A car means different things to different people. To some it’s a style statement, to others, it’s simply a reliable companion as they go about navigating the world outside their homes. I am Parul Tandon, a marketing professional living in Gurgaon with my husband, my child and my in-laws. And here I am, telling you all about how and why I bought my 2020 Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS, and what it’s been like running and owning this hatchback for almost 9 months.
I had learned driving many years ago, but I was not very confident behind the wheel. I tried my hand at the family Creta but felt a bit overwhelmed by the proportions of the vehicle. I wanted something that I could drive with ease and confidence, particularly in city traffic. While I needed a car for my personal use, I also felt we needed a second car in general. For a joint family living in a big city, one car is often not enough. If one of us has taken the car to work, everyone else must rely on cabs or the metro. And last-mile commute becomes nearly impossible, especially on a hot or rainy day.
What Did I Want From My Car?
I wanted a small car that wouldn’t make me worry too much about navigating busy lanes or parking in tight corners (as is often the case with underground parking places these days). I wanted a small car, one that came with all the modern features that made driving easy such as park assist and a reverse camera. The price range we had in mind was 5-8 lakh rupees. We were also looking for a car that hadn’t been driven more than 20,000 km. Safety was an important factor as well.
Used Cars always made sense to me – and my family
Honestly, as a family we have always been open to the idea of investing in used cars. In fact, the first two personal cars my father-in-law had bought were both second hand vehicles. One of them was a Maruti Zen that he had purchased from a retired army doctor. Nobody could tell the car already had a few hundred miles on the clock when they saw it from outside or sat inside it – it was indeed a scratchless beauty that took us places without any glitches whatsoever. We felt a used car, if maintained well and driven with some care, is a smart purchase that’s easy on the pocket and delivers on ride quality, comfort and features just as well as any first-hand vehicle.
Another factor that tilted the scales firmly in favour of used cars was the waiting time that most new cars come with. Nothing we liked in the first hand market was available immediately. The waiting period went as high as 6 months or more for the more popular models. On the other hand, used car platforms enable you to shortlist, test drive, purchase and drive off with the vehicle all in a matter of a couple of days or even less, depending on how clear you are about the kind of car you want in the first place.
Which cars did I consider? My Shortlist:
2017 Maruti Suzuki Baleno Delta Petrol
My father-in-law has been a long-time Maruti devotee, so a Maruti had to make it to the shortlist. To me, the main attraction of this Baleno was its large-ish, imposing look compared to a lot of the other cars in its segment. It checked almost all of our boxes, including 2 airbags, kms driven, and budget. There wasn’t a reverse camera, though, and since I felt I needed all the help while parking, we dropped the option.
2014 Maruti Suzuki Swift ZXi
This 2014 Maruti Swift came with all the relevant safety features we were looking for: it had Brake Assist, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Airbags and a rear camera as well. The hatchback fell well within our budget and had driven barely 11,000 km. The only reason we didn’t opt for the Swift was the fact that our final choice slightly outdid it in almost every department (will come there soon).
2021 Tata Altroz XE 1.2
The Tata Altroz looked lovely from the outside and from inside, we quite liked the seats, the dashboard and the overall space and feature list. Safety-wise, you cannot get better than a Tata anyway, and we felt that at Rs 5.84 lakh this 9,000 km-driven Altroz was quite affordable too.
The car I finally brought home…
2020 Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS: This Hyundai hatchback caught our eye as we were browsing the platform for many reasons. First, it was driven just 2,900 km – far less than what we were willing to consider. The airbags, reverse camera and park assist made the i10 NIOS all the more attractive for me as a relatively less experienced driver.
But what clinched the deal for me? Its perfect inspection score – the car didn’t have a single problem listed under the dent/ inspection report on the car’s listing page. I booked a test drive right away and went for the trial the next day, a Saturday. My husband and I felt pretty confident about this car right away. And while my father-in-law kept imploring us to consider a Maruti, he too changed his mind when he saw the car and agreed to be driven around in it!
Purchase Process: Paperwork, Delivery & Payment
We opted for a hub delivery, so we went to Spinny’s Taj Vivanta Car Hub in Dwarka and collected the car from there. The paperwork was really smooth and the payment, car handover and other formalities also happened in no time. Honestly, I am trying to remember any glitches in the process but there were none. It was as seamless as Spinny claimed it would be.
Used 2020 Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS: First Impressions
Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS Exteriors
As mentioned earlier we already owned a Creta and in general, my husband and I have always liked the design language of Hyundai cars. To me, our Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS seemed perfect from the outside, and from any angle: front, sides and rear. It looked exactly like what it’s supposed to be: a compact hatchback made for the busy city driver. Again, as previously mentioned, there were no dents or scratches on the outside, and the underbody was rust-free as well. I wouldn’t have minded a few nicks and scratches here and there, but the car had been driven not even 3000 km, so we just seemed to have found an exceptionally well-preserved used car!
As someone who’s worked in the tyre industry for long, I have a tendency to pay attention to the tyres on any car. I examined the ones on the NIOS carefully and knew these were in good condition and won’t give us any trouble for a long time to come. The headlamps, the paint quality, the ORVMs, the windows – everything looked scratchless and in order.
Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS Interiors: comfort, space & features
Upholstery & overall ‘Freshness’:
We took the i10 Grand NIOS out and examined it carefully under a bright sun. We saw the roof, the dashboard, the seats and even checked the floors below the carpets: it was clean from all angles. Even the hard-to-reach nooks and corners had no dust that we could notice. The seat covers were faux leather, and didn’t have a single missing stitch or scratch. The dashboard, which we anyway liked because of the patterned texture, also didn’t have any signs of wear and tear. I liked the car’s subtle dual tone colour, and it all smelled fresh, nice and ‘dry’, if you know what I mean!
Cooling:
See, every car comes with air conditioning, so what really makes a difference is, just how fast can the AC cool your cabin? When we bought the car in February it was not too hot, so we were a bit concerned about the AC’s performance when summers would arrive. But it didn’t disappoint us. Parked outside directly under a hot sun, it still succeeds in evenly cooling the interiors in just a few minutes.
Seats:
As someone who hadn’t spent a lot of time behind the wheels, I wanted to make sure the seats of the car I bought were as comfortable as possible. I felt the driver’s seat on the i10 NIOS is nice and firm and provides good back and under-thigh support. The seats in the rear are just fine too as vouched for by my family members whom I ferry across the city often.
Features:
My Grand i10 NIOS came with reverse camera and Park Assist, two features I absolutely couldn’t do without. I liked the infotainment system too, as it was fairly easy for me to connect my devices to the car speakers and listen to my own playlist on the go.
Space & Storage:
The space above the head is ample, and so is the legroom for me, an average-built female driver. The same goes for the rear seats as well. It can accommodate two adults easily and can even fit a third person without much trouble, especially for shorter drives around the city. The ingress is easy, too: you can step in and out of the Grand i10 NIOS without any discomfort whatsoever. As far as the storage space is concerned, the boot isn’t enormous but big enough for us to load and unload a few pieces of luggage and, more importantly, my child’s pram and other bags that we need to carry on our trips!
Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS: Performance
Engine:
I mostly drive my Grand i10 NIOS within the city – to office and back, sometimes to visit friends and relatives or for the weekend grocery run. I feel the engine is good enough for most of my intra-city runs – it lets you take off smoothly and can accelerate fast enough. Can it help me zoom past cars for a fast overtake? Maybe not, but I wasn’t looking for a vehicle that powerful anyway. A sensible city car is what I wanted, and a sensible city car is what I got. Oh, and there’s definitely no engine noise, either. While the engine may not be powerful, it is very fuel efficient, and I appreciate just how cost-effective my little Hyundai is.
Handling & drive quality:
Changing the gears on the 5-speed manual and the clutch is easy, so much so that after the test drive we didn’t even feel the need to try out an automatic (something we’d been thinking of until then). The car responds well to braking as well and feels stable and planted at relatively higher speeds. The steering on the Grand i10 NIOS is responsive and easy to handle, too. This comes in handy for making parking in tight spaces as easy as possible.
Suspension:
It’s not as if the Grand i10 NIOS will let you just glide over the potholes and the bad patches. You will feel the jerks, but with roads as bad as Gurgaon’s, what else can you expect? There are no hard jolts when negotiating minor potholes, and for a used car, the suspension performs as if its new. However, the ride quality does feel a little on the harder side, which takes away from the driving experience.
Hyundai Grand i10 NIOS: Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Compact, easy to drive
- Fuel-efficient
- Responsive steering
- Reverse camera, park assist
- Smooth clutch & transmission
Cons:
- Suspension could be better
Conclusion
A second car always makes life easier, but I feel particularly satisfied with my choice as the Grand i10 NIOS is truly a ride meant for city-dwellers like me. It’s compact, easy to handle, spacious enough and doesn’t cost me a lot at the petrol pump either. It’s a used car, which kind of makes the deal even sweeter as I got everything I wanted from my car at a significantly lower price point that a first-hand vehicle. Oh, and this goes without saying, Spinny did make the car selection and buying experience really smooth and easy, too!
