Nissan Micra CVT 2013 & Hyundai i10 Automatic Test Drive


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Dear TAI Members,

In my search for a small automatic car I test drove the Hyundai i10 and Micra CVT. My test drive was back-to-back - Drove the i10 at 10:30 am and drove the Micra CVT at 11:40 am.

Being an owner of Automatic Santro and an ex-owner of Automatic i20, I felt that the i10 was not powerful enough and not smooth enough in acceleration. I was also not happy with the feel of the steering wheel while driving. The "feel good" factor was clearly missing. What did impress me was the list of features. It's loaded with all the features you can think of including sun roof. When asked about the mileage the sales person mentioned to me that i10 would give about 10 km per liter. No wonder there was one feature missing in i10 and that is mileage display (km/per liter).

The Micra is the first CVT car I've driven. It was a totally different experience. The car moves so smoothly that you feel like it's an electric car. You can't feel the gears. As you floor it gradually it moves faster and faster without that typical rpm surge that you see in automatic cars with a predefined set of gears. The engine is much quieter than the i10. The driving experience is amazing. At 90km/hr the Micra was lot more stable than the i10. It was well planted, balanced and provided much more confidence than the i10. And I would definitely attribute the steering to be Micra's strength especially at higher speeds (in comparison with i10's steering feel). Well the steering feels good at all speeds. I see that the general feedback from Micra CVT reviewers indicate that this car may not be able to overtake other cars (especially while cutting thru other vehicles on our highways). I tried overtaking and cutting thru other cars during my test drive. And I am happy to report that I didn't have any issues. Yes, I would check (feel) the torque/power/distance/etc., before I make highly adventurous moves. But I would do that even while driving an i10. In fact when I used to drive the Auto i20, I'd to prepare before committing to adventurous overtaking. And I do the same with my Santro. I won't be too bothered about the Micra CVT's inability to overtake or zip on demand and real-time (like you could with a manual transmission). In fact, I won't be surprised if I see a Micra CVT zip-overtaking other cars of the same size with manual transmission. Btw, it's got the sports mode which does make a bit of a difference.

If you've ruled out the CVT because of the pick-up issue, I strongly suggest you take a long test drive (perhaps covering all driving conditions).

Summary:

i10:
Positives: Good old i10, fairly good hyundai service (many service stations), reliable, proven, loaded loaded ...!!
Negatives: Does not offer you a great feeling - basically no WOW factor! Not economical price and mileage wise, No alloy wheels, Much smaller tires compared to Micra.

Micra:
Positives: Pretty much everything is great about this car. High quality feel. WOW factor!! Fully loaded with quality stuff but no fog lamps (can you believe that?), Good fuel economy - thanks to CVT the mileage is more than the manual Micra!!, Big tires with good looking alloys. Nissan's proven petrol engine (fyi: in Micra diesel it's Renault's proven engine).
Negatives: Low ground clearance (yes there was a bump that i10 cleared but Micra scratched), No fog lamps, Only 2 service stations in Bangalore, Pricey (thanks to imported CVT and perhaps the engine).

After the test drive:
Booked Micra CVT!! Expecting delivery in 1/1.5 months.

P.S. I talk about mileage, ground clearance without mentioning the specs. Sorry about that. I request readers to see the official i10 and Micra sites for detailed information on the specifications. Thanks.

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Re: Test Drive of Nissan Micra 2013 CVT and Hyundai i10 Automatic

Nice crisp review buddy !! what is the OTR price difference between the both. Have you driven Sunny Automatic anytime and does it behaves in a same way ??

Since you have already used lot of Automatic cars, can you please answer my query on Automatic sedan here

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...493-looking-automatic-transmission-sedan.html
 
Thread Starter #3
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Re: Test Drive of Nissan Micra 2013 CVT and Hyundai i10 Automatic

Nice crisp review buddy !! what is the OTR price difference between the both. Have you driven Sunny Automatic anytime and does it behaves in a same way ??

Since you have already used lot of Automatic cars, can you please answer my query on Automatic sedan here

http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...493-looking-automatic-transmission-sedan.html
Check out this link for a list of CVT cars:
List of automobiles with continuously variable transmissions - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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Dear TAI Members,


Negatives: Low ground clearance (yes there was a bump that i10 cleared but Micra scratched), No fog lamps, Only 2 service stations in Bangalore, Pricey (thanks to imported CVT and perhaps the engine).

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Hi,
Is the low GC a real problem? I am planning to buy this car but the GC has been my worry and have postponed purchase purely bcos of this. I intend to use the vehicle on trips to my village as well.Hence the worry about the low GC. I have seen a person reporting in another forum that he has not found the low GC as a problem in Bangalore with its Wide bumpers. I need a realistic assessment ,pls
 
Thread Starter #5
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Hi,
Is the low GC a real problem? I am planning to buy this car but the GC has been my worry and have postponed purchase purely bcos of this. I intend to use the vehicle on trips to my village as well.Hence the worry about the low GC. I have seen a person reporting in another forum that he has not found the low GC as a problem in Bangalore with its Wide bumpers. I need a realistic assessment ,pls
We do know that the GC is on the lesser side. I really don't know how much it would hit the car. Today I called the Nissan salesperson to ask him if I could upgrade the tires (one size up). Perhaps that would increase the GC and also provide even better ride quality. He said that he would check with the technical guys and get back to me.

I think it's the bumps that we need to worry about, not so much the potholes. Does your village have big bangalore-style bumps?
 

allhyundaicars

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That indeed is a great comparison. Congrats for booking the car. And so many automatics [;)] you just have to be extra cautious while driving on rough roads. (gc)
 
Thread Starter #8
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Dear Members,
I would like to talk to an existing owner of Micra CVT. If you happen to know anybody who owns a Micra CVT please let me know.
Thanks.
 
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I was owner of i10 auto asta 2009 September model. i10 is feature packed and also comes with sunroof. That time my car suffered from their classic steering rattle (I guess they must have solved it by now). This was the only problem with it. It is a cute little car easy to drive in city and to park also, not to mention the easy ingress.

On highway -- It is still easy to drive, however the puny 155/80 R13 tires spoil the fun and one cannot go beyond 80kmph. After that the engine also gets strained.

Fuel economy -- It used to give me 12/13 kms/lt with 100% AC on in Pune city.

On the other hand I do not have first hand experience on Micra CVT. So cannot comment on same.

Off topic -- Now I am driving Liva diesel. I nowadays can feel the fatigue of driving a manual and that too diesel.
 
Thread Starter #10
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I would like to add one more thing to the list of things that go against the i10. For all you know this might apply to the Micra as well. Time will tell.

Just got back from Trident Hyundai service center - picked up my Santro Xing Automatic car after getting it serviced.

I am very disappointed with the service. I had to literally stand there and tell the service adviser to clean each part of the car. The cleaner guys were so lethargic. They told me that the car is ready and when I went there I had to start the cleaning work, under-the-hood pressure wash, interior vacuum cleaning. Even the service adviser started cleaning because the guys were so bad at it. I kept telling them I want my car clean.

The same thing had taken place 14 months ago. I had complained to Hyundai. Got a polite call from the service center that didn't really solve the problem.

The service adviser's don't have this practice of telling the customer the list of things that they have performed. I had to ask each and everything. I am glad I had given the service adviser a print out (in big font) of the list of things that I wanted done.

Few years ago the A/c used to be on and the place was much better organized. Now the place has lost the charm.

[probably off topic]
Compare this with Toyota (I only have experience with Viva Toyota). They are so so professional. After the service the next day Toyota called me to check specifically how well each aspect of the service was done (with great emphasis on cleaning and polishing of the car) on my Innova. They are so particular about everything. Once I was not too happy with the cleaning and gave a rating one less than the max. The feedback was relayed to the service center and I got a call from the service center offering me another wash to my full satisfaction. And that was followed up by a call again by Toyota asking me if the issue is resolved.
 

allhyundaicars

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You will get a feedback call from Hyundai customer care as well. You can tell your experience to them or complaint about the sc on hyundai site.

I once received a box of chocolates after complaining about one service center [:D]

Don't go to that service center.

Another incident : adviser told the customer that gear oil will cost 500 bucks for his santro. Adviser thought it was a manual so told the rates accordingly.

sc guys changed it and bill came to around 4000rs and customer refused to pay and complained about it.

It was the same adviser to whom I give my car, he's good but mistakes happen. Don't know what happened in the end.
 
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IMO its wrong to compare both cars. Nissans CVT is actually near Honda league of AT. I myself am an ex-owner of Hyundai i10 AT. Nothing much to write about it. It sold only because it was better than 3 gear ATs of Maruti.
 
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It is really good to do test drive in Hyundai i10. You can feel the comfort and it looks compact which makes easier to drive with family and friends. It gives a fair mileage and provided accessories will be good.
 
Thread Starter #14
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I forgot to mention that Trident Hyundai had spread newspapers on the cabin floor of my car while servicing the car. The last time when I had given my car for service they had sheets of paper with Trident Hyundai written on it. Typically a good service center would've special recycled sheets of paper that they spread across the cabin floor to prevent stains. They would also cover the seats with transparent plastic. All that was missing.
 
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Test drove the Nissan Micra CVT on Friday. My impressions -

1. Very smooth drive. Not like conventional automatics where you can feel the gear changes. Sufficient power on the tap all the time.
2. It(CVT) has a creep mode like conventional automatics. Lift your leg off the brake pedal and the car starts moving like all autos.
3. Interiors are light in colour and good. Seat fabric is good. Space is decent at the rear.
4. Some engine noise made its way into the cabin. Has anyone else felt that? I asked the sales guy and he confirmed but added this was because its a test drive vehicle.
5. Felt the lack of driver's handrest.
6. Vehicle MID indicated an average mileage of 10.7 Kmpl
 
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