Great City Diesel Car

It is a perfect diesel car if you are looking for a very comfortable, and super luxurious car with excellent drivability in city conditions. I bought Grand i10 top model with optional features (Astra O ) 3 years back just when it was launched in India. It was my 2nd car and supposed to be driven by my wife most of the time in and around the city. The decision of buying this car was almost instant and we did not even care for a test ride before making a purchase decision mainly because we knew that the Hyundai cars are good to drive however the fit and finish of this car are exceptionally good and we especially admired the features like: 

- Bluetooth hands-free Phone connectivity with controls on steering, the sound and reception are exceptionally good ( even after 3 years , it works like charm) 

- Electronically adjustable and folding OVRMs , ( Folds every time we lock vehicle, Never failed in 3 years even after manual abuse by cleaners etc.) 

- Cabin Space is exceptionally good ( It is surprising to see how spacious this car is from inside with wide opening doors for easy entry and exit, Much more space in rear if compared to Swift/DZire ) 

- Rear AC Vents ( My Kid loves this feature, It cools the cabin in less than 1 minute, My kid do not sit in DZire rear seats just because of this feature) 

- Exceptionally good boot space, more than swift (slightly small if compared to Dzire) 

- Air Bags ( Passenger and Passenger), ABS - Seamless wireless connectivity with Apple phones for music streaming. 

- Great Music system and steering mounted controls as well as 1GB internal storage. 

- Good and sturdy built quality ( Much thicker and heavier doors as compared to Dzire) 

- Last and not the least ( Keyless entry and start and stop button) apart for all other standard stuff like power windows, rear wiper and defogger, Fog Lights, Vanity mirror for co-passenger, Cooled Glove Box, Light in the Boot, Diamond cut alloys, leather wrapped Steering, rear parking sensors etc. As I mentioned above , this car is a class apart if Features, space and built quality is considered and what matters the most is how it drives and what it costs to do that. Well, It is a car with Lightweight alloy 3 cylinders 1200 CC Diesel engine mated to 5-speed manual gearbox and a 6th gear for reverse. 1st thing I would like to mention about the drive is that its clutch is amazingly light and gear throws are very small and co- passenger may think it is automatic gearbox just by looking at gear nob and very short hand movements for changing gears. The configuration of gears is such that you do not need to change the gears too often if you like to drive in a relaxed manner and you may not need the 5th Gear in the City since it is only needed if driven over 80Kmph ( Meter shows if the car wants you to change gears ). 

Overall comfortable car with good Gear ratio, nice suspension (neither too soft nor very hard ) , good seats and great ergonomics and even large bottle holders in all 4 doors. 

Special Mention : Brakes are excellent as compared to Maruti vehicles. One special thing I would like to mention here is that this vehicle is very peppy and responsive and you may forget it is a diesel vehicle, however, there are some downsides also that we have come to know during our 3 years of experience with the vehicle. 

Cons : 1. Slight vibrations and typical 3 cylinder noise when the engine is cold ( during early mornings or initial few min on the first drive of the day) 

2. Lack of pickup/ shudder if the car is accelerated in a hurry on 1st Gear when AC is ON. 

3. Fuel consumption in the city is slightly more as compared to Swift, however, better mileage on highways (up to 23 Km/L) . 

4. Steering is very light and feels very easy in the city at lower speeds but not as inspiring on highways at speeds beyond 100 Kmph. 

5. Seats have lesser cushioning/no lumber support and better to install thick seat covers ( I have not done it since it may compromise on otherwise great ergonomics). Not very good for longer drives. 

Conclusion : We love and prefer this vehicle for its features and driving comfort in short city drives as well as smaller dimensions however we avoid it on highways for long drives and take our Dzire for some high-speed drive.