Hyundai i20 CRDi : Roadtest

  • Aug 4, 2009
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After much ado, the long awaited diesel version of the Hyundai's large hatchback has finally arrived. Priyadarshan Bawikar takes the i20 CRDi for a spin and tries to figure out whether it was worth the wait

There was a time when hatchbacks were considered as small, cheap alternatives to sedans. But in our opinion, those days are far behind us as recently, a new entity has crept into the Indian automobile scene - the Premium Hatchback. At the end of last year, Korean auto giant Hyundai entered its mighty contender in this segment, the i20. Armed with European style and sensibility, the i20 was a complete departure from the qualities that had come to be associated with most of the company's earlier models. And as we've said before, this car literally blew us away. While the 1.2-litre Kappa engine under the hood was up to the job of powering this large hatch and scored high points in refinement, it certainly wasn't anything to write home about on the performance front. In fact, we at ZigWheels have been pretty much inundated by queries from potential car buyers and enthusiasts about when a diesel-powered option would be made available in the i20. Well, the oil-burning variant of the i20 has finally landed on Indian shores and boy, has it been an eye opening experience.

Now let's face it, the diesel hatchback segment is ruled by only one car at the moment, the Suzuki Swift DDiS - the car that drove home the point that a diesel engine can be just as refined and fun as a petrol. So naturally, we are going to draw parallels to Swift when talking about the i20 CRDi. That being said, this is a completely different beast compared to its competition and sits one entire segment above the Maruti-Suzuki. Now one thing to realize is that the i20 CRDi is nearly identical on the outside as well as on the inside to its petrol-powered Kappa cousin. So those of you who have already read that car's road test can happily skip the following two sections and jump straight to the bit about the engine.

Styling: Uber chic


On the outside, there is absolutely no difference between the i20 Kappa and this new diesel version except for the 'CRDi' badge on the lower right side of the boot lid. But this is nothing to be worried about as from every angle, the i20 is an absolute delight to behold and still keeps its position of being one of the best looking hatchbacks in the Indian market. The i20's design breaks away from the conventional Japanese/Korean hatchbacks that we've seen so far and adopts an approach that is extremely European. Sleekly raked A-pillars, flared wheel arches and a subtly curvaceous hood resting on a contoured front fascia is the order of the day at the front. And who can forget the attractive, sharp kink in the waistline that runs across the length of the car on either side.

The car looks extremely sporty in profile thanks to the muscular lines at the front that blend into a roof line that gently slopes downwards towards the back of the car. Contributing to this the fact that the i20 has the longest in class wheelbase of 2525mm coupled with a track of 1505mm, and a 'not-so-tall' overall height of 1505mm (which is lower than that of the Fabia and the newly-launched Jazz). Add all this up and even though the i20 has the highest ground clearance in its class (165mm), it still manages to look hunkered down and sleek as compared to any of its rivals. In fact, the car oozes European chicness out of every little design detail present on it.

Interiors: As good as ever


Again, there is absolutely no change in the interiors of the i20 CRDi as compared to the Kappa. The driving position manages to be sporty, at the same time fairly relaxing, while the car offers plenty of room in the back for three regular sized passengers. Liberal use of beige and brown in the two-tone trim gives the interior a very modern look and adds oodles of feel-good factor, whether you're in the driver's seat or the passengers'. The interiors are nothing vastly out of the ordinary, but look really classy by all means. The instrument cluster follows the same tradition of the rest of the interiors where it doesn't feature anything exceptional, but is aesthetically pleasing none the less. The centre of the dashboard features a small digital console slanted towards the driver that displays useful bits of information such as outside temperature, trip metres, digital clock, etc.

The i20 comes with a wonderful 2-DIN MP3 player that is integrated into the centre console, and has USB and auxiliary input ports to plug in your iPod or any other portable music player. And it sounds really good too, so unless you're an absolute audiophile, you really don't need to upgrade the player or the speakers. One finds no compromises in the back seats either. The 60:40 split folding seats offer extremely flexible luggage options and the i20 is one of the few hatchbacks in the market that actually offers a 3-point seatbelt for the rear-centre seat as well. Boot space is rather cavernous and in the hatchback class, is probably topped only by the newly-launched Honda Jazz. Apart from the boot, Hyundai is famous for smart storage spaces all over their cars and the i20 is no different, with a generous amount of cubby holes where needed and even a cooled glove-box. Overall, once you step into the i20, it's difficult to be left wanting for more, though dual cabin lights and a vanity mirror for the passenger side sun visor would have been welcome additions.

Engine: Sprightly when spinning


Now we really come to the meat of this road test - the engine. At the business end of the i20 CRDi is an all new 1.4-litre common-rail diesel mill that produces a somewhat humble 90PS of power. But the real party piece of this oil-burning mill is the 220 Nm of torque which is available right from 1,750 rpm. Unlike the diesel mill that powers the diesel variant Getz launched a few years ago and then made its way into the Verna, this new oil-burner is nowhere as brutal in its power delivery. But it's not a wet blanket either. Once the variable geometry turbocharger spools up completely at around 2,000rpm, there is a massive surge of acceleration - not quite as neck snapping as the turbo-kick in the Swift DDiS, but more like a strong, constant push all the way up the rev band. But then a little above 4000rpm, the engine does seem to run out of breath.

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So if you work the gearbox and keep the revs above 2,000rpm, the i20 CRDi goes like a rocket. However, it's below that magical 2,000rpm mark where things begin to go downhill. The diesel mill really suffers in-gear pull under the 2k mark on the tachometer and even second gear drivability around town takes a serious hit because of it. Pulling away from near stop situations without shifting to first gear or making liberal use of the clutch is very tasking indeed. This in turn plays badly with the car's in-city fuel mileage as well. If it's any consolation, overall refinement level of the engine is superior to that of the 3-pot diesel unit from the Skoda Fabia. But it's not significantly smoother than the 1.3-litre DDiS mill from the Swift, which definitely scores above the i20's engine in terms of tractability.

Performance and Mileage


Of course, without figures, discussing how the engine performs is merely hearsay. From a standstill, the i20 CRDi can accelerate up to the 100km/h mark in 14.15 seconds, about one and a half seconds faster than its petrol-powered cousin. And the top speed is just over 172km/h, but we are fairly certain that given a long enough straight, she will touch about 180km/h. However, the diesel unit's lack of drive below 2,000rpm adversely affects the roll-on acceleration and you need to be willing to shift down a gear before stomping on the loud pedal before attempting any overtakes. Undoubtedly, this is makes the CRDi ideal for drivers who really like to get involved in the art of driving. But for those who just want to chill out and relax on the drive to office or back, it might be asking for just a tad too much.

But what the car loses in roll-on figures, it makes up for in its braking. Even though the i20 CRDi tips the scales at well over 1200kg (the Kappa weighs just 1066kg), it doesn't lose any of its braking potential. With disc brakes all around, along with ABS and EBD, step on the brake pedal, and the i20 will come to a halt from 100km/h in just 2.99seconds, covering a distance of 41.65 metres in the process.

While the i20 CRDi's efficiency does take a slight hit due to lack of low-rpm drivability, it still managed to return a mileage of 11.28kmpl through the traffic-clogged streets of Pune. But on the wide open highways, it was an altogether different story, with the mileage figures jumping up all the way to 19.32kmpl, and that too while comfortably cruising at over 100km/h. Of course, both the figures were recorded with the air-conditioner blowing a good draft through the car. So with that, an overall fuel efficiency figure of 13.29kmpl (with 75-percent city use and 25-percent highway use) is not too bad and more light-footed drivers will be easily able to extract a little more mileage.

Suspension and Handling: Lean, mean, cornering machine


On the handling front, this new diesel i20 is an absolutely different beast as compared to the petrol version. While the petrol car itself was a great handler, the diesel is a whole other league. Whether you're going through quick switchbacks or long sweeping corners, the i20 CRDi is absolutely planted and tackles any sort of corner with the utmost of ease. Part of this ability is due to the wide 1505mm track width of the i20 and part of it is due to the stiffer suspension setup the diesel car runs. Add to that the i20s extremely precise electronic power steering with great feedback and it's easy to see how this car makes short work of even the trickiest corners.

While we love the Suzuki Swift for its sharp steering and cornering abilities, we just fell in love with the way the i20 CRDi went around corners. While the i20's chassis always had this great potential, it can be properly exploited now thanks to the stiffer suspension. And it does a great job of putting the diesel engine's power down on the road. We might go as far as to say that this is probably the best handling hatchback in the market and easily bests some of the well-handling sedans. But this great handling does come at the price of a somewhat hard ride quality. While the car is extremely comfortable on good roads, it doesn't seem to be too well suited for bumpy and broken tarmac.

Verdict: Almost there


So at a price of between Rs. 6.19lakh for the Magna to Rs. 7.20lakh for the Asta with the sunroof (ex-showroom Delhi), just what do you get? Well, you get a car that has the interior space and comfort of a sedan, the practicality of a hatchback, distinct European styling, a good bit of performance and mileage and fabulous handling which we just can't say enough about. One very important aspect of this car, and one that very few of us consider when making a buying decision is that of safety. The Hyundai i20 is among the very few cars available in India that comes with a 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating, making it one of the safest vehicles on the road today.

Sadly, the feeble drivability at low-rpm and the stiff ride water down what could have been a car perfect in nearly every way. Still, if you don't mind shifting gears to keep the revs up and trading ride quality for excellent handling dynamics, this might just be the car for you. Strange as it may sound, this large family hatch actually has more of an enthusiast appeal to it. Sure, it's not exactly cheap as its price is eking into the sedan segment. But after the launch of the Honda Jazz, the i20's price doesn't seem that high anymore, does it?

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