[AbhiJ]

I was lucky enough to get a short test drive of the i20 CRDi Asta today.

Just though I will share my experience with all those who are considering this vehicle.

FYI, I have been hunting for a premium hatchback for the last 2 months and have taken test drives of:

1) Swift VDi
2) Indica Vista QDJ
3) Fiat Punto MJD
4) Fiat Linea MJD (I know not a hatch, but I fell for the looks)
5) Honda Jazz
6) Getz CRDi

My garage has a Accent Viva Crdi, and a CR-V 2.0

The test drive was given in the White i20 Asta, at the dealer's premises.

Sound/Vibration: The engine is an extremely quite one on startup and idle. Even under normal driving circumstances, the engine is low on decibels and vibrations. It is difficult to tell its a diesel. Only when revved high a coarse nature of the engine shows, with a noticible sound inside the cabin. Noise insulation seems adequate.

Power: There is enough. The car feels as quick as my accent CRDi, maybe a couple of shades quicker. The torque is fantastic and there is great driving ease. Its no Getz CRDi though.

Brakes: Excellent. 4 discs + ABS. A firm stomp made me feel the car had hit a wall!

Steering: Small, Light, Nimble. Its a pleasure to drive this car in the city. However, I have no idea how good/bad this same steering will feel under hard cornering / at high speeds. The steering is adjustable and I found my perfect driving position within 20 seconds.

Gearshift: The gear lever is fantastic, and extremely well crafted. The throw/gear change itself could have be slightly more positive, but overall no complaints in this department.

Space: Very decent. Boot is adequate (for a hatch)

Seating: Very comfortable front seats. They have excellent lumbar support. Although I like not like the looks of the upholstry, the feel/touch of the same is good.

Legroom: I have my personal test for gauging the legroom of cars - figures be damned.
I set the drivers seat to my liking, and then I try sitting behind the driver's seat. The outcome of the above test? The legroom is more than the Punto, and definately much more than my Accent.

Interiors: Good interior design, fantastically executed. The quality of the switchgear, dash are pretty good.

Ride Comfort: Although I did not get the right circumstances of check this aspect out, seems like the typical hyundai suspension setup. A bit of the firmer side.
(p.s. Where it comes to ride comfort I think the Linea/Punto are in a different league altogether)

Toys (i.e. Value added features): The USP of the car. They kick ***.
Infact while going through all the features I figured out that the i20 has practically all the features/toys that my CR-V does.

Price: ~ 7.4 lacs On Road for the one I drove.

P.s. Sorry, No pics. Wasnt carrying my camera, and the one on my E71 is horrible.

Disclaimer: This is my first review, so please, tell me/ask questions if I missed anything.

[?ushk@r]

Good one Abhi! Hyundai cars are always a pleasure to drive - fantastic steering and the power! I bet you would agree to this as you have a VIVA in your family

However, I doubt about this:

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

Sound/Vibration: The engine is an extremely quite one on startup and idle. Even under normal driving circumstances, the engine is low on decibels and vibrations. It is difficult to tell its a diesel.

I've noticed that all Diesel engines are smooth and silent on start-up & idle when new; however, as the time moves, they become noisy..

[live2drive]

Originally Posted by ?ushk@r

I've noticed that all Diesel engines are smooth and silent on start-up & idle when new; however, as the time moves, they become noisy..

Hyundai diesels or other diesels for that matter are noisy at the start-up for a minute or two until engine attains its optimum working temperature.

[AbhiJ]

Originally Posted by ?ushk@r

I've noticed that all Diesel engines are smooth and silent on start-up & idle when new; however, as the time moves, they become noisy..

I would have to agree. My Accent CRDi was slighty noisy to start with, but with time, the noise also grew.

[rupinder]

i took a td of i20 crdi asta today. here are my observations and a little comparision with the other company's car.


exterior .it is nice .looks quite long . the paint job and the looks of punto are much better. alloys are ok but dont look to have the same quality like punto

interiors . the dash is better than punto lookwise and also quality of plastic . ice in both cars is not upto the mark . leg space comparable nothing much different. didnt like the steering audio controls looked cheap stuff.

engine .one of the most silent and refined diesel engine .my wife couldn't guess whether this was diesel or petrol. nice acceleration .the 1st and 2nd gear in pounto are short not so in i20. i was cruising at 100kph in 3rd gear.

didnt like the steering , too light reminded me of the arcade racing games very vague.

ride quality good but stability better in punto.my wife sitting in back said the ride in my petra and punto was better than i20 .it was bumpy in rear seat the front person doesnt feel that much bumps.

brakes very good in both cars.

i think the i20 magna will be a much better vfm for the ordinary person with restricted budget who doesnt want to buy a fiat or wants a much peppier engine. and asta for ppl who have the bucks to go for a second car who already own a sedan.

it is a nice product from and hyundai and will do well .but the no's will come from magna

[AbhiJ]

The above review ended up in this .... http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...asta-here.html

[Rodeo]

Is it possible to make Magna's music system USB enabled? Asta model has USB.