Hyundai Elite i20: 3000km Long Term Review

Well, it’s been a while since the launch of the Hyundai Elite i20 and also a month since it marked its entry in the ZigWheels Garage. And in its time with us so far, I can surely say that it grabs a lot of eye balls. In fact it has happened a bit too often that I am waiting in line at a fuel station or some place and I have fellow motorists admiring the Elite i20’s shapely design. 

The large sweptback headlights, the swooping roofline with the blackened out C-pillar and those funky looking tail-lights, boy do they look good. And the story is pretty similar on the inside too. The dual tone beige and black dashboard with the well appointed centre console give the interiors a touch of class. The instrument cluster though could have been more informative. While it shows the average speed, total time travelled on the two trip metres, the absence of distance to empty and efficiency gauge does not go unnoticed.  

The Elite i20 is as generous with regards to space, as it is in design elements. The seats are wide with good under thigh support. The rear bench is spacious too. There is ample of knee and leg room and it can seat three adults at the back pretty comfortably. It has a pretty big boot too that can happily fit our photographer along with his camera equipment. 

Considering most of our shoots are scheduled for dawn, that too at locations that aren’t remotely close to home, driving in the dark comes as part of our job profile. And it is exactly the reason why having good headlights becomes a must. The Elite i20 fairs pretty well in that regard, and while the visibility at night is satisfactory, addition of projectors would have worked wonders even in terms of its design. 

On the mechanical front, the tall gear ratios demand a lot of work especially when driving in the stop-and-go traffic in the city. Most of the 1000km of my first long term review were primarily on the highway and tall speed ratios helped return better efficiency but the same cannot be said about city driving. That said, the 6-speed gearbox shifts smoothly and precisely. 

All said, considering the amount of time I spend in the car thanks to the insane traffic on the streets in Mumbai, the Elite i20’s cabin is in fact quite a comfortable place for me to spend the chunk of my day in the upcoming months. 

Date Acquired: September 2014

Total km till date: 4,915km

Fuel consumed: 115.47 litres (Since Last Report; Total distance: 1836km) 

Efficiency: 15.9kmpl (As tested)

Cheers: Looks, Space

Sneers: Tall gear ratios

Total Cost: Nil 

Also Read: Hyundai Elite i20: 1,000km Long Term Review