Next Gen Hyundai i10 1.2 Kappa2 road test review

Ride and handling

I had been driving a Fiat Grande Punto for some time before I took the delivery of the new i10 for a review. I could instantly feel the difference as soon as I climbed into the i10. While the Hyundai feels smaller and lighter than the tank-like Punto, it also offers virtues in the form of better visibility all around, a much shorter turning radius, lighter steering and better maneuverability.
The i10 is essentially a city car. And it really shines within the urbanscape. The steering is light and responsive, the gearshifts are slick – it’s a hassle free car to drive in choc-a-bloc driving conditions of the metros. The suspension is slightly on the softer side, so it absorbs those undulations at slow and moderate speeds with aplomb. Overall, we found the ride quality of the car to be reasonably comfortable for its class, and the dynamic behavior to be reliable and predictable for the city conditions.

The game, however, changes once you get onto the highway though. The 1.2 litre Kappa2 engine is quite a potent mill and delivers enough punch to accelerate the i10 briskly to upto 140km/h. It is at such higher speeds, that the i10 makes you desire a bit more. The tyres could have done with a bit more of width, while the soft suspension which brought a smile on your back seat passengers, causes a bit of worry as you push it hard around those twisties.
To sum it up, the i10’s underpinnings make is a fabulous urban runabout, but if you are looking for a highway companion for roadtrips, then this is not the weapon of choice for you.

Summing it up
The i10 has been around for quite a while, and it’s not without reason that it’s holding its ground so well. It’s a no-fuss city car which ticks every box against the wish list of a small family without costing too much. Apart from its engineering virtues, the i10 also has a premium feel about it. The reliability and efficiency of the car have been proven over the past three years and it’s definitely one of the best ‘first cars’ to buy.
At a price that ranges from 4,11,665 OTR Mumbai for the base 1.1-litre to a little more than 6.0-lakh OTR Mumbai for the top end Asta 1.2 Kappa2, the i10 does sound like a slightly expensive car at the first glance. However, once you sit inside, after having sampled some other cars in the segment, you realize that Hyundai have actually paid a lot of attention to quality of the car. It’s definitely not the cheapest, but also, it’s definitely one of the best small city cars around.