[Samurai]

Much has been written about my Grand Vitara and CJ340. But very few know about the third vehicle in my family stable, the Hyundai Santro Xing AT. In fact, it is the work horse of the family, doing all the city runs, groceries duties, picking/dropping kids to school and other activities. My family spends more time in the Santro than in GV or CJ340. Yet, it is hardly spoken about as it lacks any glamour.

When I joined Team-BHP, Santro was the only vehicle I had. Originally purchased in 2003, it was ordered right after Santro Xing was released. We were in the process of moving from US to India, wife was moving back 6 months ahead of me. She wanted an AT car and nothing else. And Santro Xing AT was the only AT car among hatches, and next AT car was OHC. I didn’t even consider 3-speed ATs from Maruti because I found them to be ridiculous. I think this was one of the earliest Santro Xing AT delivered in the country.

After 7 years of ownership, it had started feeling old. In fact, we have never owned any car longer than 4 years until this car. Everything works, but it looks aged compared to the new age cars with all the latest gizmos. My wife wanted a trendy and eye-catching premium hatch instead of the bland silver Santro. And it had to be automatic, there is no point buying a manual shift for the purpose it is intended. That was the catch!

Although many cars now do come with automatic shift, the hatch segment is starving for choices. We would have loved to buy Micra or Figo or Polo. But those manufacturer don’t believe in providing AT in Indian market despite having AT in other market, and in spite of seeing the popularity of AT from Hyundai stable. Even after 8 years, it is only Hyundai that gives premium AT experience to hatch buyers. Wife was even ready to wait for the Honda hatch hoping it will come in AT. However, when the face-lifted i10 came, the only game in town suddenly looked the best game in town.

Then there was the Thar equation. According my wife our offroader needed faster replacement than her hatch, so that we can all attend OTRs as a family. She was very impressed with how Gurkha could carry two families to Somwarpet OTR. She too has known the Thar specs since 2008, same time since I have known about it. She has followed every Thar thread. She wanted me to place an order for Thar right after launch. But I asked her to hold on until the Team-BHP review. And I wanted some clarity about HT and AC before committing such a huge amount on a hobby vehicle. But the review led to more confusion than any decision. So we kept waiting, continued to sit on the fence about which is our next car, i10 or Thar.

Meanwhile, my father-in-law who was planning to buy the Santro from us, lost his patience and bought a new i10 Sportz Auto himself. My wife test drove her dad’s i10 and was very impressed. A week later Santro gives us a give repair shock with a failed drive axle. The last straw was final broken. Wifey decided on the i10 Sportz Auto. Initially we wanted the top end Asta because it has ABS and airbags. But 85K extra for those features didn’t make much sense. So Thar goes back to deep back-burner for now.

This is how Hyundai i10 Sportz AT became my 11th car, and the 6th automatic car I have bought in the last 18 years of car ownership.
We decided to buy in Udupi because it is easy for all the documentation and because it will eventually return there. Besides, we can buy through the company. The color chosen was blushing red, wife insisted on it. About 7K worth of accessories was free. The sales manager even threw in a free remote keyless entry. I chose art-leather factory issue i10 seat covers, fog lamps & door scruff. Wife insisted on door visor and Teflon coating, so that too was added to the list. Only the sunfilm is left to be added. Obviously, I couldn’t be seen driving with that skinny 155mm tyres or steel rims, it is against our family tradition. I had seen a black alloy with red lip while shopping for alloys for father-in-law’s i10. That would do well with a red car. I went with Bridgestone Turanza ER-60 175/70R13 since I needed ride comfort and bad road ruggedness. Upgrading to 14 inch wheels was out of question since I didn’t want to lose 1 inch worth of sidewall.

The delivery happened 1 week later than expected due to some loading logistics at the factory yard. I gave very strict instructions to the dealership about not giving it for any test drives once it arrives. They assured it won’t happen, besides there was hardly any time since they had to do all the accessory work.

One good thing about smaller places is that the dealerships usually get the accessories done outside. Even this dealership gets all their wheels and tyre work at an independent tyre center that I use for GV and CJ340. Therefore, I ordered the tyres and wheels from my regular suppliers and sent it to the independent tyre center. The dealership sent the car there and got the wheels/tyres exchanged. The new tyres cost me 3800 each and I got 2250 exchange price for each of the OE tyres. The 4-set alloys cost me 12750 including balancing and installation.

I did my PDI on Monday morning when the car had just gotten the new seat covers. It was in pristine condition, everything looked so fine and clean. Didn’t find anything other than couple of stains which could be easily cleaned later. The registration happened same day, but they needed more time to finish the remaining installation. They wanted me to take delivery either on Monday (and return it for installation) or Wednesday to avoid the so called inauspicious Tuesday. But I don’t believe in such superstitions, so I opted to take delivery on Tuesday once the installation was done. I didn’t even opt for choosing the number, I don’t believe in numerology gobbledygook either.

I took delivery on Tuesday, around 2:20PM. The entire purchase process was very smooth, got to commend Kanchana Hyundai for that. The only people who frustrated me were HDFC loan lackeys who kept going in circles about my identity proof. This is after 7 years of banking with them as a corporate customer. When I pointed out to them that my father-in-law got the loan cheque from a nationalized bank even before submitting document, they said HDFC treats their best and worst customer the same way. That’s very refreshing, stupid, but refreshing.

This time I had decided not to take it to temple for puja. My father-in-law’s new i10 now has a stained bonnet hood thanks to the temple Puja. The priest sprinkled some saffron water, causing permanent stain. Instead I got my mother-in-law to do some basic DIY puja at home. I am sure her blessings are actually genuine. As she walked out to see the car, she stopped in the tracks and commented “Wait, this car looks beautiful, the color is very nice.” Then she turned to her husband and said “And why did we end up with the bland silver color?” My father-in-law chose to remain silent, like any wise husband in the face of such question.

Later, I did some photography around the office.







Let’s take a close look at the alloys.





The seat covers.



The cockpit



I didn’t bother with any more interior photos since these have been covered by many in other ownership threads. I will focus more how the car looks in different backgrounds. That will come later.

This is the first Indian car I have bought that came with built-in ICE, don’t say GV, that was a CBU from Japan. And also the first car that can take USB drive. After some experimentation I figured only FAT formatted USB drives are accepted. I loaded up 1GB worth of MP3s for the drive.

Next day morning at 11:10AM, I left for Bangalore, a 410kms long journey. Since I am a veteran of these Bangalore-Manipal drives (already done 5 times this year), I knew the best road to put this new car through its paces. I’ll also get to know its strengths and weaknesses. I took the Agumbe-CKM-Belur-Hassan-Nelamangala route.

First 150kms are purely twisty roads, with bad to medium road conditions. I had a pleasant surprise almost right away. This baby can handle bad roads with aplomb. Although the ride felt little firm in the beginning on good roads, it can glide over rough roads without causing any discomfort to the riders at around 40kmph. It was socking up the undulated rough roads almost close to the Grand Vitara. Santro would transmit every undulation sharply to the riders, but i10 doesn’t do that. Very impressed on this point. But it doesn’t handle speed bumpers that well, it tends to dump you down little hard after crossing.

At the third hairpin curve of Agumbe ghat, my favourite photo point for many years.





This car has amazing turning radius, it was delightful to take each hairpin curve in Agumbe ghat.

The tea estates of Jayapura.





Couple quirks that can be mildly irritating. Every time I turn off and turn on the ignition, the tripmeter reverts to odometer. Therefore, if you are watching a trip meter, remember to restore it after every start. Same goes for overdrive switch. If you switch off the O/D button, it will engage itself back after a restart of ignition.

The coffee estates of Balehonnur.





The canopied ghats near Chikmagalur.







After crossing Belur, I entered good road territory. I had never figured this to be a highway cruiser. But it is a good highway cruiser. Since I was running-in, I had decided to mostly keep the rpm between 2000-2500, and occasionally cross into 2500-3000 territory for passing. But I was surprised to note that I could do 70kmph at 2000rpm, 80kmph at 2200rpm, 93kmph at 2500rpm, and even 100kmph at 2600rpm. And I am not talking downhill, I could do this in straight roads or even in moderate inclines. I am a veteran AT car driver (remember, 6th AT car), so I know how to modulate the accelerator to smoothly shift up the gears without the squealing/whining. I never floor the pedal, but always press gently. Only while passing, I would get close to 3000 rpm. When I called my wife from Bellur cross at 5:30PM, she was very surprised at my rapid progress with the hatch. I told her this little beauty can handle bad roads, and it can handle highways. And we bought it for city runs, which it can obviously handle.

The canopied highway near Belur.





The OE ICE system is good, at least to my low standards. However, I found the whole door vibrating if there are drums (bass) in the music. That is a little bit of a damper.

The goat trails of Hoysala dynasty.





The fuel gauge had started giving me a goose bump. After covering 300kms, it was still at half tank. Remember, this only has a 40lt tank. I was really getting eager to check out the final FE after reaching Bangalore.

Entering Kempe Gowda’s dominion near Kunigal.



The i10 is not that great at handling culverts on the road at high speed. I drove over a culvert at 80kmph and the car did a little dance. That was not a comfortable moment. At the same time I was surprised that I didn’t know about that culvert considering I have driven over it many many times. Then I remembered, all my previous drives on that stretch were either in GV or Jeep.

I finally drove over the wonderful Peenya toll-road and reached the beginning of outer ring road. The 17kms long toll-road that costs only 15 rupees is a blessing. But the curse had just begun. While the first 394kms took 9 hours to cover, the next 16kms on outer ring road took 1 hour. Whatever FE I must have raked up was thoroughly dented by the crazy ORR traffic. I finally reached home at 9:10PM.

The drive was so pleasant, I was hardly tired. Whatever tiredness there was, came from the last one hour of frustration on ORR. Today morning I filled up petrol, 28lt for 410kms, that is 14.6kmpl. If the ORR traffic was moving well, I am sure I could have hit 16kmpl.

My wife drove the car today and was instantly comfortable. Almost no adjustment time required at all. Moving from Santro to i10 was a breeze, the car also felt lot more powerful.

Tonight, we also bid farewell to Santro, our loyal companion for 7.5 years. I just stood and watched as the new owner took her away… On the brighter side, I am glad she is staying within the Team-BHP family.

[Fortuner71]

Congrats on the new car. Its a nice color too and definitely auto a boon in bangalore . Wish you many long safe miles in this beauty.

[Technocrat]

Congrats Samurai

That's one heck of a detailed Initial Ownership Report.

However, I found the whole door vibrating if there are drums (bass) in the music. That is a little bit of a damper.

Try this, turn the bass down on such songs & see if it still vibrates.
Even otherwise get it checked for any loose screws as I have never seen a vibrating panel in a Hyundai. i10s are very well put together & chances are that something might have been left loose while the accessories were fit.

[camchennai]

Congratulation Samurai. It was a very crisp and well narrated report.

Looks like all Team-BHP moderators going AT way It was Mpower earlier and now Samurai.

Kindly keep this thread updated with your ownership.

[blackasta]

Congrats Samurai - the details are top notch and the pictures are great!
Good that you performed a more dedicated puja at home instead of a temple where they do the rituals just for the sake of it.
Take good care of the baby - every picture reminded me of the black beauty I left back in India!
Drive safe!

[Samurai]

Thanks guys.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Try this, turn the bass down on such songs & see if it still vibrates.
Even otherwise get it checked for any loose screws as I have never seen a vibrating panel in a Hyundai. i10s are very well put together & chances are that something might have been left loose while the accessories were fit.

It only vibrates at low frequency sound, can't be loose screws. Besides, the door wasn't opened for anything.

Originally Posted by camchennai

Looks like all Team-BHP moderators going AT way It was Mpower earlier and now Samurai.

I didn't go AT now, I replaced Santro AT with i10 AT.

[dar3dev|l]

Nice detailed review samurai. A quick question thou, does the sportz version comes with Fog lamps too ?? I didnt get any with my i10 sportz :-(

[benbsb29]

Congrats on the new car in the family, Sharath. Definitely a good choice of car, and color.

How would you rate the sidewall strength of the Turanzas? I need to replace the ageing tyres on my car, and was on the lookout for tyres with good sidewall strength, since i do end up ploughing through potholes though not on purpose.

[Jaggu]

Congratz Samurai i really loved the alloys. Its a good replacement for the Santro. Will look forward to updates on this one.

[Samurai]

I forgot to mention the AC performance. I kept the cooling at max, but the fan at just 1. It kept me totally cool whole time through the sunny day, I have no sunfilm either. Once the sun set, it became too cold. I had to bump up the temp setting almost close to the beginning of the heat setting. So the AC performance is just outstanding.

Originally Posted by dar3dev|l

Nice detailed review samurai. A quick question thou, does the sportz version comes with Fog lamps too ?? I didnt get any with my i10 sportz :-(

No, I ordered it as part of accessories, costs some 3K.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

How would you rate the sidewall strength of the Turanzas? I need to replace the ageing tyres on my car, and was on the lookout for tyres with good sidewall strength, since i do end up ploughing through potholes though not on purpose.

In my experience so far, the sidewalls are pretty strong, yet not harsh on comfort. So far happy with the tyres.

[lohithrao]

Congrats!, As usual neat write up and pictures! am not a fan of i10 but you have made the car look good and a very wise decision on the tyres!

[headers]

Congrats Sharat on a lovely car. I almost bought the same a year ago, when finally things went the other way :(

Happy ownership

[ashish22]

Congrats Samurai and nice choice of color as well as the alloys. I just love the kappa engine and its refinement. The best rpm range to enjoy this engine is between 2500 to 5500 rpms. However mine is the earlier kappa and MT so i guess it makes a difference.

AC performance is indeed one of the best i've seen in hatchbacks and even most of the premium cars. Even at the fan speed of 1 its chills you to your bones.

Would love to hear more on the torquey nature of the engine and how does it fares in comparison to the earlier kappa in terms of the refinement and response.

Lovely photography as well.

[Dippy]

Super write up Sharath

This is like an ownership review and travelogue in one post. The alloys match the blush red colour perfectly. There couldnt have been a better replacement for your Santro AT. It is in a true sense a premium AT hatch. The fit and finish is top notch and the feature list is really impressive. The Turanzas are a good choice of tyre. I just got them for the Honda last week. Very happy. Comfortable and tyre noise is less.

I am a veteran AT car driver (remember, 6th AT car), so I know how to modulate the accelerator to smoothly shift up the gears without the squealing/whining. I never floor the pedal, but always press gently. Only while passing, I would get close to 3000 rpm.

You and I have similar styles in driving ATs. With our kind of driving style, good FE figures are ineveitable. Who says ATs arent fuel efficient?

Hope to see more updates from you much up the kms. Drive safe and congratulations. Now waiting to read the Santro AT review from the new owner

P.S Thats some really cool photography.

[jigbarai]

Great colour and sexy matching alloys ! Looks super cool. Congrats !

Bridgestone Turanza ER-60 175/70R13 - Would you recommend this tyre (for the price) for the Santro AT also incase one is planning on a replacement, or would that be an overkill ?