Apr 09, 2009 03:41 PM
7746 Views
(Updated Mar 21, 2010 02:22 AM)
My A star was delivered right on time day before. All thanks to Mr. Umesh from spectra motors, goregaon. Everything was smooth sailing, there was lots of difficulty selling our Baleno but couldn't till 5 months, but at True Value we were offered a fairly good price after inspection on the spot, test drive was given immediately and so was the deal finalised for 432000 on road VXI model.
This is completely opposite to Vitesse whose service was appalling and irritating, much like the typical sales people which they write about in magazines. Total procedure including octroi and registration and true value exchange was 5 days only and I was so happy when the car was delivered with so so many ribbons all over and balloons here and there, haha! without any hassles.
Make your decision, if practicality is what you want, this is not for you, the Zen Estilo and Wagon R are the choice. But overall quality, ride and reliability is highly compromised on the Estilo which now comes with the same engine.
Best suited for the youth, couples or a nuclear family and height of the man of the house being not more than 5'7" :)
SPACE - is adequate for the medium statured and one will get used to it by time. The integrated front headrests are comfortable and there is lots of legroom. Three people can sit abreast with much comfort in the rear as its wide BUT
The rear legroom is decent, but its usefulness is obstructed due to support bars below the extra thick front seats, hence legs also cant go under the seat. Even a bottle cant slip inside that easily!
Boot space is slightly lesser than the 800, most of it is obstructed due to its sloping roof but adequate for a small trip and there is also option for a luggage carrier on the top, so that wont be a problem.But how many times do we use the boot space practically without compromising on mileage?
Thankfully, a lot of storage space is provided all over the car like bottle holders on the rear doors, door pockets and place to keep cd and ipod which illuminates at night and a compartment below the boot which is useful. (Not an i10 fan but it wins hands up for rear and boot space!:) )
AC is very nice and cools immediately even on full load and there was no point missing the baleno whose AC is considered one of the best.
INTERIORS - have an excellent ambience and are very welcoming. All swithces glow bright flamey red at night that gives it a sporty feel. Seat fabrics feel of good quality. The doors open at right angles so its convenient.
Unlike the sx4 which is of a higher segment the plastic quality of the dashboard seems good and look durable and long lasting. Survived a spill off ambi pur perfume without getting bleached! Sadly, not the same implies for side panels and handles which feel of inferior quality and get scratched even if your finger nail or ring touches it. :(
The instrument pod is so small that it is solely for the driver to see . The temperature gauge is digital and is invisible till your engine will catch fire or abnormal temperatures. Another irritating thing is the clock is in the pod, so it is again not visible to rear seat passengers. 4 power windows are standard, the switches are of really good quality. 3.5/5 for interior quality.
The best thing is the integrated audio with aux that also has good sound quality with its super bass. However usb slot is not available and there is no extra area for a retroffited tape except in lxi. Also forget putting those hi fi speakers in the rear as it will eat up your already less boot space.
Though seat support is nice the view is a bit problematic due to the dashboard placed high. Slight problem for short drivers.
RIDE QUALITY - No jerks over potholes. :) Little hard at low speeds but feels more comfortable and stable on highways as speed increases. Car has good sound proofing and also its really stable on the highways upto 130 kph. Havent gone above that...In turns its really sharp and there is minimum movement of passengers.
Brakes respond well and does not jerk forward, but vehicle gives a feeling of skidding when braking suddenly . Pickup is decent but on accelerating it is way too quick.
ENGINE - The 68 bhp, three pot doesnt feel like one. Handling is quick and steering responds well while manouvering with minimum body roll. There is some vibrations felt constantly while accelerating which sometimes is audible. This is forgettable. Reversing makes the same noise exactly like the Zen did so.
ITS A TOTAL FUN CAR TO DRIVE. The highly advanced future generation KB series engine is the only cause for the premium that Maruti is charging, also the 1.2 kb series of the Ritz is soon going to be avalable in the Swift and DZire as well.
SMOOTH GEARBOX like the baleno and the zen and has short throws.
Pick up not at all affected by ac which is quite surprising. The clutch is also soft.
FUEL ECONOMY - Manges a 16 kpl on average city conditions. On highways manages a really good 23-25 with interval ac usage! Lowest city mileage is 13 in bumper to bumper traffic.
Overall I am so happy that there was no problem downsizing from Baleno. I have lots of expectations from this vehicle and mostly will do so. :) I get most excited when it makes heads turn on the road which was never experienced in the boring but nice Baleno. Excellent road presence..:) I know this car deosnt sell like hot cakes, but those who buy it wont regret ever.
I suppose disounts are now available in this car upto 19000, we were given a loyalty bonus of only 3000.
i10 is succesful as Hyundai has never been selfish like Maruti to give some space in all its ranges and hence has ticked all the right boxes. (Baleno, SX4 and Wagonr are the only cars of Maruti that have been tagged as spacious till now) In Maruti its like this that if they give good looks and quality (Swift, A star) then they compromise on space and if the car is reasonably spacious and is cheaper (Estilo, Alto) then they compromise on engine performance and build quality, its a strategy of sorts...
BUYERS - PLEASE DONT WORRY ABOUT THE FAULTY FUEL O RING AS REPORTED - ours has not given any trouble inspite of filling till the brim, dealer aptly called and replaced it at our convenience. Its another sweet gesture that they regularly call us during festivals.
