Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS: Pros & Cons after 1,200 km of ownership

My initial observations in comparison to the 2012 Alto 800 and 5th gen Honda City (pre-facelift)

BHPian AravBS recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Friends,

We bought a Dec 2023 Sportz manual edition towards the end of 2023 and have driven it for around 1200 kms with a mix of city and highway driving. Here are my initial observations in comparison to the 2012 Alto 800 I drove for 95k kms and 5th gen Honda City (pre-facelift) which I have driven for around 12k kms:

Positives -

• The car looks good and feels premium inside out.
• Large front windows enhance the overall visibility for the driver.
• Power is adequate, you don't feel the power to be lacking even with full load and AC on.
• Interior space is good with sufficient leg room, heard room, and storage space
• Best in class features, has nearly 70-80% of the features generally found in the segment above it.
• Dashboard and instrument cluster look and feel nice. The rear camera quality is much better than the one in 5th gen City.
• Host of safety essentials including 6 airbags, cruise control, steering mounted controls, etc...) Hope the structural integrity is also improved with the facelifted edition.
• Good mileage of 16-17 kmpl in city drives

Negatives -

• Suspension is quite stiff with every hump, pothole felt. Much stiffer than Honda City and Alto 800 as well. This makes the ride on uneven roads painful.
• Ground clearance - While Honda City and i10 have the same ground clearance at 165 mm, surprisingly City handles bad roads better on full load. Today I ended up scraping i10 2-3 times with 5 adults onboard.
• Steering is very light. While it is great for City drives, it is not confidence-inspiring for highway runs.
• While power is adequate, delivery is not quick. Overtakes need to be planned.
• Though the driver seat is positioned higher, the super high dashboard position blocks the bonnet visibility.
• Seating position - While seats are much better than what Alto had, I am unable to find the perfect position. This spoils the driving pleasure and makes me yearn for Honda City.
• While City has its own set of negatives, the seat cushioning, steering feel and ride comfort are what make one forget all the negatives when driving.
• Engine tends to shut off at low speeds. This happens more often than in my Alto or any other manual vehicle I have driven. Not sure if this is normal and I need to get used to the vehicle.

Can experts advise if my observation on suspension is correct or should I get my vehicle checked? Also any recommendations for adjusting the seating position for a high dashboard vehicle like the10?

Thank you

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