P3T3R's Crystal White i10 Kappa2 Sportz


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THE REQUIREMENT
It’s been a year and a half since we bought the Alto LXi Spice (Red Hot Alto Spice if you’ve seen the thread). The car had completed 19K Kms but I was not happy with it and made up my mind to sell it and buy something better. But the re-sale was pathetic (so much for Maruti’s great re-sale value). I decided that I need another car and I’ll keep the Alto for my mom to use. Since my usage is quite a lot, I wanted a Diesel. The obvious choice was the Punto. However I decided to check out all options.

THE CONTENDERS
FIAT PUNTO: Having owned 2 FIATS myself (Uno Petrol & Petra 1.6) besides others in the family (brothers Palio and Dad’s 3 FIAT 600’s), I was very comfortable with the brand. Took a Test Drive of the Punto Petrol (as another customer was testing the Diesel). Surprisingly it was quite peppy and fun to drive. My wife liked it too. Finally I got the Diesel (dealer brought it home). This was quite nice. Suited me perfectly. However my wife was a bit uncomfortable with the seat height and visibility as she was quite short. In the meantime I also tested the 90 HP. Just a bit better than the normal one but I was not interested in spending the extra bit on it. Finally I had to rule out the Punto as my wife will be using the car a lot.

TATA INDICA VISTA: We checked out the Vista QJD. The car was very comfortable and real VFM. However we did not like the handling. The TD car also was in bad shape. I thought it was a good choice for my wife. However she disliked it and ruled it out.

FORD FIGO: A real good hatch on paper. I had TD’d it earlier and quite liked it. But being a Ford which has a history of not supplying part for discontinued models and expensive spares. The dealer in Goa does not have a good reputation either. Ruled out by my wife without even testing it.

Hyundai i20 CRDi: Too expensive. Ruled out.

Skoda Fabia: Expensive spares and not exciting. Ruled out.

VW Polo: Waiting period and out of the budget. Ruled out.

Maruti Swift: Too common, poor build quality and poor A.S.S.* Ruled out.

Maruti Ritz: Wonderful rear design (second only to the Dzire!), poor build quality and poor A.S.S.* Ruled out.

Now it was looking like I had to shelf the Diesel option and buy myself a Diesel Sedan next year. My wife will have to use a Petrol Hatch. We had already tested the petrol versions of the above hatches, so I’ll only list out the remaining.

Maruti Wagon R: Ruled out for being a Maruti (I had made up my mind that I will never spend money on a Maruti after the Alto experience).

*Before coming out with comments on the Maruti A.S.S., please read my review of the Alto and my horrible experience with them. If they are the best, why did it happen?

This left me with only one choice; the i10. I had made up my mind that I didn’t want a Kappa. I didn’t find the power all that great compared to the IRDE and also the initial peppiness of the IRDE was missing in the Kappa. Also reading various reviews on various forums, I learnt that the Kappa was a thirsty car compared to the IRDE.
Now that I had decided on the engine, I was not sure whether to go for the Era or Magna. Finally decided on the Magna. The i10 was recently facelifted but I liked the old version. I contacted Alcon Hyundai and they had a black Magna IRDE and a few white Era’s. The offered the usual freebies. Then I contacted the other dealer Goa Hyundai. They said they had a Red and a White Magna. However when I went there, they said they were already booked. Took a TD of the facelifted version. Then sat down to talk business. They just offered me 50% off on insurance and remote locking. They were making no effort to budge with their take it or leave it attitude. They did not even offer a cup of tea. I walked out and went to Alcon Hyundai. They offered free insurance and the usual freebies. I took the quotation and told them I would get back to them. After a number a follow up calls from their side, they finally said that they would give me the car on the road at the ex-showroom price. I agreed to buy the car and insisted on doing the PDI before booking. During the PDI, I noticed the right fender was loose and fouling with the door. They said they would fix it but I demanded a further discount as it was a damaged car. During all this the other dealer Goa Hyundai did not even bother to follow up.

THE SWITCH TO THE FACELIFT AND KAPPA2
Finally I decided to go in for the facelifted version. The December offer was out and Alcon Hyundai was offering free insurance (though the ad said insurance + attractive gifts). I kept asking for the attractive gifts but they were not giving anything. Anyway I decided to buy. Reading the reviews convinced me to go for the Kappa2. Looks like Hyundai have rectified the Kappa’s milege problem with the VTVT Kappa2 engine. After a lot of debate I decided to go in for the Sportz. I earlier considered the Magna and then adding some of the features of the Sportz. However some of the stuff I wanted could not be done so I decided to go for the Sportz.

FINANCE, INSURANCE AND DEALER SWITCH
I told them I would book after arranging the finance. I contacted Corporation Bank through my sister who works there. Since she did not know the price of the car she called Goa Hyundai for a quotation. She also mentioned to them that she knows the owner of the dealership. The staff immediately verified this and immediately came up with an offer of 22K off. However I later realised that the catch was that I had to take insurance with them which was more expensive. Melvyn’s friend even gave me a fantastic quote for Tata AIG but Goa Hyundai would not allow me to take it. They would only reduce 9K if I took my own insurance. Even that with their insurance, the deal was better than Alcon. However I showed my displeasure at the offer and seeing this they gave me free seat covers as an extra. Anyway I called up Akshay (Alcon) and told him my decision. He quite appreciated the fact that I told him.
 
Thread Starter #2
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BOOKING AND PAYMENT
Finally I was time to remove the chequebook. I went to Goa Hyundai to make the payment. The dealer did not even offer a cup of tea to any of the customers, except Remo Fernandes who was there to buy an i20. I said I would be back in 2 days to pay the rest. I returned again with the draft on 30th December as the car had to be invoiced in December to avail the offer. I asked for delivery on the 1st but 1st & 2nd were holidays so I had to settle for the 3rd.

REGISTRATION
Collected all the documents and went to the RTO. I reached there by 11:30. After standing in a line for quite a while, I was told by the clerk that the tax for was missing and they needed a photocopy of the insurance and not the original. I got that that sorted and went back to the line. However the counter closed before I could reach it. I tried in the post lunch session too but they refused to register the car. The official time for the same being 09:45 to 12:30. I was really irritated that I would have to do it again the next day because of the dealer’s carelessness. I went back and gave them a piece of my mind. I insisted that they should do it for me. They said I would need to pay Rs.1700 to an agent. I refused as I had already put in the effort. Finally the GM intervened and instructed the staff to get it done free of cost. The registration was finally done on the 4th.

DELIVERY CEREMONY
I was quite anxious to collect the car. I made a number of calls and finally I was told that the car was registered. They asked to collect the car before 13:00 or after 14:00. Knowing how dealers are, I decided to go at 14:00. As usual I was made to wait while they searched for the papers. After about half an hour they found them. Then they went looking for the number plate guy to prepare my plate. This took another 15 minutes. Then I was directed to another table where one of the girls was supposed to do the paperwork. She explained the servicing intervals, warranty etc. and was able to answer most of my questions. However she was not aware of the cost of the paid servicing. The other sales representatives were also not so sure. After signing all documents I was given a feedback form. My wife said that no tea or anything was served whenever we came. They were so shameless, that even after that they did not offer anything. How much does it cost? However I did not put it in the feedback form. My wife also mentioned that ribbons were not put on the car. They quickly proceeded to fit the same. I also pointed out that the fog lamps and scuff plates were not installed. I was told that they were not in stock and would be fitted as soon as they get them. The seat covers were not fitted as I had not selected the pattern. I agreed to get all the stuff fitted during my next visit to the dealership. It was time for “Explanation of features and operation demo” of the car and we proceeded to the car. There is a dedicated “Delivery Ceremony” area but the car was brought to the main entrance and the ceremony started. The girl was a bit nervous because I had asked a lot of questions during the paperwork. She asked me if I wanted the demo. I didn’t want to dampen her spirit so I told her to explain it to my wife. I was quite impressed by the explanation. My wife even asked how to change a tyre which was explained (only theory). Again they were nervous as they thought I would demand a practical demo of the same. The holy idol( a small picture of Jesus Christ) was placed in the car. I my said she also wanted a statue of Ganpati which was immediately brought and installed. All the car documents were put in a nice bag and placed in the car. We were given the keys and a petrol coupon. My wife drove the car as I had to take the Alto back. Filled the fuel and went to my brothers office 9close to the dealer) to show the car to him. After that drove home.

BLESSING
I called up a friend to check if the Priest was available. He happened to be talking to the priest and told me to bring the car. Went to Don Bosco’s. The Priest greeted us and then went to the car. He explained what he was going to do. He started off with a reading from the Bible and then a prayer for the people manufactured the car. I was a thanksgiving for giving those people the ability to produce a great piece of machinery. Next was a prayer for the safety of the people who would be travelling in the car. Finally a prayer for the other road users safety so no harm should come to them as a result of this car. Holy water was sprinkled on the car and us and the blessing was completed. We then drove off to my usual petrol pump and filled the tank.

THE DRIVE
I was now time to drive the car. After all the only drive in this car was the
Test Drive. We decided to drive to Porvorim as I wanted to visit the JBL Shoppe. I wanted to audition the Harman Kardon Home Theatre and also check out some ICE for the car. Was joined there by Dinar (yea same guy). We checked out one model. The rest were not available so we decided to check the ICE. We were told that the ICE was all kept in his other shop Apex 2001. We went there and checked out the stuff. During the drive I found the car really smooth and refined. The build quality was great and almost on par with the European cars but not as good. However it was light years ahead of Maruti. I found the car a bit underpowered on the highway. It did not feel like 80 BHP. I also found the suspension too soft for the highway as the car was rolling a lot. I hope this can be cured with a tyre and wheel upgrade.

UPGRADES PLANNED
-Front Components
-Rear 6x9 Speakers
-4 Channel Amplifier
-Carputer
-14” Alloys
-185/60/R14 Tyres
 
Thread Starter #3
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And here are the snaps!
 

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Congrats Peter. Looks best in white.

On the contrary, I find the body roll to be contained well (just relative, I'm not comparing to a ford fiesta) and the ride to be bouncy.

I have taken reasonably sharp corners at 100 kmph and never felt nervous. Maybe wider and better tyres are doing the trick for me :tongue:

On the power, from my experience, Kappa is more a mid range machine. 2k to 4K RPM is the sweet spot. Try to play with the gears and eventually you'll learn to smoke some cars out. [evil]

Drive safe!
 
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Congrats Peter.Do tell about your ride comfort and handling.Also do one thing..Just try to move the steering with one one finger only in the car in neutral position.can you easily move it with one finger or you need to use both hands?Also if you move it faster,does it get harder??
 
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hey peter, congrats for your new car buddy. [:)] new i10 is looking very cute in white colour.
 
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Congrats Peter. I must say the new model looks too good in white. Wish you and your wife lacs of happy miles.

PS: Since you have given your car to your mom and this car will be used by your wife, then what will you be driving? Another buying thread soon?
 
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Congrats Peter on your new Acquisition of i10.
Wish you miles of Safe & Happy Motoring.[:)]

The roads are worst near Porvorim.
Besides that Pepsi bottling factory.
I don't know how they call it as a highway.
As i can see mud on the tyres of your new car.
 
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nice man . i told me father to go face lifted one but father didn't liked it went for old i10 . Still its looking good .

which camera was you using i can see in side mirror . Also can't wait for carputer part . this made me remember any update OBD part of safari i asked you sorry for stealing you thread .
 
Thread Starter #12
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Congrats Peter. Looks best in white.
hey peter, congrats for your new car buddy. [:)] new i10 is looking very cute in white colour.
Congrats Peter. I must say the new model looks too good in white. Wish you and your wife lacs of happy miles.
Congrats Peter on your new Acquisition of i10.
Wish you miles of Safe & Happy Motoring.[:)]
Thanks Guys

nice man . i told me father to go face lifted one but father didn't liked it went for old i10 . Still its looking good .
which camera was you using i can see in side mirror . Also can't wait for carputer part . this made me remember any update OBD part of safari i asked you sorry for stealing you thread .
I also quite liked the old i10. I've used a Nikon D3000 to click the snaps. Sorry about the OBD for the Safari. I will check with my friend. Totally forgot about it.

Do tell about your ride comfort and handling.Also do one thing..Just try to move the steering with one one finger only in the car in neutral position.can you easily move it with one finger or you need to use both hands?Also if you move it faster,does it get harder??
As I mentioned in the review, the suspension is too soft for my liking and I didn't like the handling too. But then my wife will be using the car and she like it. I'll try the steering, it should move with one finger. As you move faster the effect of the power steering is reduced. This is a design feature in all cars.

Since you have given your car to your mom and this car will be used by your wife, then what will you be driving? Another buying thread soon?
BTW my mom does not want the Alto, so I have to sell it. I'll be driving my Petra for the moment. Will upgrade to a Diesel Sedan in a year or two.

The roads are worst near Porvorim.
Besides that Pepsi bottling factory.
I don't know how they call it as a highway.
As i can see mud on the tyres of your new car.
Actually all roads are bad. I put this question to our local MLA. He assured me that the tenders are already out and the work on the roads will commence in March, unless there are early elections, in which case the work will start early.
 
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Actually all roads are bad. I put this question to our local MLA. He assured me that the tenders are already out and the work on the roads will commence in March, unless there are early elections, in which case the work will start early.
This i mentioned in particular as during my recent Goa trip had visited D.P.Motors of Mahindra on that stretch.
though Goa roads at the border are maintained well, Some stretches are pretty bad.
 
Thread Starter #14
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This i mentioned in particular as during my recent Goa trip had visited D.P.Motors of Mahindra on that stretch.
though Goa roads at the border are maintained well, Some stretches are pretty bad.
I live near the Pepsi plant. There is a DPC motors on that highway as well as one in Porvorim. Which one did you visit?
 

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