New Diesel Hatchback, which one to buy?

[vijay2011]

Best Diesel hatchback
Dear friends
Please help me to finalize my diesel hatchback.

I had zeroed in to the following.

Option – 1 i20 Crdi Magna
Option – 2 Swift VDI (O)
Option – 3 Swift Dzire VDI

I use a Hyundai Santro Zing XG since 2005 March and has done 72K kms and I am fully satisfied so far, with excellent service back up from MGF Hyundai cochin.

My usage for the car will be 1K to 1.5K kms per month with 300km NH straight drive every month and remaining 50:50 in city and highways. Since my Santro is giving only 14 kmpl the mathematics shows that I may save around Rs. 2500/- if go for a diesel @ 19 kmpl.

I had TD for all the above and found i20 Crdi the most appealing and VFM to me.

The Swift is good but had been on the road for long and did not look appealing any more and the New Swift photos are also of the same look.

The Dzire is too big for City drive and the only difference is the big boot space, which I really not required.

But going thru the user reviews of i20 Crdi I have the following concerns pointed out by the majority of the users.

• The A/C is not cooling enough in hot sun.

(AC in my Santro is excellent even now, at a fan speed of 2, with 5 people inside during peak summer in Kerala).

• The steering gives a rattling sound and is too light in highways.

• Turbo lag from 1800 - 2000rpm. i.e. 1st gear to be used in slow city traffic & uneven roads where as 2nd gear is generally used (I too use 2nd gear in my Santro).

• The pulling at hill stations are jerky than normal at higher gears

Most of these reviews were from 2009-2010.

What is the position now? Can anybody bought i20 Crdi within the last 2-3 months comment? Does Hyundai sorted out the problems with the latest arrivals?

Please express your recommendations.

Regards
Vijay

 

[Akash]

Hi Vijay,

A very warm Welcome to The Automotive India.

Coming to your query, i feel i20 makes good sense when it comes to the list of cars you have mentioned.
Swift and Swift DZire, too are pretty good competitors; however when it comes to ride comfort and rear seats, Hyundai i20 beats them all.
Also the proven CRDi engine is good enough for city and short highway trips.

I would like to know why you do not have Fiat Grande Punto on list.


Following is my views about Hyundai i20

Pros:

Well designed body
Excellent interiors
Good comfort levels
Reliable A.S.S

Cons:

The steering rattle issue(quite infamous with i10 and i20)
Runs out of breath on highway

IMO do have a look at the Punto MJD which is extremely fuel efficient and qualifies for your needs.

Cheers,
Akash

 

[Akash]

Threads Merged.

 

[RSM]

Option – 1 i20 Crdi Magna
Option – 2 Swift VDI (O)
Option – 3 Swift Dzire VDI

Since you are looking hatch, remove option-3.
And amongst other 2, i20 Crdi is a league ahead of Swift in all respect. It has to be i20.

I had TD for all the above and found i20 Crdi the most appealing and VFM to me.

Yes it is certainly one of the most appealing. VFM, hmmm, not quite sure.

• The steering gives a rattling sound and is too light in highways.

The rattling issue is still unresolved, but what i understand the rattle happens only on rough road. This is a small issue, but in my opinion this shouldn't be deal breaker.

 

[MSN1]

Do let us know the reason behind not including the following cars

Fiat Punto
Tata Diesel varients
Ford Figo Diesel
Nissan Micra
Mahindra Logan

 

[vijay2011]

Hai
Thanks to everybody
Today i am taking all my family to the showrooms of

Volkswagen - for Polo
TATA - for Vista and Punto
Ford - for Figo
Hyundai - for 120 (I did the test drive)

Positively I will take the TD for Punto today and the remaining by next week.

I am more intersted in i20 cause I am quite happy with the Santro Zing I have. Also my son (15 year old) do not want any car other than i20.

I will send the results after TD

Regards
Vijay

 

[cooldhaya]

Hello Vijay welcome to TAI! If its going to be Swift Vs i20 then it has to be the i20!


All the problems you have mentioned about i20 really do exist! Though Hyundai now says that they have rectified the AC problem with the new BS-IV models , not very sure though! Turbo lags , most diesel cars suffer from it. Steering rattle yes , i have seen many owners complaining but no signs of that in my friend's petrol i20 so far! Steering becomes light in all Hyundai cars , not great highway handlers!


Your son seems to be hooked on to i20 looks , i20 is a great car , no worries! Hyundai's A.S.S is also good!


But do consider Punto , Vista and Figo. Polo i don find it VFM and their engines are pretty noisy!


My personal suggestion will be the 90HP Punto since you have mentioned you travel a lot in highways!

 

[vijay2011]

Hai all

I did cancel all the options and now going to start all new for my diesel hatchback.
I had been to Vista, Punto, Polo & i20 showrooms today.

POLO TD
Took TD in Polo Highline with 2 persons in the front and 3 persons on the back..

Pros
- Very good masculine look from outside, especially from the back side corner.
- Very decent or royal look inside, even though not modern.
- Not so bad legroom.
- Not so bad boot space.
- Height adjustable driver seat for Comfortline.
- Excellent braking with ABS (tried at 130 kmph)

Cons
- Difficulty in I & II gear to get the pickup / speed. After that it was OK.
- The view thru the RVM inside was not good.
- The long dash board was obstructing the vision thru front glass with the driver seat at lowest level.
- Difficulty in getting out when the driver seat was kept at the topmost position (I am 5’-11”).
- The side indicator rods are on the left side of the steering which was confusing to me.
- The AC was only average and did not cool much in the 15 min TD (it was 1.00pm under hot sun).
- The shaft height under the rear seat is too high and will have difficulty for the person sitting at the center of the rear seat.
- The rear glasses can be lowered only 60%
- Price too high - no features like ABS, Alloy wheel, rear glass wiper, fog lamp not even the music system @ 6.82 lakhs for comfortline.

My cousin who did the TD with me also did not like the pickup in I & II gear.

The sales guy was telling me that the slow pickup & AC was due to the 5 people inside, which was not a good comment (My Santro gets speed & cooled than this with 5 persons.)

So almost dropped Polo from my list

Will be back after TD for Punto & i20 next week
Regards
Vijay

 

[MSN1]

Its difficult to read with a lot of fonts and size lines

Do Try TD on FIGO and Micra

 

[avindu]

Hi Vijay,
Welcome to TAI. Sometimes, having too many options, might only add to the confusion, especially with the hatchbacks, isn't it? I'm sure a lot of new buyers go through this and I was one of them too.

I would suggest, start with your budget. If you have a budget of 6L, Swift, i20 (magna) and also the car of the year 'Figo', fits the bill and also cars with reliable A*S*S.

IMO, I doubt i20, yields 19 kmpl, as per your calculation and requirement. I even doubt it gives 16/17 in city, not sure about the highway. Are you going to trade-in your santro? If yes, check with all the dealers about the cost, exchange bonus etc.

Happy hunting ;)

 

[jayadev]

my 10 cents ...

I doubt i20, yields 19 kmpl, as per your calculation and requirement. I even doubt it gives 16/17 in city, not sure about the highway.

imo i20 much much hyped car even though they had 5 star euro ncap ,i personally did not feel so safe due to some unknown reasons i am not against hyundai as i like verna, accent and i10 which is from hyundai!! .
and swift looks oldy. nowadays alto and m800 makes a pleasant presence on road than swift!!
what about ritz ??

punto 75bhp is bit dissapointing when it comes to perfomance. but considering the features ,ride quality ,safety punto wins. but punto 90hp is almost a complete package!!

then the ford figo , its cheap and hot selling with qood quality interiors and well built chasis but (yes short of power.)
imo ford figo is not a hyped car yet it reached mark of 8k+ sold per month ,i believe the reason could be ;what company stated ,people experienced in test drive or in ownership.
cheers

 

[amiti]

if you are looking between i20 and punto. The clear winner is Punto. It gives a real solid and safe feel which i20 lacks.
Just do this test, go to a bad road and on same bad road drive both cars back to back. You will make a decision yourself. If you can wait, wait for new swift. You will have one more option.

 

[Ichimaru]

Punto has tank like built where as i20 is flimsy.
To me, owning cars is like owning a home. We look for a safe locality for buying a house because we spend a lot of time at our house and therefore want it to be safe.
Similar is the case with cars, you spend time with your family inside a car and hence it should be safe.
In this regard, Punto wins hands down because of the superb build, ride quality and handling and wider tyres!

 

[Ichimaru]

Punto boasts of a lot of features.
Blue & Me is one such (underrated) feature. If you know how to use it, it spoils you!

I used to tell my customers:-
1. Blue & Me is a safety feature as you don't have to even look at your phone or take the eyes off the road and hands off the steering wheel.
2. It is a luxury feature as you won't find it in cars like even laura.
3. Its for you convenience as you don't have to stop the car every time your phone rings!

 

[cooldhaya]

Well yeah even i din like the Polo after a TD. Its driveability is not good and the engine is very noisy and to top it all you get many more features in Punto for a lesser price! The only positive i see in Polo is the VW brand image and amazing looks!


As Jayadev said why not the Ritz? Its a real good car except the rear looks!


Still i would suggest Punto90HP as you have the budget.