Hyundai Grand i10 Sportz (O) AT: 1 Year & 7499 Kilometers Done!


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Hey friends, here is my first Ownership Review of Grand i10 2017, which was technically my First Car specifically bought for me [:)]

My Earlier Drive : Prior to purchasing this vehicle, we owned a 2009 1st Gen i10 Sportz Automatic, and it was a very reliable and comfortable city car with the major con being the pathetically low fuel economy and lack of modern features that we need today.

This is the Star Dust Colour and the Sportz(O) AT which was the max trim you could get the Automatic Variant in and it has pretty much every feature you need, but Hyundai had left out ABS in a shocking move, only to reinstate it in the 2018 variant in the new Sportz AT.

Other Vehicles Considered : We only drive automatics (my mother, father and I) and hence only Automatic car options were specifically driven and considered. A form factor wasn't necessarily fixed and hence I drove a variety of cars exactly a year back :-

  • Ford Figo Dual Clutch
  • Polo GT TSI
  • Baleno Delta CVT
  • Ignis AMT
  • Dzire AMT
and amongst these, AMTs ranked the lowest in my preference list because of my past histories with some fantastic Conventional and Dual Clutch Gearboxes and AMTs didn't even give me 30% of that wonderful feel.

The Polo GT TSI was undoubtedly the best drive, but back then, it didn't have Android Auto and CarPlay and it was way out of our budget as it retails north of Rs. 10L On-Road. The Figo felt sluggish in the city and Ford Service is a mystery in Pune with not too many Figo Automatics or in general on the Road. The Baleno was nice, but had a 13 Week waiting period and was only offered in the Mid-Spec CVT trim back then.

Why We Picked The Grand i10
  • Great Hyundai Experience With Our Old Car
  • Grand i10 was definitely more spacious.
  • Lot of modern features like Reverse Camera, Sensors, App Connect, Steering Controls
  • 2 Airbags as safety
  • Moderate Ownership Costs
  • Cheapest vehicle amongst considered options giving Max Bang for the Buck.

Usage Patterns : So the i10 is primarily driven by me to my college which is about 11 kilometres one way, but I almost always driven about 30-40 kilometres a day which sometimes even becomes 70kms if I am sent outskirts of town for college or committee work.

I've loved this car from day one for a lot of reasons which I'll state here, but my ownership experience after a year combined don't inspire a lot of confidence in my choice and I'll talk about all of it. A lot of things I like about the vehicle have changed with time and authorised dealers and the company are unable to solve the issues satisfactorily. But let's start with the Good Bits!

What I Like/Liked
  1. Amazingly light Power Steering precise enough to be driven with one hand
  2. Superb Conventional 4 Speed Gearbox
  3. Chilling Manual AC
  4. Well callibrated Reverse Camera and Sensors
  5. Feature Rich Headunit with CarPlay and Android Auto
  6. Improved Fuel Economy of 10-10.5 kmpl in mixed traffic
  7. Superb NVH Levels inside the cabin
  8. Very refined Kappa Engine
  9. Cost Effective Car

Build, Features, Fit and Finish : Since I've come from the 1st Gen i10 and upgraded to a second gen Grand i10, I've seen the transformation of Hyundai as a car maker and the Grand i10, feels a lot well built than before. Heavy doors and a strong build are synonymous with every new Hyundai car I've driven.

The interior fit and finish is also beautiful with no rattling trims and gaps on the inside and overall, the dashboard looks like it's built to last. The stalks are also very durable. The Sportz(O) is very feature rich with a lot of ideal city features like Reverse Cameras, Google Maps via Android Auto, Steering Mounted Audio Controls, Chilling AC with Rear AC Vents, Folding Mirrors etc.

The boot is also pretty spacious and a removable parcel tray makes it easy to store lots of stuff.

Engine, NVH : The 1.2L Kappa Engine is a gem when it comes to refinement and the NVH levels are surprisingly good on this vehicle. You almost always cannot hear the engine running and the only times the engine gets vocal is when you step on the Accelerator pedal a little more. It took me a considerable amount of time to get used to this quiet environment that the Grand i10 cocoons you in.

Steering : The EPS was surprisingly light initially, and the car turns and centres so well in the city that you could actually do it with 1 finger. However, my steering is now plagued with a weirdness that creeps in randomly. The Steering is suddenly very heavy, occasionally too light and while this is never a dealbreaker for me in the city, I never like taking the Grand i10 on the highway because it lacks the feel. There is too much feel sometimes while at other times, it's all gone and feels disconnected and I've also noticed this in the Creta, and this also seems to be a documented issue on both national and international forums. Alignment also has been an issue and steering loves to pull left on my car.

Suspension : Nice and firm at moderate speeds, slightly bouncy at lower speeds and plenty of body roll on the highway making it scary above 100km/h on the highway.

Gearbox : The 4 Speed automatic gearbox is a sharp shifter and is the ideal transmission for the city. Users may complain the omission of a 5th Gear Ratio, but frankly the gearing is fine for the city, but a sore complaint on Highway driving. The Gearbox shifts very smoothly and is practically maintenance free, but fate had other plans for me.

My car started leaking ATF in November, and the leak was promptly fixed by Hyundai, but after the fix, from the next day itself, I've had a jerky car that stutters, shifts improperly and has dropped in mileage. Complaints to Hyundai haven't led to any improvement [frustration] and now, after 9 months of complaining, I've been offered a new gearbox by the company, which we are still negotiating on.

Multiple trials, scan tests have been performed but the Hyundai GDS cannot obvious tell if something is mechanically faulty from inside.

But otherwise, it's a beautiful City Transmission with a Tiptronic mode which is fun to use for those Highway overtakes. If you try to redline the car in Tiptronic, then the gear shifts automatically [glasses]

2nd Service Experience
Just completed the Second 1 Year/10000km Service and opted for Fully Synthetic Shell 5W30. Total charges came to Rs. 3300 inclusive of taxes and consumables as labour was free. Just the Oil Filter was replaced, and everything else was merely cleaned.

The workshop didn't follow any of the 30 things listed in the owner's manual and I specifically made it a point to make them check those parameters like the Battery Level etc and this just shows how callous the workshops are.

Overall, it's turning out to be a beautiful car that is versatile enough for almost all kinds of drives, is spacious and cozy for your family and moderately expensive to maintain. Any queries welcome.

I'm sorry if I forgot to mention anything, but do tell me what you think!
 

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Joined
Apr 28, 2016
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Congratulations ! Happy Kms munching :p

Have heared many stories of body roll - Agree

Service cost - Moderate totally disagree

Not to scare you but just experience Costs are very high - 1st paid service at ASC of eon costed me 3600 Labour charges + some other 3000 = 6600 (roughly)

I am planning not to visit anymore
 
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Joined
Mar 19, 2012
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Congrats @fluidicjoy.

I too got Grand i10 Asta (Petrol) and completed 1 year on Oct 30 2018; ODO reading almost 19k now.
The Gi10 is indeed full of features and really good for city as well as for highway driving.
 

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