Picked Hyundai Exter AMT as my first car: 500 km ownership experience

Other cars that I had considered include Maruti Baleno, Swift and Dzire, Hyundai i10 and i20 and Honda Amaze.

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Purchase and Initial Experience of Exter SX AMT - 500 kms ownership

I was in the market to buy my first car - preferably an automatic. I had a budget of 10 lakh for the purchase with some wiggle room. Majority of the driving is supposed to happen in the city, with a once-a-month weekend trip (~500 kms). Key options considered were:

• Baleno - While overall the car is really great (sales numbers speak) - the front windscreen rake seemed slightly too much as I am used to driving my father's Kia Sonet. At its minimum, the distance between the touch screen and IRVM must be ~7 inches. Plus generally low on features.
• Swift - Smaller feeling owing to all black interiors and plus a facelift is expected.
• Dzire - Had owned and driven one as a family car, not so feature-rich.
• Honda Amaze - rear seating was cramped with the roof being steeply sloping (me and my wife both are 5’10’’ with wide built.
• i10 - Felt small and low on headroom and sense of space
• i20 - Close second in choice, but rupee-to-rupee value comparison against Exter took it down
• Exter - Finally chosen owing to reasons explained below

I had always loved tall boy designs, loved Wagon R / Santro / Yeti, so Exter felt nice to be in. Hyundai’s great sales / customer service made the choice easier.

Exterior

Well, the car looks slightly awkward with tall boxy proportions, relatively narrow track and skinny tyres. While I did not find any mini / micro / nano SUV bits; the flared wheel arches, upright C pillar and squared front and rear substantiate the look. The longish rear window and convex bulge on the roof - make the car look bigger and more established. Front “H” DRLs and low-set headlamps do the job well and after looking at the new Creta - the design language seems to be more clear. Rear looks are basic, with some piano black elements making it somewhat interesting. Overall the car has a great road presence and doesn't feel small or insignificant.

Interior

The cabin is very well laid out. The dashboard is picked up from i10 / Aura. Overall fit-finish is really good quality, gaps are consistent and acceptable. Most of the plastic is hard, but nothing is low quality. Door panels have all plastic components - no fabric inserts anywhere, nor the buttons are illuminated. Overall glass area is really good, and the light-coloured headliner improves space perception. The headroom is tremendous, 6 footers sitting in both the front and rear seat will be well catered.

Rear roof is scooped from the inside giving an outrageous amount of headroom. Seats are very well padded and provide good support; both rear and front seats. The 8” infotainment display is functional and does a good job. Rear AC vents are well-performing. The cabin comes with 4 charging sockets (2x USB A + 2x USB C) and a wireless charging pad.

Drive

Adjustable seat and steering (rake) give a great view of the road. Edges of the bonnet are visible, thus making city driving a breeze. Steering and speedo cluster is well laid. All digital for speedo and tacho are very well readable. MID gives all important information such as TPMS, economy, trip computers and general menu to control the screen colours and behaviour. The steering is light in urban setup and weighs up well on highways. The paddle shifters are handy in overtake situations, but not essential. Well though the shifters don't really shift till it's reasonably good time (speed+throttle+load).

While cornering the body roll is well within control. Suspension is softly sprung and irons most of the bumps and potholes. At highway speeds (90+) there is no floating feel or oscillations. The engine likes to stay calm and composed and absolutely hates any sporty or spirited inputs. If you put your foot down doing say 50 kmph in 5th gear - there is a whole 1-second lag, the car will drop 2 or 3 gears and will try to respond. Is it sporty or exciting, no - will get the job done in the city or on the highway - absolutely yes. In the first 500 Kms drive - fuel efficiency is around 13-14 KMPL - slightly lower than expected.

Closing

The car is a great choice for the first vehicle with city driving focus and occasional outings. Car is great for 4 pax and gives all the features needed with sweeteners like a sunroof. 6 Airbags, ABS/EBD/ESC are peace of mind items, with G-NCAP and B-NCAP yet to be tested. Boot space is good but has a slightly higher loading lip.

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