[ajay0612]

Originally Posted by ramraman

After a month the car now again veers to the left and of course, the tyre continnued to lose pressure and I replaced it with the spare wheel as said above.

Unless the roads are flat to the spirit level the cars tend to veer left (mostly as we drive left hand side of road which is sloping to left). Try driving in the middle of an empty road. Also if you find an absolutely empty road then try driving on right hand side for some time before arriving at any conclusion on veer-left issue.

Also as regarding need to downshift while climbing on flyover (fully loaded):
It depends on your approach speed. If it is less (e.g. usually when caught in traffic) then you will have to downshift (as engine is revving at less RPM which is low torque situation). Isn't it?

[razrman]

Originally Posted by ramraman

I guess some snaps are in order and here's some. Some are from a recent trip to Bhandardhara. Will click more of the car and post...

Congrats! A very sensible choice you made. I feel an i20 Asta is the best value for money package you get at that price. Dont worry about the FE. It will improve overtime as your driving skills improve and the car finishes its run-in. I think the i20 also offers a gear shift indicator which tells you when to shift. This is calibrated for better efficiency. Just follow that till you get the hang of the gear box.

EDIT: Which place is it in the 3rd pic? The road with trees all around looks very beautiful. Is it in Mumbai?

[sindabad]

ramraman,

thanks for this thread and the updates. I am a couple of weeks shy of owning one soon. Do let us know if you are still facing problem # 5 slow pickup and what hyundai has to say.

[ramraman]

@ajay: thanks for the inputs! What you say about the left veer problem makes sense - Ikd rather check it properly before letting SE fool around with it.
On the pickup aspect - have faced the problem when the approach speed has been 50, but to make sure will check it again.

@razrman: the FE has already improved - 14+ in city without AC! Initially I used the shift indicator, but now am comfortable shifting without the system telling me to. The pic is at MTDC Bhandardhara - its a great place.

@sindbad: advance congrats on your i20 - its a great car to drive and am sure you'll love it. Will check the pickup problem again and post the update.

[ajay0612]

Originally Posted by ramraman

On the pickup aspect - have faced the problem when the approach speed has been 50, but to make sure will check it again.

50 in fifth gear (even in fourth) is too slow to overcome a flyover without downshift. Usually 80-100 in fifth gear is the meaty power band.

[ramraman]

Originally Posted by ajay0612

50 in fifth gear (even in fourth) is too slow to overcome a flyover without downshift. Usually 80-100 in fifth gear is the meaty power band.

Thanks Ajay - this is helpful - will do a few test runs to determine if I have a problem on hand at all!

[GTO]

This is an excellent ownership report! Extremely unique. Even though you are a newbie driver, most of your observations are no less than that of an expert. Congrats on your car and on driving yourself, Ramraman. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your review. Thanks for sharing.

Better get that "live to drive" sticker soon

Originally Posted by ramraman

Covered about 3 kms, going up a gentle incline; 100 mts away, a biker veers a bit towards me. Already a bunch of nerves, I slam the brakes hard - excellent braking in the car and it rams to a halt. Rickshaw driver rams into the car. Clinking noise in the car and in my heart - badly dented rear bumper and smashed right tail lamp. Not much shaken, manage to drive back home.

You have a way with words! Sorry to hear about the damage though.

Have an important meeting to attend. Decide the heck with it, will take the car. Drive for about 50 kms in peak Mumbai traffic, some bit of rains as well. Couple of times car stalls in stop-go traffic while going up inclines. What the hell! Drive over a few potholes - am convinced have smashed the suspension. Thankfully, they are sturdier than that.

Bravo! You only learn to swim after jumping into the pool. Similar story with cars.

Do search through Team-BHP for various threads on driving tips. You can't beat the collective knowledge of 60,000 petrolheads!

[ramraman]

@GTO: thanks a ton for the appreciative feedback; coming from a veteran BHPian like you, it means a lot!
I agree about the bit on jumping into the pool to learn swimming - reminds me of the time I learnt to ride: sat in a chair and praactised in the air for a few minutes and then kick started the scooter. Only, it took off without me - it was on gear and I was standing next to it!
I have read through team-bhp a lot and even finalised the choice of car after reading various excellent ownership reports here. Hope to post many more miles here.

@ajay: what you said is right - tried various approach speeds and the problem seems to be rooted in physics rather than the car's mechanics! Thanks!

[Tapish]

@ Ramraman: Congrats on the fantastic buy. I have driven one and did not come across any pick up related issues. Try revving the car till 2500 before shifting. That should help. Also, as GTO said, you have a way with words. Looking forward to some interesting bits.

[harishF1]

Hi Ramraman,

Congrats on your possession; I also got the same car in September 2010, same colour too; Magna, Petrol - 1.2. This is my 6th car in life, though the first new one.

My review is as below: (covering mainly the to be improved areas, since you covered most of the good parts):
The car is quite peppy after it crosses 1200 rpms. The second gear especially is very lethargic till it reaches the optimal rpm band. So it is better to rev it up in the first gear to reach a better rpm for the second.

The gear shift indicators are fantastic though I turn a blind eye to it and generally shift upwards of 2500 rpms.

The central console is so huge that I miss out on about 10 meters in-front. 11th meter till the sky is quite visible - I am 5ft 7.5 in. I dont have the seat height adjustment in my model, which I sorely miss. I didnt want to pay so much for the next model.

The standard 175 tubeless is fine and I dont miss the 185s. I shall upgrade when I need to change all tyres.

Did not find the OEM system very effective; added an amp (connected all speakers to it) and added JBL 1100 sub. Did not mind the warranty for electricals - thats the confidence I have on Hyundai.

Hyundai has made it difficult to refill air in the stepney - you need to remove it everytime with its upside down design.

Plenty of blind spots - so I have added the reversing sensor - part of the freebies.

Suspension is fine for smaller undulations, the larger ones in the common Indian road is often a problem.

Scraped the bottom with 4 adults over the standard India speed breaker in Bangalore roads.

The a/c is just average, the throw is also not great.

I just love the display with tiny blue lights everywhere on the dashboard, which is a joy to see at night.

Steering - I agree with you, could have been better controlled for higher speeds. You need to get used to this.

FE is about 10 in Bangalore and 17.7 on highways with A/c always. I dont blame the car, I blame Bangalore traffic for this and the dust/ pollution it kicks in.

Very poor interior lighting.

On the whole, its a very sensible car to own/ drive with an endless list of features. The features I love:
Glove box cooler for my softdrinks.
Gear shift indicators.
Auto dimming lights, auto off headlamps when the key is removed.
Full down rear window - this seems to be an added feature as compared to other hatches available today.
Information display on trips, temperature, date, time, etc.
Boot space - one of the highest at 290 litres.
Rake and reach steering wheel.
Multiple cup holders.
Boot light.

[mdsaab]

Congratulations on your new buy. I must say its one of the best choices in the hatchback segment. Enjoyed reading your review which was quite different from most of the others i have read. All those nicks and dents did make me winch quite a few times. Glad that most of them were sorted out in your visit to the workshop. Was quite surprised to hear your review on the a.s.s i thouht that hyundai was quite good in this dept. Well we shall just have to wait and see. Looking forward to hearing more about your car and the a.s.s. Wishing you many happy miles of joyful motoring with your i20.
Mash

[rohan_iitr]

Very well written ownership thread.

You remind me of the time when I purchased my i10, 2 years back. I had taken driving lessons and got a license, but I was still not confident driving in city traffic.

I purchased the car on a friday, my friend drove it home for me. I woke up early morning the very next day and took the car out all by myself. Thankfully, I didn't have any bad experience.

Then after many weeks of practicing in less traffic, one day I decided to take our the car in the rush hour. After that, there was no looking back.

Originally Posted by harishF1

Hyundai has made it difficult to refill air in the stepney - you need to remove it everytime with its upside down design.

Its the same in i10 also.

Very difficult to refill air in spare tyre. I refill the air in space tyre only once a month.

Rohan

[classicselva]

Originally Posted by ramraman

Latest FE: 14.4 kmph, ac hardlyu used, all in Mumbai city, atleast a third in bumper to bumper traffic! Wow! Touchwood!

Congrats ramraman !!! Hope all your issues are fixed. Friend of mine gets 14-15 kmpl in Chennai. I guess you are good in FE.

[ramraman]

Quick and urgent query:
Today I noticed a liquid dripping from the bottom of the car, clkose to the front, almost vertically down from where the windshield meets the bonnet. It is not oily nor viscous and has no smell. It is almost like water. None of the warning lights are flashing. I also noticed many other cars in the society have a similar liquid puddle, though smaller than mine. Interestingly, after 2 hrs, the dripping frequency had reduced and then fully stopped. Any clues what this is and anything to be worried about?

[ramraman]

@Tapish: Thanks! I usually shift around 2000 revs and seems fine: will try shifting at higher revs when fully loaded.
@HarishF1: Congrats on your new car - this is an excellent car to get used to! Afree to most of your observations, though:
- I find the car quite peppy, particularly for city use
- ground clearance seems ok - have had 5 ppl and thankfully, haven't scaped the underside
- seat height adjustment is a boon - I am 5'7" too and don't find the central console obstructive due to the seat height
- found ac quite ok, though the positioning of the vents is such that the draft hits my hands on the wheel and not me!
- stock music player pretty ok, found it actually quite good
- I don't face the upside down prob on the spare wheel!!??
- get FE of 10+ in city with ac and 18 on highway without ac - seems ok
Certainly a great car!

@mdsaab: thanks! Only 1 out of 3 visits to the a.s.s. Was bad. Hopefully the 2nd service experience will be good - that's scheduled in a couple of weeks...

@rohan_litr: thanks! Good you didn't have bad experiences in the learning phase... I was forced to take the car out in traffic very early though that seems a blessing in disguise now!

@classicselva: thanks! Hopefully the FE will improve!

Friends, pls help me with my query above...