[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by TechLiveMANA

Yes, I too had the similar experience with most Hyundai dealers (Kia was better off) in Pune. One of them even had the audacity to say we don’t offer test drive for any car. No one even tried calling back to check after my initial enquiry. The only exception was Kothari Hyundai who offered multiple test drives (3 in all). Ended up booking from them.

Checked with 3 Hyundai dealerships - Kothari, Kundan and Shivam. None of them offered a TD and asked me to book without a TD, just by looking at the car in the showroom. One of them was like you don't need to come to the showroom, we will send you pics of the car and you can decide (as if I can't check Hyundai website). LOL! Kothari said I can drive another delivery car within showroom only if I absolutely want a TD whereas Kundan said they can offer me a delivery car which should be driven only on a pre-decided route by them. I can't TD a vehicle meant for delivery for someone else.

[shancz]

Wow, this is another level of arrogance and stupidity.

Had mentioned in another thread that a Kia dealer refused to sell the Seltos to a friend if he didn't buy the 25k extended warranty, although TDs were given. Result the dealer lost a 15 lakh sale for a 25k extended warranty! This defeats common sense. Probably they have sold more than they can afford.

Anyway I still hope you buy the City or wait for the new Scorpio and XUV500 to see if they fit in your parking.

[rpm]

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

Checked with 3 Hyundai dealerships - Kothari, Kundan and Shivam. None of them offered a TD and asked me to book without a TD, just by looking at the car in the showroom. One of them was like you don't need to come to the showroom, we will send you pics of the car and you can decide (as if I can't check Hyundai website). LOL! Kothari said I can drive another delivery car within showroom only if I absolutely want a TD whereas Kundan said they can offer me a delivery car which should be driven only on a pre-decided route by them. I can't TD a vehicle meant for delivery for someone else.

It's quite appalling that dealerships have no qualms about offering someone else's car for a TD. You, sir, did the right thing.

What's more? One of them was even kind enough to extend as generous an offer to make the booking only after you were satisfied with his photography skills?
Certainly an offer too good to refuse and undoubtedly my pick of the three.

[TechLiveMANA]

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

Kothari said I can drive another delivery car within showroom only if I absolutely want a TD.

I wonder what happened to all their test drive vehicles. I have personally test driven the Diesel MT twice and Diesel AT once. Apart from that on my other visit, I had seen the DCT version and the Petrol 1.5 Manual as test drive car with them. All of them were in the SX trim.

They did mention that they share these within their different branches and at any given point of time, they have only 1 version available with a branch. They were kind enough to bring the car home for test drive as the diesel variant was not available when I visited the showroom.

[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

Checked with 3 Hyundai dealerships - Kothari, Kundan and Shivam. None of them offered a TD and asked me to book without a TD, just by looking at the car in the showroom....

Update: Kundan Hyundai called back yesterday evening and mentioned they have a Creta Diesel AT TD car available but I will have to visit the showroom for a TD. They can’t bring the car to my home. I obliged. Here are my observations of 1.5D SX (O) AT TD:

1. Most important - I could fit the car in my parking spot, albeit going back and forth once, which is okay. 1st test passed But I did realize that I can’t go beyond this segment since vehicle dimensions increase for Compass/Harrier/XUV500 compared to Creta/Seltos/City and they won’t fit in my parking spot.

2. Flat bottom steering is good to hold but is not tilt and telescopic adjustable. When I dropped the steering to adjust to my position, my knees kept hitting the below section of the steering rod when I was exiting the car. As a result, I couldn’t find a comfortable driving position quickly. Power adjustable seats help here to get to a position comfortable for you. Buttons on the steering are of high quality. Steering feels good to hold. Chunky with the perfect thickness. Quick & responsive too.

3. Cabin is well laid out in terms of ergonomics. Glove box, though cooled, is small.

4. Driver seat has slightly more under thigh support compared to City. I liked the driver armrest. Just wished it could have been either longer or adjustable.

5. Rear seat space is okay compared to City. It’s a bit upright (similar to Zest) whereas I found the City rear seats and rear space to be more comfortable. Nothing beats City here. Also you notice the hard plastic rear of the front seats which is an eye sore for the rear passengers. No headrest for middle rear seat.

6. Ventilated seats is definitely a good to have feature. Seats cooled immediately when I turned them ON. Will be helpful in summers but the SA did mention that it requires maintenance like changing air filters. Same is the case with Air Quality filter.

7. I personally found City to be a bit more luxurious and plush inside than Creta. The quality of leather used in City and the cushioning is better. May be the beige color of City’s leather upholstery does the trick – I am not sure.

8. Gear shifts of Diesel TC are smooth, almost non-recognizable. Engine could be heard inside if driven hard. Took the car to some uneven sections and I did notice body roll, similar to Zest. Zest anyways has a crossoverish driver seating position and has a body roll over potholes and hard speed breakers.

9. Boot space at 433 liters is marginally better than Zest (390 liters). I think I can fit 4 medium sized bags and a bit more like duffle bags and sacks if I remove the parcel tray which I don’t like. There is a possibility of luggage spilling over to the rear seats in case of hard braking and it may also block rear view for the driver.

10. I didn’t hear much road noise. Noticed that wheel wells do have cladding.

11. ORVM placement are done well to reduce A-Pillar blind spots. Zest’s ORVMs are big enough to create blind spots.

12. TPMS shows actual psi measurements. SA did not know at what psi value does TPMS starts warning.

13. Powerful air conditioner.

14. Does not get all 4 windows auto-up & down at this price point.

15. Cost cutting - All driver side and passenger side buttons are not-backlit.
Spare wheel is steel and not alloy though of the same measurements as actual wheels.

16. Head unit is definitely better than City’s. Slick, smooth, better resolution. Sound quality from Bose speakers is good too. Reverse camera display is also good with parking guidelines.

17. The SA avoided all questions on safety aspect, like NCAP results. I questioned him if it would be similar to Kia’s; he was like the car is similar in almost all respects except design and feature spread. He claimed that Creta would do better because the front of the car is longer than Seltos which will reduce the impact. He showed me the crumple zones and all.

18. No issues with braking given it has an all-wheel disc set up.

19. Waiting periods up to 24 weeks for SX(O) variant whereas 8 to 9 months for base variant.

20. Prices have increased significantly. Please see the attachment.

[sreerknair]

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

Update: Kundan Hyundai called back yesterday evening and mentioned they have a Creta Diesel AT TD car available but I will have to visit the showroom for a TD. They can’t bring the car to my home. I obliged. Here are my observations of 1.5D SX (O) AT TD:

Sam, in a nutshell between City and Creta, which one did you like more from practicality, handling, and ride perspective? I am in the same boat as yourself, trying to replace a Manza. So would like to hear your viewpoint.

[TechLiveMANA]

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

Update: Kundan Hyundai called back yesterday evening and mentioned they have a Creta Diesel AT TD car available but I will have to visit the showroom for a TD. They can’t bring the car to my home. I obliged. Here are my observations of 1.5D SX (O) AT TD:

19. Waiting periods up to 24 weeks for SX(O) variant whereas 8 to 9 months for base variant.

20. Prices have increased significantly. Please see the attachment.

Glad to you finally managed to get a test drive. Waiting period of 24 weeks translates to 6 months which is pretty high. On one hand their Director is giving press statements that they have cut down on waiting period to half and practically, I see that the dealers are quoting double or even triple the waiting period they were quoting back in October and November.

The price doesn't seem to have increased despite all the news around a price hike. I just double checked with the price sheet that I have from October and the Diesel SXO AT Ex-Showroom cost is 1731900 just as the one that you have got.

[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by TechLiveMANA

....The price doesn't seem to have increased despite all the news around a price hike. I just double checked with the price sheet that I have from October and the Diesel SXO AT Ex-Showroom cost is 1731900 just as the one that you have got.

Thank you for sharing the price list from Kothari. Looks like Kundan has added add-ons from dealer worth 1lakh which translates to 21.4L on road for SX(O) 1.5D AT

[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by sreerknair

Sam, in a nutshell between City and Creta, which one did you like more from practicality, handling, and ride perspective? I am in the same boat as yourself, trying to replace a Manza. So would like to hear your viewpoint.

Manza is a very difficult car to replace. We owned a November 2013 Manza Club Class top end which we sold in Feb 2020 after fuss free 175000km. With Manza you are spoilt for space, power, adequate GC and a comfortable ride quality and only a City or Ciaz can give you the same sense of passenger space like Manza, unless you have other options in your garage. For me, as it stands, City is marginally ahead of Creta primarily due to the space (inside & boot), leather quality and cushioning, long term reliability of iVTEC over MPi. Ride and handling would always be better in City over Creta within acceptable speed limits. City MT is a hoot to drive too. Practicality is subject to what you intend to use the car primarily for. My father's current ride is Jazz iDTEC, run 57k in 4 years. iDTEC is highly fuel efficient but Hyundai CRDi feels refined in terms of NVH. Hyundai diesel manuals are smoother and marginally better than Honda iDTEC. I have realized that you won't go wrong with either car, unless you absolutely want a car with higher GC and better headunit and are willing to shell out additional 2.5 to 3.5 lakhs over City top end then you may opt for Creta. Good luck with this tricky decision

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

I have realized that you won't go wrong with either car, unless you absolutely want a car with higher GC and better headunit and are willing to shell out additional 2.5 to 3.5 lakhs over City top end then you may opt for Creta. Good luck with this tricky decision

So after having test driven the Creta, you are finally in the actual dilemma. However, 24 weeks of waiting in my opinion is waay too much. Its not worth that much of a wait, frankly (even though I own one). In fact, no car is, unless you are solving a niche requirement like an armoured luxury vehicle with chaff dispensers and rear firing machine guns .
My suggestion : Take a look at the Compass-2021 and the price points it offers, before taking a final call on the City.

[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

So after having test driven the Creta, you are finally in the actual dilemma. However, 24 weeks of waiting in my opinion is waay too much. Its not worth that much of a wait, frankly (even though I own one). In fact, no car is, unless you are solving a niche requirement like an armoured luxury vehicle with chaff dispensers and rear firing machine guns .
My suggestion : Take a look at the Compass-2021 and the price points it offers, before taking a final call on the City.

Yes, I'm in actual dilemma now! I'm following the Compass-2021 but honestly given how tightly the Creta and City fit in my parking spot, I won't be too comfortable parking the Compass day-in day-out. It looks lovely though and very tempting when you start touching 20-21Lakh price bracket. Even Harrier for that matter is tempting at that price point! I am yet to TD Seltos though which I would like to try out given its 360 degree camera and blind spot monitoring. I would probably end up choosing City given my wife is least interested in Creta & Seltos. But I don't want to miss out on TDing a shortlisted car when we are spending so much!

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

Yes, I'm in actual dilemma now! I'm following the Compass-2021 but honestly given how tightly the Creta and City fit in my parking spot, I won't be too comfortable parking the Compass day-in day-out. It looks lovely though and very tempting when you start touching 20-21Lakh price bracket. Even Harrier for that matter is tempting at that price point! I am yet to TD Seltos though which I would like to try out given its 360 degree camera and blind spot monitoring. I would probably end up choosing City given my wife is least interested in Creta & Seltos. But I don't want to miss out on TDing a shortlisted car when we are spending so much!

One of the reasons I mentioned the Compass because it is dimensionally closer to the Creta/Seltos than say, the Harrier which is much wider and longer. The City has also become longer than before. Please do test drive all feasible choices lest you regret that for a 2-3 lacs more, you could have gotten a better car ! This holds especially if YOU are the main driver.

[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

One of the reasons I mentioned the Compass because it is dimensionally closer to the Creta/Seltos than say, the Harrier which is much wider and longer. The City has also become longer than before. Please do test drive all feasible choices lest you regret that for a 2-3 lacs more, you could have gotten a better car ! This holds especially if YOU are the main driver.

True!
Compass is wider than Creta/Seltos and hence is tighter to fit in my parking spot. It is brilliantly done from inside but the variant that I would have gone for is way over my budget. It is out of consideration now after FCA declared the prices. I've been trying to get a TD of Seltos for past 2 weekends but Crystal Kia is completely unresponsive. I even tried one of the weekdays and they promised to bring the car right away but never turned up.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by sam264_2000

True!
I've been trying to get a TD of Seltos for past 2 weekends but Crystal Kia is completely unresponsive. I even tried one of the weekdays and they promised to bring the car right away but never turned up.

Try Dhone Kia on Satara Rd. One of my father's neighbours bought his Seltos Diesel AT from there and is completely satisfied. He uses it regularly on the Pune-Kolhapur route, where he mostly stays.

[hdman]

Sam264_2000: Did you make a decision on the car?

I am in the same place as you, and thought I should share my thoughts too. I too have a Zest XT Revotron that has covered ~40k. I TD’d City iVtec MT last weekend and I loved the car. The interior felt plush and premium, I felt the suspension was on a softer side compared to Zest which I liked. The engine is a massive powerhouse IMO, the tall gearing with that iVtec motor is addictive, miles better than Zest or rather any other petrol I have driven. I didn’t care much about the head unit, it serves the purpose and I was looking it more from a mechanical/driving perspective which it nails the competition. The steering and gearbox were great.

I have grown up driving hatchbacks and I although I like the practicality of folding the rear seat for extra boot, I hate the weightlessness at the rear. Zest was my first sedan and the ride is truly incomparable to a hatch. Not just the high speed stability but the the way the car grips on sudden undulation of roads, is such a pleasure. I don’t think I am ever going back to hatches/crossovers. City never felt lacking in any of those categories to me compared to Zest, in fact it felt like a more refined product with a much stronger engine.

My only concern is safety. Weight and ride height is important for road safety - both of which are better with Zest than City. As the market moves to high riding crossovers and SUVs a low riding car is at a disadvantage from a safety point. Although I couldn’t find a source that truly differentiates Indian City than the Thai one, there are stories of Indian one subjected to cost cutting in favour of FE. Having said that, if I switch from Zest today, I am very much inclined to get a City.