Apart from new launches another strategy to keep the one’s hold over its market share is to keep introducing redesigned and facelifted models of their existing cars as selling the same car over and over becomes monotonous for the company as well as the buyers as well.

Hyundai is a big name and recently presented its Hyundai Verna Facelifted globally in order to attract the masses and we just came to know something fishy about the brand, which is the spied pictures of the speculated Hyundai i10 Facelifted.

Examining the front we have noticed that the headlamps look a bit sportier and are well distinguished from the indicators by the blackened area.The grille gets a hexagonal outline with the shape of a camouflage and the indicators have been integrated into the side view mirrors.

From the back only the tail lamps are visible which have been redesigned to make it appeal more and rest of the body is hidden. The doors of the car have not been covered which could be assumed that the car will feature only a few cosmetic changes so as to retain the title for the second largest selling model after the Maruti Alto .

We feel that this small cosmetic touch will be enough for a good number of sales and this refreshment will certainly be appreciated by the masses and we do expect Hyundai to surprise us with technical transformations also.

Source

Nissan Micra Vs Hyundai i10 Kappa Exteriors

Styling of both these Japanese cars is really cool and trendy. Its been more than 2 years of the release of Hyundai i10, but the looks still look fresh to compete with newly launched Nissan Micra. The exteriors of Micra looks more rounded and pleasing to eyes compared with Hyundai i10.

Nissan Micra Dimensions :

Length = 3780mm; Width = 1665mm; Height = 1530mm;

Hyundai i10 Dimensions :

Length = 3595mm; Width = 1595mm; Height = 1550mm;

Considering the dimensions, Micra is considerably taller and slightly wider compared to the Hyundai i10 whereas the height of Micra is lower. The elbow room, especially for the rear passengers in Nissan Micra is better and seating is more comfortable. So for exteriors, my vote goes to Micra.

Nissan Micra Engine Vs Hyundai i10 Kappa Engine

Engine Specifications of Nissan Micra:

• 3 Cylinder HR 12 Nissan Engine
• 1198 CC / 3 Cylinder / 12 Valve DOHC
• Max Power output of 75 BHP @ 6000 RPM
• 104 Nm Torque @ 4000 RPM
• 5 Speed Manual Transmission

Engine Specifications of Hyundai i10:

• 4 Cylinder Kappa Engine
• 1.2 Litre / 4 Cylinder / 16 Valve SOHC
• Max Power output of 79 BHP @ 5200 RPM
• 111 Nm Torque @ 4000 RPM
• 5 Speed Manual Transmission

Considering the max power and the ROM at which it is delivered, and also the torque ratings, the i10 Kappa Engine comes as a clear winner in terms of engine performance comparison between Hyundai i10 and Nissan Micra.

Nissan Micra Vs Hyundai i10 Kappa Interiors

Nissan Micra Interiors are grayish in tone and look really elegant, whereas the Hyundai i10 interiors in Beige color and dual tone looks equally good. The good thing about Micra compared with i10 is the additional width, integrated climate control (comes with top variant only) and a modern look.

Nissan Micra Interiors

Hyundai i10 Interiors

Hyundai i10 interiors also look very classy but its been a long time and does not look as attractive as Nissan Micra. I like Micra interiors slightly better in terms of looks and features.

Nissan Micra Price Vs Hyundai i10 Kappa Price

Price Of Nissan Micra In Delhi (Ex-Showroom)

• Nissan Micra XE – Rs. 3.75 Lakhs
• Nissan Micra XL – Rs. 4.25 Lakhs
• Nissan Micra XV – Rs. 4.65 Lakhs

Price Of Hyundai i10 In Delhi (Ex-Showroom)

• Hyundai i10 Kappa Magna Metallic – Rs. 4.10 Lakhs
• Hyundai i10 Kappa Sportz GLS Metallic – Rs. 4.37 Lakhs
• Hyundai i10 Kappa Asta GLS Metallic – Rs. 4.97 Lakhs
• Hyundai i10 Kappa Asta WS GLS Metallic – Rs. 5.12 Lakhs

Considering the price, the Hyundai i10 seems slightly pricier, but comes with a more powerful engine. Nissan Micra on the other hand looks like a better deal in terms of price.

Car Blog India verdict – Nissan Micra Vs Hyundai i10 Kappa

This one is a tough pick, if I were to pick a car between Hyundai i10 Kappa and Nissan Micra, I will pick Hyundai i10 Kappa because of its power and torque ratings. It runs so smooth and powerful that I can ignore the Micra with better interiors. But if you want more comfort and looks and slightly lower power ratings don’t bother you much, I would say that you will be happier driving a Micra.

For complete specifications of Nissan Micra and Hyundai i10 Kappa , check out -

Nissan Micra Specifications, Features, Colours, Variants And Price In India

Hyundai i10 Kappa 1.2 Vs Hyundai i10 iRDE 1.1

To retain its sales numbers, its essential for Hyundai to come up with new variants and a diesel variant to compete with the Diesel engine cars of its segment. There is no announcement of the timeline for launch of a Diesel variant, but it can be launched sooner than we expect. Hyundai is already doing research and development for a 800 cc car – Hyundai 800 expected to be ready by 2012.

There is a high probability that Hyundai will use the 1.4 Litre CRDI Diesel Engine used in Hyundai i20 for the Diesel variant of i10 also.

Expected Specifications of Hyundai i10 Diesel

The specifications of 1.4 Diesel engine are as follows :

• 4 Cylinder 1396 cc DOHC Engine
• 16 Valve Engine – 4 valves per cylinder
• Max Power – 90 BHP @4000 RPM
• Max Torque – 200 Nm @ 1750-2750 RPM
• 5 or 6 Speed Manual Transmission
• Expected Mileage of over 20 KM per litre of Diesel

With the kind of power output and superb torque along with  a whooping mileage of over 20 KM per litre of Diesel, the Hyundai i10 Diesel may become a game changer in the compact car segment and add more feathers to Hyundai’s cap.

Expected Price Of Hyundai i10 Diesel

With a 1.4 Litre Diesel engine and competitor’s pricings, its likely to be placed between a range of Rs. 4.2  Lakhs to Rs. 5.5 Lakh. Sales number of Hyundai i20 diesel suggest that people like the diesel variant of i20 which also supports the likely chances of Hyundai i10 Diesel to be a success.

Since the launch, there is no looking back. Recently Hyundai announced i10 as its flagship model instead of the previous best seller, the Hyundai Santro. The demand of Hyundai i10 is very strong both in India and other countries where it is exported. The sales number of Hyundai i10 in last financial year has been close to 1.5 Lakh units, this is a great number and proof of people’s liking for the car.

Adding another feather in Hyundai’s cap, Hyundai i10 with 1.2 Litre Kappa Engine, which is BS4 compliant, has been rated as the Most Fuel Efficient Car in Over 1 Litre Petrol Engine Car Segment with ARAI Rated fuel efficiency of 19.81 KM per kilometer of petrol. This not only means that it is cheaper to run, but also pollutes less and contributes less to the global warming.

Not only the engine and the efficiency, but also the comfort of ride and driving along with beautiful interiors also make it one of the best seller compact cars in India. I drive a Hyundai i10 1.1 Litre iRDE and I quite like the ownership experience I have had in past two years.

The i30 is expected to stand up to the expectations of the Indian customers with new features and better designing.

Technical Specifications of Hyundai i30

Engine

It comes in 2 types of MPFI petrol engines and 2 types of CRDI engines

Dimensions

Suspension

Safety

The i30 features safety features like Electronic Stability Programme (ESP), Anti-lock Brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD), active front head restraints and multiple airbags.

Price of Hyundai i30 and Emissions

These are approximate European prices of the current version of Hyundai i30, the official prices for India have not been reveled as yet. I will update the same as soon as they are revealed.

The Marketing Director Arvind Saxena has said that the Hyundai i10 has performed really well in terms of sales in 2009 and despite its higher price (Rs. 3.5 – 5 lakhs) Hyundai i10 has exceeded Hyundai Santro sales as compared besides lower price of Hyundai Santro (Rs. 3.2 – 3.6lakhs). Analysts have said that in India customers are now not only moving towards bigger cars but are also getting interested in cars with higher budgets. Maruti Suzuki found itself in a similar position a few years ago when Maruti Alto overtook Maruti 800 to become its largest selling car in India.

Another appreciation for the car came in when the I10 was announced as " The Car Of The Year" by the ICOTY jury in 2008 due to the consumption, operational efficiency and emissions got better with the 1.2 liter kappa engine. For this most of credit is being given to the smart and aggressive advertising of the car.

Further various events were organized in order to prove the reliability and performance of the i10 like the Kappa Challenge based on the concept of touch, feel, drive and experience i10 equipped with the Kappa engine and the other event organized had two cars which were driven by the media members from Delhi to Paris, a journey of 1000 Km in 17 days.

Another contributor to the success of I10 is its brand ambassador Shahrukh Khan and interestingly Shahrukh has stopped using his surname in all the brand’s advertisements.Delighted by its success, Hyundai also showcased an electric version for i10 at the Delhi Auto Expo last month. The i10 Electric offers dual recharging cycles and would take around five hours to be fully charged, which will enable the car to run for 160 km. Saxena says both i10 and Santro could co-exist as the latter is positioned as a value-for-money car that is ideal for a first time buyer, targeted at nuclear families. On the other hand, i10 is positioned as a performance car that is urban, stylish, sporty and targeted at the younger audience.

Which car should I buy ? Hyundai i10 Or Chevrolet Beat ?

If the above question is confusing you, don’t worry. I will share some important points of both these cars which will help you make your decision. The launch of Chevrolet Beat has created a new competition between Chevrolet and Hyundai

Hyundai i10

Chevrolet Beat

I recently visited a friend of mine who wants to buy a new car. His budget is up to Rs. 4 Lakhs and he wants to but a compact car for his family of 4. At the same time, comfort and convenience is very important to him, so is the low cost of maintenance and reliability.

He was confused between Hyundai i10 and Chevrolet Beat. In this article I will compare basic features of Hyundai i10 1.1 iRDE / Hyundai i10 Kappa Engine and Chevrolet beat side by side.

In the below Table, I will compare important Specification,  features and price of Hyundai i10 and Chevrolet Beat. I will be comparing the Chevrolet Beat  PS and LS variant  / Hyundai iRDE 1.1 Era / Hyundai i10 1.3 Kappa Magna variant. I am considering all three with metallic paint. I will highlight the box text with green color for which the I find the attribute as best among all three cars.

I have tried to compare the important Performance / Luxury / Safety and Convenience.  The Chevrolet Beat 1.2  LS comes very close to Hyundai 1.2 Kappa Magna in terms of features, but considering the price difference of Rs. 41,000 which is a big difference (approximately 11 % more the cost of Chevrolet Beat LS) .

But if you compare the features which i10 Kappa 1.2 Magna offers and compare them with somewhat equivalent LS Model of Chevrolet Beat 1.2, then the price of i10 Kappa seems slightly overpriced.

Should I Select Hyundai i10 or Chevrolet Beat

I will rule out i10 1.1 iRDE from this competition because of its low engine power and torque for a fair competition. For details read – Hyundai i10 1.1 iRDE vs Hyundai i10 1.2 Kappa.

Case 1  – You have constrained budget and want high value for money  - Go for Chevrolet Beat 1.2 PS – Its the best value for money.

Case 2  – You have flexible budget, you want comfort and value for money  - Go for Chevrolet Beat 1.2 LS – Its the best balance between budget and Luxury.

Case 3  – You are not much worried about budget and want high luxury and convenience  - Go for i10 Kappa 1.2 Magna – Its the best in terms of convenience and luxury.

Hope this comparison helps you make a correct choice.

What’s the difference between i10 Kappa and i10 iRDE ?

Technology:

Kappa is a technically advanced engine as compared to iRDE Engine of Hyundai i10. the iRDE engine was an enhanced version of Hyundai Santro Engine. But Kappa is a different design which is technically advanced than the iRDE engine of i10. In tech jargons, it has four valves per cylinders compared to three in iRDE, it has a Dual over-head cam-shaft (DOHC) compared to standard Single overhead cam-shaft (SOHC) in iRDE, it is made of super light weight die cast aluminum. In short it has got better ingredients

Power:

Now we are talking for something real , the power. i10 Kappa has a power output of 80 BHP

compared to i10  iRDE which has a max power output of 66.6 BHP . What does it mean? Well it means a lot for the feel of the car, the pick-up and the punch. Its a considerable difference of 20% which means a good amount!

Mileage / Fuel Efficiency:

If you are worried about ever rising fuel prices, then don’t keep away from i10 Kappa just because it has got a bigger and more powerful engine, because you will be surprised to know that there is almost no difference in the fuel consumption average of i10 Kappa and iRDE. In fact, Hyundai claims that i10 Kappa delivers 4% higher fuel efficiency than i10 iRDE. But for practical aspect, you can say that i10 Kappa will not consume more fuel compared to i10 iRDE.

Price:

Rightly said that everything comes for a price, so does the better technology . i10 Kappa is priced a slightly higher than i10 iRDE, simply because it has better technology, more power and good fuel efficiency. But its pure value for that extra money.

Looks:

There is not big difference in exterior looks except for the rear spoiler logo at the back of the car which says 1.2 Kappa. For Interiors, they have been made sporty for certain Kappa variants by providing metal finish inside handles, leather wrapped Steering wheel, gear knob and hand brake, which you will not find in iRDE.

Verdict:

You must have guessed by the comparisons I have made above that Kappa is a clear winner

But if have bought i10 iRDE before Kappa was launched (I am also one of them ) Don’t loose heart, because i10 iRDE is itself a great car from every aspect when compared to other cars in this segment. Please Share your views and experiences of i10 via comments below. Click here for more such updated directly in your inbox.

Updated on 14th July 2009:

I recently got the EPS (electric power steering) replaced under warranty which comes as a shock to me because I never expected such an important component to fail like this in 13 months of purchase of the car.
One more problem I have faced is my car’s battery got fully discharged and it got complete dead until i got it re-charged from a battery shop. I am yet to get the charging circuit checked, there might be a problem there too.
so my recommendation is that you do your research well before buying hyundai i10.