[DRIV3R]

We were in the same boat 6 months ago, and after TDing both the City CVT and Ciaz AT multiple times, we picked up the Ciaz AT.

The City CVT is little unpredictable and had some lag due to the rubber-band effect, and oh, it was terribly overpriced. The Ciaz is much easier to drive, and with regards to the performance, it is a very underrated car, it can keep up with, if not pass most 10L rupee diesels atleast.

We have done around 7k kms now, will pen down a thread whenever possible.

BTW, the ZXi would cost you 11.9 lakhs atleast on road Mumbai. You could look at the VXi/VXi+

[DevilsCry]

Originally Posted by rahulskumar

Did anyone test drive Amaze CVT and Ciaz AT ? This will help me to add few more points to my existing notes.

I've done TD of Amaze CVT. Driving experience is quite smooth. It is likeable at low to medium speeds. But I could not figure out how to overtake other cars. I would rule out Amaze for this reason, it is too difficult to get a surge of power to overtake someone.

I did 240km on Ciaz AT. Despite poor specs like 1.4L and 4 gear ancient autobox, Ciaz drives around nicely and gives a surge of power on demand with acceptable delay. Sure its performance is not in league of Ford's brilliant 1.5L + dual clutch autobox, but it is still decent, better than Amaze's 1.2L CVT.

[phamilyman]

BRV CVT will get you killed in the hills. There is no better way to say this.

I tested BRV and XUV back to back on the ghata incline in gurgaon (~6%, 1km long). Starting from the top at 20 kph, I let the car roll down in D mode. The XUV simply did not go above 31 kph while the BRV went till 58 kph till we ran out of road. Needless to say, my heart was in my mouth. That means descending from steep passes like Jalori, I will be riding the car brakes in the BRV.

Did I do something wrong? Or is this a *facepalm* feature?

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

BRV CVT will get you killed in the hills. There is no better way to say this.

I tested BRV and XUV back to back on the ghata incline in gurgaon (~6%, 1km long). Starting from the top at 20 kph, I let the car roll down in D mode. The XUV simply did not go above 31 kph while the BRV went till 58 kph till we ran out of road. Needless to say, my heart was in my mouth. That means descending from steep passes like Jalori, I will be riding the car brakes in the BRV.

Did I do something wrong? Or is this a *facepalm* feature?

BRV in D mode will obviously continue to go faster in a downhill. That's where you have to shift to S mode and use paddle shifter to go to manual mode. This way you use the engine braking. If you are not using it as the way it should be, you'll get killed!

XUV has the Hill Descent Control and that's how it didn't go beyond 31kmph.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Starting from the top at 20 kph, I let the car roll down in D mode. The XUV simply did not go above 31 kph while the BRV went till 58 kph till we ran out of road.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

BRV in D mode will obviously continue to go faster in a downhill. That's where you have to shift to S mode and use paddle shifter to go to manual mode. This way you use the engine braking. If you are not using it as the way it should be, you'll get killed!

Right, S mode and paddle shifts while going downhill.

In Honda cars that are not equipped with paddle shifts (like the Amaze), you get an L mode for downhill drive.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

BRV in D mode will obviously continue to go faster in a downhill. That's where you have to shift to S mode and use paddle shifter to go to manual mode. This way you use the engine braking. If you are not using it as the way it should be, you'll get killed!

XUV has the Hill Descent Control and that's how it didn't go beyond 31kmph.

Thanks guys. This was too obvious a fatal flaw. Turns out the Honda sales idiots still don't know how their cars work. Lol. I guess I'll teach them something new this weekend!

[sjain2054]

Hey team I expected a lot more activity in this awesome thread! But its been stagnant for a while!

For my 67year old father, I am planning on closing in on a grand i10 AT Sportz (o). The only feature missing on it is ABS.

People on this thread are trashing grand i10 AT and are recommending Jazz/Baleno/Aspire/Xcent more than i10 AT.

I decided on the i10 AT with a torque converter because i thought the reliability will be a good plus point and some xcent owners have reported decent highway performance as well (my father will use his car on the highway only 0.5% of the time hence DCT/DSG are out and CVT is out because Jazz/Baleno are less premium that i10 on the inside )

So have I made the right decision? Whats your take?

For a 67 year old who drives ~200km/month 99% of the time in the city, I wanted premium interiors and features that pamper him with total ease of no gears. So I thought Hyundai cars are good for premium feel and features.

Should I go for hyundai i20 automatic because of 1.4litres engine? But thats only magna!
i10 atleast gives its car in sportz(o) with only ABS, rear wiper, ACC and start stop button as the missing features that i feel are important to pamper someone. I could do without them (i think).

Fully loaded AT vaise bhi market mein nahi hai! (under 10 lakhs)

[narula123]

Originally Posted by sjain2054

Hey team I expected a lot more activity in this awesome thread! But its been stagnant for a while!

For my 67year old father, I am planning on closing in on a grand i10 AT Sportz (o). The only feature missing on it is ABS.

People on this thread are trashing grand i10 AT and are recommending Jazz/Baleno/Aspire/Xcent more than i10 AT.

I decided on the i10 AT with a torque converter because i thought the reliability will be a good plus point and some xcent owners have reported decent highway performance as well (my father will use his car on the highway only 0.5% of the time hence DCT/DSG are out and CVT is out because Jazz/Baleno are less premium that i10 on the inside )

So have I made the right decision? Whats your take?

For a 67 year old who drives ~200km/month 99% of the time in the city, I wanted premium interiors and features that pamper him with total ease of no gears. So I thought Hyundai cars are good for premium feel and features.

Should I go for hyundai i20 automatic because of 1.4litres engine? But thats only magna!
i10 atleast gives its car in sportz(o) with only ABS, rear wiper, ACC and start stop button as the missing features that i feel are important to pamper someone. I could do without them (i think).

Fully loaded AT vaise bhi market mein nahi hai! (under 10 lakhs)

I am in the same boat as you. FIL needs a new automatic hatchback to replace his aged Maruti 800. The city traffic has sold him on the idea of an AT and the budget is capped at 8-9L at best. As of now have zeroed in on the below three options considering that he drives less than 200 kms in a month and needs a low maintenance product since he keeps his cars for atleast 7-8 years. The car will be mainly for city runabouts so ride comfort needs to be good and safety kit is a priority.

1. Hyundai Grand i10 AT - Only traditional torque converter unit but sadly with a very subtle performing 4 speed box. Interiors and build are superb thanks to Hyundai and the styling is quite mature. Lack of ABS and single digit FE as reported by few owners are downers though.

2. Ignis Zeta AMT Petrol - Good engine with fresh styling and interiors. AMTs are not as smooth as slushboxes on shifts from what I have read. Model-to-model seems better kitted up than the Grand with dual airbags and ABS+EBD being standard fare (full marks to MS). FIL may not like the oddball styling though. FE figures seem quite decent from owner reports.

3. Baleno Delta CVT Petrol - CVTs are super smooth for relaxed city use. Baleno has a more upmarket image than the other two and the family loves the looks more than the other cars in the market as well. Delta variant misses out on some goodies like fog lamps and alloys that Zeta Ignis carries but comes with ACC and generally more space than the Ignis. Delta Baleno is also almost a lakh more than the Zeta Ignis. Interiors on the Baleno are quite spartan in the Delta and nothing to excite a new buyer to be honest.

Have interacted with both showrooms for a test-drive this weekend and first cut impressions seems Nexa SA to be more courteous and eager to please. The Hyundai SA kept pushing me to take the test-drive on a weekday instead and finally agreed to get back to me with a time for the weekend instead (less marks there my friend).

Technically, all three cars carry a different version of AT boxes. Any feedback on which gearbox is the best option from a city runabout PoV?

[sjain2054]

Originally Posted by narula123

I am in the same boat as you.

The beauty about having different kinds of gearboxes, engines, car types is that theres something for everyone.

Having said that, sit back and talk to your FIL and jot down 4-5 parameters most important to him. These could be -

Driving position: It is usually good for older people to sit higher. Not just because of a bad back but because of better visibility and the feeling of being in control vs other cars on the road (hence the term 'commanding' view)

Driving style: We use our cars in the city 99% of the time. Our cities DO NOT have Dubai kind of roads. He will touch 60kmph once or twice during an entire day of driving. Traffic CRAWLS. Does it then make a difference if he buys a torque converter or a DCT or a DSG. IT DOES NOT! Period! We young people think we know better because we think from our perspective. Trust me for him to drive 200km a month in the city it does not matter what type of slushbox you choose.

Reliability: VERY VERY important for him. Car should not breakdown. Whenever he gives it for servicing the experience should be very good and car should come back spic and span. For him, the car will get serviced about once a year! Therefore, hypothetical situation, Maruti servicing is 7k and Toyota is 4k what does it matter> 3k for the entire year! It doesnt matter. Yes what matters is that toyota services better..the actual quality of the job. But even that difference is minimal. So Hyundai, maruti, toyota, honda are all ok. VW, Skoda, Tata are NOT!

Taking the reliability point forward, Torque converters have been in use for years in the western countries. They are all happy with it. CVTs are new and the reports are good. DCTs and DSGs are offered by the Americans and the Germans in our country! Although we have people on teambhp who say that they have not had trouble, we all know that cost of ownership is high and quality of after sales is bad.

AMTs are a basic level auto boxes and Maruti has had problems with them. We all know that. Plus, they are jerky.

Footprint: Delhi, Mumbai, etc kind of cities need a small car. Smaller the better. Baleno looks BEAUTIFUL but it is WIDE! Jazz is big too! For FIL kind of folks always go for smaller. They dont care for big and beauty. They care for convenience and thats what will matter to them as they get older and older.

Luxury: Your FIL and my father have worked hard all their lives and are now at a stage where they are willing to spend (within their affordability levels) on pampering themselves. For the budget you mentioned, you must pick up something that pampers him and makes him feel special to be in the car.

So whats small, luxurious enough (best in class), reliabe with tried and tested slushbox, has good after sales service, has a decent driving position .......... ????

HYUNDAI GRANDE i10 AUTOMATIC SPORTZ (O)

It has reverse camera, foldable IRVMs, decent transmission, awesome interiors.. thats it! you are done!

Go for it and dont think too much. I am doing the same.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by sjain2054

Should I go for hyundai i20 automatic because of 1.4litres engine? But thats only magna!
i10 atleast gives its car in sportz(o) with only ABS, rear wiper, ACC and start stop button as the missing features that i feel are important to pamper someone. I could do without them (i think).

Fully loaded AT vaise bhi market mein nahi hai! (under 10 lakhs)

Originally Posted by narula123

Technically, all three cars carry a different version of AT boxes. Any feedback on which gearbox is the best option from a city runabout PoV?

For a city run about, a CVT is ideal as it the smoothest.

For both the use cases mentioned above, the Tiago AMT is also an ideal choice. Well built, premium quality and features for the price, ABS +Airbags, compact and comfortable for the city. Worth looking at in my opinion.

[dsnaveen21]

Guys,

One of my friend is looking for petrol automatic car, budget is around 8-10 lakhs. Driving would be mostly in town and few trips to belgaum.

I have told him to check new Maruti Dzire, anything else you think I should suggest.

Thanks,
Naveen

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by dsnaveen21

Guys,

One of my friend is looking for petrol automatic car, budget is around 8-10 lakhs. Driving would be mostly in town and few trips to belgaum.

I have told him to check new Maruti Dzire, anything else you think I should suggest.

Thanks,
Naveen

8-10L has a whole lot of petrol automatic options. Starting from the entry premium hatches like the Grand i10 and Ignis to the premium hatches like the Baleno, Jazz, Figo and the compact sedans like the Aspire, Dzire, Amaze, Zest , Xcent.

More specific requirements will help narrow down to specific set of cars to consider.

[sjain2054]

My father has bought the grand i10 automatic sports (o)

LOTS of discounts going on for this model. Hyundai advertising the discounts on their website as well.

Baleno and Jazz are classified as premium sedans but we all know that grand i10s interiors and features are better than both baleno and jazz. The 1.2 kappa is sweeter than baleno's 1.2 and to some extend the Jazz's 1.2

Grande i10 might lose out marginally because of a 4 speed auto vs the CVT but I dont know how much of a difference that makes really!

This is not a case of praising a car just because I own it now but an actual observation.

Only i20 fits the badge of premium hatchback! else i10, in the manual avtar for sure, (and to some extent the auto avtar also) is definitely better than figo petrol, baleno petro, jazz petrol, etc

In 8-10 lac budget, if you are not specific about auto or manual..go for etios platinum! whatta car..whatta brand!

[Rahul Rao]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

XUV has the Hill Descent Control and that's how it didn't go beyond 31kmph.

I myself own a Ford Ecosport AT, and have realised that on steep descents like Pune Mumbai Bhor ghat 1:7 it holds 4th gear and doesn't go above 55 or so.
I have driven a friends xuv automatic considerably, and realised that if you release throttle at 30-40kph on descents the car holds gear, and engine remains engaged at about 1300-1400 RPM. Even without hill descent assist the engine braking keeps the speed in control even if hill descent assist is not put on.
In same conditions the first generation Fortuner AT, the Verna AT and many other cars run away as if they are in neutral.
Among Hyundai cars Creta and Elantra also hold the gear they are in.

Rahul

[heydj]

In Rapid DSG there is hill descent feature but during recent hill visit I found switching from D mode to Sports was better when going down, as engine braking happened more in S mode.

In D mode car was picking too much speed for my liking. With S mode problem solved.