Hyundai Elite i20 long term review: After 27,575km and one year
When a car becomes an integral part of your daily life, it is a necessity, not a luxury! It doesn't matter whether the registration number is odd or even, you need it! Be it for the innumerable shoots, location hunts or my many trips to Pune, the Elite i20 became part of my daily life, a real companion.
27,575km! That was the odometer reading when I reluctantly dropped the car to the dealership. It already had a few thousand kilometres on the clocks when I first got the keys to this wonderful car 11 months earlier, but given the amount of travel in my life that is a lot of running for less than a year. Two trips home to Kerala and back were the longest ones. A third one was almost planned before I realise that my favourite companion was scheduled to go backÂ…
In the last 11 months, I have faced almost no issues except when a fuel pump attendant accidentally filled the car with diesel, a mistake Hyundai very efficiently rectified. I will miss the excellent ride quality and handling as well as the comfortable seats. Though it is a hatchback, I had no problem regarding space. It has excellent shoulder room and is spacious enough for three people at the back without compromising boot space. For me, boot space is especially important, not just to carry luggage but also me during shoots!
On the flip side, I think it needs a bit more power, especially when overtaking on the highway. And towards the end of its tenure, the keyless entry button on the driver's door handle stopped working. But there are no two ways about it, the Elite i20 is a features fest – keyless entry, push button start, reverse camera, USB, rear AC vents and more. It is a lot of value for the money, of that I am convinced. And also a bit depressed.
Total mileage 27,575km Date acquired Jan'15
This month: Mileage 7,003km Fuel 464 litres Efficiency 15.1kmpl