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-   -   One more Hyundai i20 added to t-bhp (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/69873-one-more-hyundai-i20-added-t-bhp.html)

Things to know before reading this thread:
I am not an expert driver. My total driving experience before this car buy will be around 1000 kms. (driven cars like M800,swift,i10)
I am not an expert like sidindica in posting threads
This is my first car

Initial Survey:
I thought i should buy my first car by april in january. Started surveying about cars. First i joined Orkut community about cars.From that i came to know about Team-Bhp.After that there was no need to open google to find any info about cars.I spent 3 hours on an average per day to read all latest threads.While i was so busy in deciding which car to buy,a thread came
Navratna:The definitive comparision of B segment petrol hatchbacks (1.2, 1.3, 1.4) . what can i say about this thread.excellent reviews by sid.I bought a car magazine which had hatch comparision.This thread was way ahead than the magazine comparision. This thread made me to decide which car i should by - "i20" clap:


Requirements:
Petrol - Since my Annual running will be around 10 to 12 thousand Km's
Hatch Back - It's my first car,so i think hatch is good to start
Color: Red (dont ask me why )
Budget: Around 5 lackhs.Could stretch a little bit upto 5.5L.


Below is my experience on different cars which i considered satisfying above conditions

Swift: Actually i thought to own Swift ever since i drove my friends car in january.After initial surveys through net. I thought this is the car which fits perfect to me.So went to Varun motors,Kukatpally. Sales person said it would take 1 to two months. So i just took the contact details and came back.Then i read some threads saying that swift will soon get phased out.So i thought let me wait. after waiting for almost two three weeks again i went to varun motors ,this time he said the waiting peroid will be 3 months(my choice was only Sunlight Copper).Now i went to Mithra agencies himayath nagar.Sales person offered me that he can get it in one month.But my friend suggested to just stick with varun. So i went to varun motors ,KBR park.Got same answer,2 to 3 months.. (Meanwhile much waiting punto was launched.so i thought lemme see intial reports). I was in no hurry to buy the car.The only reaason why i didn't book swift was that it may phase out and will come with k-series engine.

Ritz:Everytime i went to see different maruti showrooms for swift one common thing is sales person offering me to buy Ritz.First of all I didn't like the speedometer and tachometer design more than the rear design.To me sppedometer appeared smaller than M800. So didn't took even test drive.To me design is more important than to drive

Punto: First of all i have no reason why i haven't taken this.There are some minor reasons.Personally i didn't like red punto .Why do these showrooms persons provide only diesel cars for test drives.There was no petrol car. I saw the diesel car. Plastics looked cheap to me.

i20 - Initially i thought this is way ahead of my budget.So didn't even considered it. But after reading some intial dribing reports,I just went lo Lakshmi hyundai,Kukatpalli to see the car.But there was no car for demo.Later went to Talwar,had car to see.After sitting inside,i just thought this is the car.Interiors were amazing.Even the basic model magna has more features than swift vxi(like integrated mp3).Enquired if there is a petrol car to test drive. Same answer as punto,had diesel car for test drive.Heard a lot that it is little bit under powered. But as this is my first car and i am not an expert driver.I thought i20 will be fine to me.

i10 - i thought it is little bit small and thought better go for i20 even though both had same

same engine.I thought spending 1L more is worth.So after reading lot of threads one fine day i thought i20 is the car i should go for.

Booking Experience:
Gave a call to sales person(Krishnam Raju) of Talwar Hyundai,Banjara hills.I was told that i will get car in a month.As I am in no hurry, i agreed and booked the car on 8th August. Paid 20k in advance.Even though i know that there will no offers on i20(after reading all i20 threads),i have just enquired sales person if they are providing any offers on i20. Got the same answer - No offers for i20. Just got basic things like floor mats,mud flaps, Teflon coating.
Just called to Krishna after 2 weeks to know about the status.car was not yet alloted.Again called after one week to know the status.Good news,Car got alloted and will be belivered on Saturday(5th eptember). Called my cousin to come on saturday. But my cousin informed that Saturday is not good to but (Some Pitr paksha starts from 5th September'09 and lasts for a fortnight till 18th September'09). Called Krishnam raju again if it is possible to take before
4th.The answer is yes.He said he will arrange by 2nd september.

After booking ,i thought i would apply for car loan on my own.
Loan amount 2 lakhs.Applied for hdfc and sbi.As expected i got approved for hdfc within 2 days,but i didn't get any call from sbi even after 2 weeks.I got a call from sbi on 2nd september ,the day i was taking my car ROI - 11%. Time Period 3 years.there was only 100 rs difference between sbi and hdfc.So i just went for hdfc. I got insurance quoted 12k, 2000 rs less than showroom quote.So went for HDFC insurance.Later i heard that hdfc is not good for motor insurance.May be i will change it next year.

there was one more struggle running along with this car selection. My membership approval. I have tried 4 times :Frustrati. At last it got approved.
Thanks to all i20 owners for their valuable inputs.
Till now i have not done any modifications.Present odo reading 1800Kms. Will post my driving experience soon.

Few pics of my car.

Congratulations on your new Car and its the same colour as one the one I booked(Berry Red),looks great in this pictures.

Do update the thread with Your initial impressions after owing your new car :)

Congratulation, hope you are feeling 20 now... ;)

Congratulations for the having the beauty!

Drive safe.

Enjoy the car, few people realize that the Magna actually compares very well on price with the Swift/Ritz petrol offerings and is not as overpriced compared to them as the i 20 seems to have a reputation for. As a new driver, be aware and careful of the width of the car, particularly on corners where you will scrape the rear ends if you cut corners too sharp. The car is wide and has a longish wheelbase, you need to get used to that.

Congrats Reddy. I test drove this car last week and I was totally impressed! Superb features. You also have AC vents in the glove box and for the rear passengers right?

Great choice !! I for one think the Magna's a great VFM proposition compared to the Ritz / Swift.

It is indeed. And hats off to Hyundai for how cleverly they have loaded and priced both. For the extra Rs 90000 or so, one gets pretty solid additional features in the Asta, that are not possible to be done after market. At the same time, one can get a lot of i 20 virtues in the Magna and save a large chunk of money by opting for it over the Asta. Does anyone know of the break up between Magna and Asta sales for the i 20?
In contrast with the way the low end Spark with just the power steering remains the best buy, because all the loaded versions have just the bells and whistles added on at GM prices, that one can stick on after market much cheaper. I think GM missed a trick there, having gotten everything else right about the car.

Congrats Reddy for your new "Red" car, tell us more about its ride and handling.

Interesting you brought that up. Personal observation, I've seen more Asta than Magna.

PS : Congrats, Senior-BHP'ian !! That was quick.

i20 is a good car - no doubt. You have taken a good decision !
Not seen the mud flops are fitted in the car?

Teflon coating - if not yet done, then try opt for underbody anti rust coating instead of teflon coating.

Enjoy - Drive safely

Cheers !

reddy, congratulations on your uber cool ownership.Magna is surely a VFM buy for a base model with good built and quality offered.
FS & Sawer, i do see magna as well as Asta models on roads equally, so both of these models are doing good in market, one with all rich features and safery measures and another one with tight budget for entry level purchase.

I am not sure about the speed-o-meter. I didnt see that as a issue. But interior quality is pure unadultered yuk! My five year old seat fabric appears and feels much better than what is there in ritz.

It looks fabulous. Enjoy...

Congrats Reddygaru for your new I20.clap:
with I20 u can have silk & smooth drive in the city. Highways are also good.
My experience with I20 Asta is 7500kms and is amazing.
Recently climbed Tirupathi Hill in I20 & it was Cool.

Congrats Reddy! post more about your driving experience and include more pics.

Do you have any upgrades planned?

As Sawyer rightly suggests, the i20 is deceptively wide (I read somewhere that its wider than the NHC), so be careful at tight turns.