Hyundai i20

Yup, they have a right to do and say what makes Business sense to them. And we have a right to say what make purchasing sense to us and to trash what doesnt. I know Hyundai is done mistakes in the pricing with the Getz and the other models then trying to entice people to buy it coz its Uber cool and Super cool but they shouldnt be trying that again for the second time as India is a very price sensitive market. But hey, thats why the forum gets postings cause we all have our different points of view.

I agree with many comments and observations made by Rafi, Steeroid and others.  I am coming back after some gap and much fresh water has flown under the bridge and Hyundai has launched with two new models of i20.  I would like to share my views about these two models.

First head on collision  -  I don't agree with opinion that 1.4L petrol is very overpriced.  This 1.4l petrol egine is very advance (compare it with 1.4 L engine power delivery of Fiat in Punto or any other 1.4 L engine in market).  Further, my break down of price is as follows:  A/T about Rs. 80-90 K, it is much advance A/T with SIX modes, much better than any A/T offered by Hyundai or any other car in sub Rs. 15 L range.  1.4 L engine adds about Rs 40-50 K to the price and rest is increased excise duty in higher bracket.  Only question, one may ask is, why the hell A/T is mandatory, I don't need A/T?  I don't know the right answer.  But Hyundai did not wish to sell i20 1.4L for less than Honda Jazz (which has less features and 1.2 L engine).  I guess Hyundai is refusing to be treated as second class auto citizen.  As some of you mentioned Jazz and i20 is luxury, premium H/B in every sense.

Second friendly talk  -  I completely agree that 1.4L diesel is asking too much premium.  I called Fiat 1.3 L diesel engine  a 'gem', BHPians call it 'National diesel engine' because most diesel engine cars on Indian roads have this engine.  But you have to agree that this diesel is better than 'gem' in term of smoother power delivery - I don't know what to call it, may be I ran out of word after 'Gem'.  This is the first diesel engine which comes close to petrol engine in smooth power delivery because you don't feel that sudden surge of power like other diesel engines when turbo kicks in - a new technology, giving better NVH control.  The max torque band of 1750-2750 rpm is wide and is an excellent for family car. FE will match to that of National engine with relatively smoother ride and better pull.  But that does not justify the premium, Hyundai is asking far, especially because this engine is also in lower excise tax bracket.

It seems that Hyundai will face serious capacity crunch due to unexpected high demand of i20 in Europe.  From Media, I also gather that the trust of Top mangement of Hyndai is shaken in India, which they had 10 years ago, due to two recent incidents.  First, Tata (Son of Indian soil) was literally kicked out of WB by politicians, causing incredible loss to Tata and unneccesary delay in production of Nano causing further loss - which will shock the ballance sheet of any big corporation for long time.  Tata gave up because he did not have any alternative and there was no judicial process.  Second, three weeks strike in their Indian plant with political backing.  Mesage - Indian politicians are very powerful and above law and you can't argue business logic with them without cash.  They always planned, India to be hub of small Hyundai cars for the world but now they want to shift base to Turkey or somewhere, which is more committed to their mission.  No further expansion of Indian plant.  Hence, they are not very keen to increase demand of i20 in India before their other plant becomes operational.  They certainly don't want to loose Europe demand.

The issue could also be due to image, with the Jazz at 8+ being termed 'over prized' and the 6+ i20 being terms 'costly'.

Waiting for the Polo to shake things us nicely.

Did you guys say VW to be the largest car maker?

I agree with you.  But I know many people who at the launch of i20 1.2L Asta called it overpriced and NVFM.  All of a sudden after the launch of i20 1.4L, find old Asta is VFM, for features, comfort and safety, and excellent family mover - no more under powered tag too because 1.4L is out of reach.  I think this world exists on relative scale rather than absolute scale - as the story goes King can do no wrong.  A famous and rich king ordered the best weaver in his kingdom to design a unique dress for him.  At the designated moment, weaver adorned the king with unique dress and king could not challenge the uniqueness of dress and decided to take a round of his capital on his chariot.  Every citizen on road side admired the unique new dress of king until a little and innocent boy asked his dad why the king is going around the city naked.  The moral of the story is that who will be innocent enough to be first to challenge the uniqueness of Honda - the auto King of the world for quality and VFM.

I am not here to to criticize Honda or any other car for that reason because I don't believe in unique jacket which will fit everyone perfectly.  This world is livable due to variety of colors and freedom that everyone can choose his own favorite to suit his ever changing needs.

Along with you I share and hope that VW Polo will shake things up.  But if past is any projection of future, it is highly unlikely.  Every new launch has created more confusion, more debate and more choices.  New buyers make their best choices among chaos or new information.  But every new launch is putting more pressure and challenge to established king for over 25 years, 'Suzuki', in India.  I don't hope that there will ever be a perfect car which will fit every pocket and individual needs - like HM Ambassador in India.  Isn't it fun and makes life worth living?

Post edited to remove 'quote' (preceding post itself; NOT required, therefore).

Worm welcomes to Amit – I always found your posts refreshing and hence enjoy reading those! 

We all heard of term “first mover advantage” which gives insurmountable advantage to first significant company to move into a new market.  It has not really happened for Hyundai i20.  Consider hypothetical case where in i20 is launched after launch of Honda Jazz, then i20 would have been instant hit – a better features at lesser value than Jazz. 

The fact is Hyundai is instrumental in creating premium hatch back market segment and Honda tried to cash on further on this and wanted to have its brand premium as well!

Hi Sujit:

I appreciate your welcoming and encouraging words.

Before I write any further, I will say that your icon on carwale always fascinated me and I always  wanted to know, how did you create it?

I agree with your observations about i20 being instant hit because it has USP, like Swift had few years ago in India.  But as I mentioned before, Hyundai is facing capacity crunch due to increased demand from Europe.  They will not be able to meet increased demand unless their new plant comes in production some where in Europe.  As an Indian, I feel bad that they decided not to increase production capacity in India, which they know would have worked in thier favour - cheaper, easier, faster and quicker because they have a big facility.  But from business prospective, I support Hyundai view of not putting all their eggs in one basket (India).  Because, any crazy Indian politician can stop production in Indian facility without any notice and rationale and can make Hyundai bankrupt without any judicial intervention.  Once their new facility will come in production, I feel, Indian facility will be good enough to meet demand of India and surrounding countries, IMO.  But India will not be Hyundai's small car hub as they visioned few years ago.

I am hopeful that Hyundai will bring Genesis (RWD) model in India during 2010 as CBU.  It is a technological marvel competing with BMW 500 and 700, Merc 400 and 500, Lexus 400. Infinity 45 etc. and is voted as the Best Car in USA and Canada (left hand drive countries).  This will also establish capability and technological leadership of Hyundai in India.

hi Guys

                     Yesterday I had driven HONDA JAZZ  for about 15 km .....Guys this car is really value for money ......kindly drive it and feel the difference   ,,I specially drove it in a patch full of pot holes and huge speed breakers ....with full five people sitting in the car ... Guys believe it ..even tyr it yourself ...you will feel the difference ....

     even in 3 nd gear accelerating from 20 to 70 km is not a problem

    SO IF YOU HAVE THAT BUGET ....ONE CAN THINK OF THIS HATCH BACK ....

 ABS  &  EBD WORK EFFICIENTLY

                 KINDLY DRIVE IT FOR ABOUT 10 -20 KM IN ALL TERRAIN AND TELL ME ALSO TOUR EXPERIENCE

I am glad that you had a pleasant TD experience with Honda Jazz.

Jazz and i20, both are luxury H/B with excellent built quality, reliability and emphasis to safety. Both have 5 Star safety rating but in terms of exact #, i20 has an edge. Both cars have similar dimension and features, except Asta has some more. Following data may help to choose b/w Jazz Base and i20 Asta (1.2L) (I kept 1.4L i20 out because it is little too powerful for Jazz):

Acceleration (0-100) 17.66 sec (Jazz), 13.36 sec (i20)

Quarter Mile 20.58 sec (Jazz), 19 sec (i20)

Braking (80-0)30.43 m (Jazz), 26.86 m (i20)

Braking (100-0) 48.09 m (Jazz), 43.02 m (i20)

FE (city) 11 kmpl (Jazz), 13.8 kmpl (i20)

FE (highway) 17 kmpl (Jazz), 18.5 kmpl (i20)

Safety Rating (NCAP) 5 star (Jazz), 5 star (i20)

Price (Ex-showroom, Delhi) Rs. 698,000 (Jazz), Rs. 560,201 (i20)

NOTE - Jazz @power # is 10% higher but it lacks low end torque, so it requires lot revving the engine and feels slower w.r.t. i20 (1.2L). IMO, 1.4L premium for Honda Brand is little too high.

SIR 1.4 IS A DIESEL EQUIPMENT AND NOT A PETROL VERSION

  AND AFTER ALL HONDA PPL ARE HONDA AND KOREAN HUNHAI IS ONLY KOREAN

MY FRIEND HAS A  I20 ,IN MY CITY IT'S AVG IS ONLY 11.0 KM

Dear Vishal,

             Kindly go through coverage of i 20 launch in the leading news papers. 1400 cc was launched in both diesel and petrol(Automatic) versions and obviously u cant compare a 1.4 litre to 1.2 litre. Now, if you feel the brand honda alone commands close to two lakh above brand hyundai, buddy I feel you belong to the super rich in our country of lesser mortals...I do agree with your mileage cause I own an i 20 and has clocked 5500 km...a slight correction the mileage in chennai city is 11.5 to 12 kmpl.... 

cheers

SALIL