Hyundai Grand i10: The best hatch in the market today?

The Hyundai Grand i10 re-writes the rules of the hatchback segment by offering terrific value writes Faisal Ali Khan of MotorBeam.com

Rarely does it happen that a product comes and changes the complete segment. However with the Grand i10, Hyundai has a product, which has send competitors to the drawing board.

The Hyundai Grand i10 is the second-generation i10, re-named for the Indian market. The vehicle sits between the old i10 and the i20 in Hyundai's growing car portfolio.

Boasting of many segment first features, the Grand i10 looks very promising to become a top-seller in the Indian market.

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The styling of the Grand i10 makes it look very modern. The car doesn't look like a tall boy thanks to the various design elements used on it.

The appearance of the Grand i10 is sharp all around, it looks sporty and appealing. The front sees the familiar Fluidic design although not in heavy dosage.

The headlights take some inspiration from the Eon. The side reveals the purposeful stance while the rear showcases the swooping tail gate. Overall the Grand i10 is very pleasing to look at.

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The interiors of the Grand i10 are very well laid out. The dashboard design is sharp with the round AC vents giving a retro sort of appeal.

The steering wheel has a plethora of buttons, something seen in cars costing much more. The Grand i10 is feature laden with a rear AC vent, 1 GB hard drive for the audio system, keyless entry, button start, cooled glovebox, etc.

It even smartly turns off the headlights if you forget to do so. Quality inside the cabin is excellent too and everything feels solidly put together.

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Space inside the cabin is excellent and the seats are comfortable offering good legroom, headroom and back support.

The front seats have integrated headrests which work well and at the same time giving rear passengers good forward visibility. The rear seat is a good place to be in and the windows and doors are large enough making you feel you are not in a hatchback.

There are plenty of storage spaces around and the dashboard mounted gear lever liberates space near the handbrake. The boot is very generous too, offering 256-litres of storage.

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The Hyundai Grand i10 is offered with petrol and diesel engines. The diesel engine is the 1.1-litre, 3-cylinder U2 unit which belts out 71 PS of power and 158 Nm of torque.

This 3-pot unit offers very good city performance and doesn't vibrate like a 3-cylinder engine due to the use of a balancer shaft. The engine offers linear performance and there is a minor lag below 1500 RPM.

Highway performance is decent but you need to work the gearbox to get going quickly. The 5-speed gearbox offers smooth shifts and the Grand i10's ARAI mileage is 24 kmpl.

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The petrol engine in the Hyundai Grand i10 is the same 1.2-litre Kappa motor which does duty in the i20. This engine has been tweaked to offer better throttle response.

The 4-cylinder powerplant belts out 83 PS of power and 114 Nm of torque. There is good low and mid-range performance and the engine starts to lose breath in the higher end of the powerband.

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City drivability is good and the motor has fantastic NVH levels, only audible past 3500 RPM. The Grand i10 petrol boasts of an ARAI mileage of 18.9 kmpl.

The 5-speed gearbox offers slick shifts and the clutch is light too. Redline comes in at 6500 RPM and the gearing is on the taller side.

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Hyundai has given the Grand i10 neutral dynamics and the suspension has a fantastic balance between ride and handling.

Although handling isn't as sharp as some of the cars in the segment, the Grand i10 offers decent feedback at speeds.

At city speeds, the steering is extremely light making it very easy to manoeuvre the car in congested traffic. The diesel car's steering feels better than the petrol's.

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Ride quality is excellent, there is no bounciness and the ride is pliant over most surfaces.

The suspension feels mature like that of an European car and only really bad roads manage to unsettle the vehicle.

High-speed stability is good too and braking performance is excellent with re-assuring pedal bite.

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The Hyundai Grand i10 is an excellent package and offers everything a hatchback buyer wants. The vehicle rides well, offers very good interior room and comes feature loaded.

The engines offer good city performance and are frugal too. The dynamics are on the neutral side and although the Grand i10 isn't as poised as a Ford Figo, it is easy to drive in the city.

Priced between Rs. 513,000 - 776,000 (on-road, Mumbai), the Grand i10 is easily the most well rounded hatchback in the market today.