News

A rewarding 11 years of owning my 1st-gen i20; Now time to move on!

7th August 2024, 12:03 by Rahul Nagaraj

Average fuel economy of 12-14 kms in the city and 16-18 on the highways.

BHPian xway recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello Everyone,

This is my first new thread that I am starting, MODs please move it to appropriate channel.

The History

I had a humble Maruti 800 which I had purchase in 2008, it was rocket but the most basic that a car can get. The car was so basic that it did not even have an AC. My mistake that I had stayed in Kolkata and later part for studies in Bangalore so AC was not missed in cars.

In Bangalore and Kolkata 800 was popular and was considered a middle class official economical car in that era, Delhi NCR had moved ahead in cars and people were spending more and getting bigger and better vehicles in comparision.

I had moved to Noida and was excited at the Job opportunity and a new environment feel of North India as it was amalgamation of cultures from Punjab, Haryana, UP and Delhi.

Not knowing the extreme weather here went to buy a car without any thought and picked up the cheapest of the lot not wanting to burden myself with loans and EMI.

The car served ok, was a rocket and mileage was a whopping 24kmpl. But the Delhi heat took its toll and became unbearable. Still continued using it for 4 years before upgrading.

Pros

- Whopping pickup due to light weight
- Very Small footprint, can zip in crowded streets and lanes
- Surprising large inside and can seat 4 comfortably well
- Economical to maintain, cheap spares and accessories
- Mileage put even some 2 wheelers to shame

Cons

- Basic
- Not even an iota of luxury
- Snob value missing, in those years cars started with Alto, anything lesser was not considered a car.
- Missing basic features most importantly an AC

I loved the car till i used it, had lent it to friends also who drove bigger vehicles and they too felt the rush when accelerator was pressed. Parking and getting into narrow lanes was done in a jiffy.

The Start

Year 2012 - Started my car research journey to upgrade from humble 800, there were no so many platforms unlike today at that time and research was limited. Came across T-BHP and got hooked. Went through reviews, reports on finding a Car suiting to my budget.

I had plans to upgrade from most basic 800 to the next segment.

The contenders were:

Chevrolet Beat: At that time GM was active and had some good cars around. Beat offered good value for money but the shape and overall feel was missing so not shortlisted
Ford Figo: Based on reviews was a great car and, ford was doing good at that time and Ecosport was available and loved it, but was way overbudget. Figo seemed too basic and black interior did not click with me.
Maruti WagonR: Practical and a superhit car. Great space, mileage, economical to maintain and Maruti service and reliability. But since I had sat inside i10 with friends the interiors and looks were way above and hence decided to move to Hyundai.
Hyundai i10: Was a super hit at that time and most executives had this in our office and happy about it. As mentioned the interior was great, but the version with all power windows and 1.2 vtvt engine was costing more.
Hyundai i20: Enter i20, the Magna version was costing just 60K above the i10 and was segment higher and contained all power windows, great looks. Since I had been promoted to a Manager all my reportees were using i10 and Wagon R, so thought of going one level above and get an i20

My decision was made by the real reviews and feedbacks on this forum even before visiting any showrooms or any test drives. Though I did go to showrooms but no test drive were needed or taken.

I walked into the showroom and booked Silver i20 Magna all in a day.

Now in hindsight I believe one should always stretch a bit and go for a segment above so that you dont feel outdated and left out after some years. This car I happily used for 11 years now.

Now that I think of it, had I purchased a Wagon R or an i10 I would have needed to upgrade after a couple of years or max 5 years. Since I purchased i20 a segment higher that itch did not come and was contended with what the car offered.

Why Magna

i20 Magna did not come with a stereo system, there was an Option variant above this which had it and was a better value for money. I loved it but then I saw the price difference was 50K but actual difference was 70K.

Reason was that the Ex-showroom price of Magna was 4.99 lacs so RTO tax was 5% compared to 8% charged on Magna option.

Did not make sense to pay 20K extra in taxes just to get 50K worth of car.

So in the end finalized the i20 Magna Silver color and it had been a rewarding 11 years with it.

I am the person who loves the car interiors more than anything else, as I understand once you get inside a car, what you see and feel is what really matters.

Here are some Pics from a decade back

Since my i20 Magna did not have stereo, the scientist or engineer in me did one up and installed a tablet in the car. This was all by myself through research and development, and had not heard or seen anything of this sort ever.

That time there was not even a single car with touchscreen or anything even close to this.

I think I pioneered this thing which is now a feature in many cars.

I installed my Blackberry Playbook over 2 hooks, so that you can remove it after the drive and take it back with you.

The Tablet was connected to the third party stereo and speakers and did the job splendidly.

It would be an understatement to say that this became a highlight and people found this interior to be Merc/BMW class.

See for yourself

In Dark - My DIY Blackberry Playbook in i20 in Jan 2013.

With Lights on

Best angle shot. I still love it.

Another side.

Back side view. Still a beauty.

Side profile.

With lights. Mascara in the eyes.

Big grin but thin lipped, now prevalent in all EVs

Ownership review of i20

It was a rewarding experience and first 5 years I felt ahead of time with the touchscreen interiors and the new look i20 Magna, till the next facelift was launched.

Post that the car though did not look dated but was at par and drove around happily.

Travelled 94,000 Kms with it and was always happy and never got a cause to complain.

Pros:

Mods that I did with Blackberry Playbook interiors made the car interior look plush and way ahead of time
Standard interior quality was better than Ford, GM and Maruti
Exterior looks with the thin smile and big grin both made the car stand out
Maintenance was reasonable and no big spares or parts were required
Fuss free ownership and no breakdowns other than some punctures
Average fuel economy of 12-14 kms in the city and 16-18 in the highways.

Cons:

Not the enthusiasts car by any means
Pickup and power was limited and first feel after driving 800 was that I am dragging something huge with a lot of weight.
Car stock interiors for Magna version did not come with bells and whistles
Competitors cars like Swift offered better engine and mileage

2024 - The next - Coming up.