we can climb that steep hill sharply. There were 3 adults in i20 and car was just struggling to climb up in third (or even second gear) when I completely floored the accelerator. When I took it for a small stretch on express highway (stright road, no steep hills) adn floored the accelerator in 5th gear, it was stuck at 70 kmph and took very long time to climb til 85 kmph. Very sluggish and it was almost difficult for me to oevertake any vehicle.

Possibly something wrong with the car or your driving. Obviously you cannot expect the i20 kappa petrol engine to behave like a diesel. Yes, it should have been a 1.4 - 1.6, but the current engine is quite adequate and very drivable for our Indian conditions. Which road can you really go past 100 kmph safely? Even the expressways, people do not bother when changing lanes or sit in the middle of both lanes, drive on wrong side of road, list is endless.

I can tell you that on the Pune e'way and Mahabaleshwar ghat roads, I have never felt much of a lack of power for our Indian conditions or for overtaking. All you need to do is downshift at times. The engine is so smooth that even at 5k rpm, it never feels strained.

I have never been much of a fan for Hyundai bit the i10 and i20 have possibly changed my opinion. The i20 is so much easier to drive than Swift ZXI. Very lovely gearboox, extremely light clutch, smooth high revving engine, great steering. The swift clutch feels heavy in comparison from day one (Maruti SS has never been able to get the setting right), the old esteem engine does not like going past 4k rpm, the steering feels very odd in center position.

[humyum]

Originally Posted by manish7

The salesperson just came to my office for a test drive of i20 and I took it to chandani chowk here to test if we can climb that steep hill sharply. There were 3 adults in i20 and car was just struggling to climb up in third (or even second gear) when I completely floored the accelerator. When I took it for a small stretch on express highway (stright road, no steep hills) adn floored the accelerator in 5th gear, it was stuck at 70 kmph and took very long time to climb til 85 kmph. Very sluggish and it was almost difficult for me to oevertake any vehicle. Not my style of car with this engine, I will try it with new 1.4 diesel engine if it indeed gets launched by this month end. Hyundai i20 with 1.2 petrol engine is really underpowered, and I am not a very fast driver but I need power in city to overtake others, and to climb small steep hiil of Chandani chowk everyday without fuss, and when trucks passing by block my way, I need power to quickly overtake them.

Otherwise, I found i20 Asta fully loaded, it's awesome. The gerbox is pure joy and ride quality is realy good. Just that I din't like the seat covers, but they can be replaced easily in 5-6k. Not a problem! Bring on i20 1.4 diesel soon and price it sensibly please!

Shyamtanu - sine you're in Pune, I am just curious to know from where did you purchase your i20?

Originally Posted by sandeep108

Possibly something wrong with the car or your driving. Obviously you cannot expect the i20 kappa petrol engine to behave like a diesel. Yes, it should have been a 1.4 - 1.6, but the current engine is quite adequate and very drivable for our Indian conditions. Which road can you really go past 100 kmph safely? Even the expressways, people do not bother when changing lanes or sit in the middle of both lanes, drive on wrong side of road, list is endless.

I can tell you that on the Pune e'way and Mahabaleshwar ghat roads, I have never felt much of a lack of power for our Indian conditions or for overtaking. All you need to do is downshift at times. The engine is so smooth that even at 5k rpm, it never feels strained.

I have never been much of a fan for Hyundai bit the i10 and i20 have possibly changed my opinion. The i20 is so much easier to drive than Swift ZXI. Very lovely gearboox, extremely light clutch, smooth high revving engine, great steering. The swift clutch feels heavy in comparison from day one (Maruti SS has never been able to get the setting right), the old esteem engine does not like going past 4k rpm, the steering feels very odd in center position.

Disclaimer: This is after driving the Swift Diesel ( which i own), Swift Petrol which is a relatives which i was driving when we went to the showroom for a test drive !

I agree with manish here, Its underpowered and not a pretty car to drive on the highway! The clutch travel is long and so is the gear travel! The Swift petrol feels way way more punchy as compared to the I20!

Although the ride quality and interiors of the I20 are to die for, but highway is defininately not its forte and the swift beats it hands down in acceleration and gearshifts !

So all of you who want a drivers car look no further- Swift P or D it is !

[CBlazer]

Originally Posted by sandeep108

The i20 is so much easier to drive than Swift ZXI. Very lovely gearboox, extremely light clutch, smooth high revving engine, great steering.

Since you mention the steering. I found the following post where reppy talks about i20's oversensitive steering. Any thoughts?

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post1344856

[faithless_1984]

Congrats Shyamtanu.
Apart from being a head turner the i20 is also great VFM imho.
Plus its a welcome change from the Gazillion swifts on the road.

Looking forward to a detailed review and loads of pics.

[Parm]

Originally Posted by manish7

The salesperson just came to my office for a test drive of i20 and I took it to chandani chowk here to test if we can climb that steep hill sharply. There were 3 adults in i20 and car was just struggling to climb up in third (or even second gear) when I completely floored the accelerator. When I took it for a small stretch on express highway (stright road, no steep hills) adn floored the accelerator in 5th gear, it was stuck at 70 kmph and took very long time to climb til 85 kmph. Very sluggish and it was almost difficult for me to oevertake any vehicle. Not my style of car with this engine, I will try it with new 1.4 diesel engine if it indeed gets launched by this month end. Hyundai i20 with 1.2 petrol engine is really underpowered, and I am not a very fast driver but I need power in city to overtake others, and to climb small steep hiil of Chandani chowk everyday without fuss, and when trucks passing by block my way, I need power to quickly overtake them.

Otherwise, I found i20 Asta fully loaded, it's awesome. The gerbox is pure joy and ride quality is realy good. Just that I din't like the seat covers, but they can be replaced easily in 5-6k. Not a problem! Bring on i20 1.4 diesel soon and price it sensibly please!

Shyamtanu - sine you're in Pune, I am just curious to know from where did you purchase your i20?

what car you currently drive and how old is your driving license?

i have never come across anyone who drove the way you test drove i20!

[shuvadips]

Manish, even I am curious to know, what at speed do you shift gears from lower to higher!

Shyamtanu, congrats on your buy! I have test driven i20 and it is a great car to ride with the road presence, styling, loads of acessories and good space. The engine is good and it is NOT 'underpowered'. Yes its not as peppy as Swift or even its older version Getz Prime 1.3(which I own). But in general it is a great package. I sometimes think of upgrading to i20 but for the financial strain and the recession kind of condition I didnt go through.

[Shyamtanu]

Originally Posted by humyum

Disclaimer: This is after driving the Swift Diesel ( which i own), Swift Petrol which is a relatives which i was driving when we went to the showroom for a test drive !

I agree with manish here, Its underpowered and not a pretty car to drive on the highway! The clutch travel is long and so is the gear travel! The Swift petrol feels way way more punchy as compared to the I20!

Although the ride quality and interiors of the I20 are to die for, but highway is defininately not its forte and the swift beats it hands down in acceleration and gearshifts !

So all of you who want a drivers car look no further- Swift P or D it is !

Everyone drives a car for different satisfaction parameters, so what is a so called driver's car for A, may not be so for B. For that matter, I do not like the rattling, noisy swift which is much like a 'toad on the road' to me.

For that matter, if you put a M800 engine on a bullock cart, it will run and accelerate like hell, but that does not mean it is any good. What I am trying to point is, the ride quality, NVH level etc are equally/more important to certain people than the accelaration. Indian roads are not meant for that anyway, and going by the number of accidents I have heard/seen on swift, you better not try those adrenaline rushing sprints, its chasis does not support that. How many of us really qualify for such driving at the first place?

If a car is more refined and not feverish/shievering to let you know it is alive, that does not go well with someone, fine... but one needs to also understand what to expect from and how to drive more refined engines.

I never needed to rev it above 2500 to take it to near 3 figures with 4 people on a plane surface, and that too within quite short time.

No offences meant, but somehow I do not understand this underpowered tag when it is being driven in the wrong way at the first place.

Thanks all for the wishes, the pics and detailed experience will be there as soon as I get my hands on it. It has not yet been assigned by the company :-(

[shuvadips]

Shyamtanu you are absolute correct.
Congrats again, please upload the pics as soon as they are available.

[openroad]

hi folks... late entrant here. I am a proud owner of a berry red Magna for the last 3 months. Will get the patience and time to provide a detailed ownership report and pics. However, here's my observation over 2400 kms -

- Superb car. VFM. Head turner and cool color []
- Suspension is above average. But could have been a bit harder.
- next to 0 engine noise and vibration
- AC - just okay. My previous Alto was a LOT cooler. However, no loss of power.
- Sedate driving style. So, not noticed any "underpoweredness"
- Mostly city driving. superb gearshift - its a joy to shift gears []
- 10.5 kmpl on Mumbai city 100% AC. My Alto used to give me 12.5.
- one long trip so far to Mahabaleshwar. 5 Adults - 1 6 feet. Very comfortable.
- crossed 150 on speedo meter with AC. The car was very much planted with no funny behavior.
- Ghats were done in 3rd/4th gear maintaining 60-70 kmph. Didn't feel stressed.
- 15.8 kmpl on tank to tank top up after the trip. 100% AC, speed mostly over 120.
- Excellent integrated music system!
- No driving fatigue! I have dropped dead after similar trips (and longer) in my Alto.

More later []

[vigsom]

Great Openroad;your experiences silence critics who call the i20 "underpowered"

[Parm]

congrats to all owners of new i20s, they sure made a sensible choice to buy a VFM.

waiting for your valuable feedback and of course....photos!!

[faithless_1984]

- one long trip so far to Mahabaleshwar. 5 Adults - 1 6 feet. Very comfortable.
- crossed 150 on speedo meter with AC. The car was very much planted with no funny behavior.
- Ghats were done in 3rd/4th gear maintaining 60-70 kmph. Didn't feel stressed.
- 15.8 kmpl on tank to tank top up after the trip. 100% AC, speed mostly over 120.

@Openroad - Now that's the kinda review most of us were waiting for.
Good to read that it performed well on the highway too.
Ill be going for a T.D soon ,will try to post a review.

[Shyamtanu]

I was told today that the car has arrived at showroom, going to 'check' tomorrow and pay the 'check' after 'check'-ing the details :-)

Liked Punto pics n specs, hope it turns out what it is expected to be, the suspension seems awsome!

Anyway, please tell me what all to check in this round of PDI? This will be sent to RTO after I inspect. I have the following in list -

1. Engine and chasis number
2. Engine bay (leaks etc), coolant level etc
3. Battery terminals, general clean/neat feel
4. Tyres (I have asked for Bridgestone)
5. Odo
6. Body for any dents/paint touchups
7. Underbody.. is it needed?

I am personally surprised that they delivered within a week, is that okay? I shall get it home by mid next week though, after the M factor is transferred

[manish7]

Originally Posted by Shyamtanu

I was told today that the car has arrived at showroom, going to 'check' tomorrow and pay the 'check' after 'check'-ing the details :-)

Liked Punto pics n specs, hope it turns out what it is expected to be, the suspension seems awsome!

Anyway, please tell me what all to check in this round of PDI? This will be sent to RTO after I inspect. I have the following in list -

1. Engine and chasis number
2. Engine bay (leaks etc), coolant level etc
3. Battery terminals, general clean/neat feel
4. Tyres (I have asked for Bridgestone)
5. Odo
6. Body for any dents/paint touchups
7. Underbody.. is it needed?

I am personally surprised that they delivered within a week, is that okay? I shall get it home by mid next week though, after the M factor is transferred

The whole PDI list here is on T-BHP somewhere, do take it with you. Congrats, I think getting it is a week is fine, I don't think there is a huge demand for i20 as such.

Congrats again!

[appuchan]

I also own a berry red i20 Asta since April. Still waiting to write a detailed report. Have driven about 1800 kms so far. Absolutely brilliant experience.