Un-reasonably priced, average car. Review on Hyundai i10

The car is owned by my father and he primarily uses it for city running in Pune. We have used the car for about 5 months and have covered about 2, 500 kms so far. Out of those 2500 kms, I have driven about 1000 kms in Pune and Mumbai and on highways as well. We bought the car in June 2009

First up - the car is over-priced for the engine, features and overall performance of the car. I strongly believe it is about 50 K more than what it should have been. Anyways, now that we have bought it, its gone.

Performance - I would say it is an avearage performance car. A slightly better engine than the Santro. We own the 1.1 L engine (IRDE) Engine - Era variant - which generates a modest torque of 10.1 and a power of about 66 BHP. The car returns excellent fuel efficiency.

Driveability - I think there is something wrong with the gear ratios. The car needs frequent gear shifts in the city traffic and can be annoying especially in bumper to bumper traffic. The gear shift lever is situated slightly away from the driver and hence the left hand feels fatigued after driving the car in the traffic for even 30 minutes. The driver's posture is just fantastic. The leg support, back support and lumber support is superb. On highways one does not feel the driving fatigue

The steering response is also good. The electronic power steering is better than most power steering systems in the market. The turning radius is decent and parking the car is a breeze because of the size of the car. It is small.

The biggest downside of the car is the engine noise in the cabin. It is annoying. The pick up is average, no great shakes. I would switch off the ac if I wanted to zip at the traffic signals. There is no fun driving the car. It is a utilitarian car for city with limited boot space and comfortable for 4 average sized adults. Three adults in the back seat would be too much for the car. If a slightly tall adult needs to stretch his / her legs in the front, it would be difficult. I would recommend a maximum of four adults in the car.

Build Quality - Amazing build quality. There are no major panel gaps. Overall looks quite plush from inside. The plastics are decent, but inner styling could have improved. That is however, subjective, to each ones liking. The overall build quality is superb, best in class. The doors close nicely, no squeaks and sounds from the car.

Bottom -line is: A very average car, exhorbitantly priced. Excellent fuel efficiency and good build quality. On a scale of 5, I would rate it at about 3.

Mileage (with AC) : City : 14.5 kmpl, Highway: 17 kmpl

P.S: Not a very positive response from Hyundai and it's dealerhsip in Pune (Kothari Motors). Avoid the dealership if you can. I complained to Hyundai on the customer support email id and I only got a response saying we will look into it. I never got any response after that from Hyundai or Kothari Motors. May be this is a one of case. However, we did get J.D Power to know of our experience about Hyundai and Kothari Motors. Hope something comes out of that.