Hyundai Elite i20 Asta 1.4 (O) CRDi

Overview

I purchased a Hyundai i20 first gen top end Asta(O) which was the first car I bought after getting a job. I still remember that I was fascinated by its expansive equipment list like Advanced ICE, Auto Climate Control, cooled glove box, all wheel disc brakes, 6 Airbags, ABS with EBD&BA and yes a
sunroof!

So many features were not even available in my then CEOs Honda City! Apart from that the 1.4L CRDi Diesel engine is absolutely a rocket in the way it performed and also noteworthy was its petrol like refinement, so yeah it was the best of both the worlds, giving you that immense torque and fuel efficiency you expect from a diesel but at the same time refinement level you would associate with petrol engines.

Praiseworthy Points about i20 Asta

What is praiseworthy was the fact that it scored a full 5 stars in Euro NCAP in 2009 and was included in the list of top 5 safest European cars then. Also it has been immensely reliable all along and also I get the peace of mind since Hyundai has a wide network of after-sales pan India. Along the 1L kilometers I drove this car, I replaced the Battery twice, tyres thrice, clutch assembly once, A/C cooling coil once along with routine maintenance all done timely at authorised Hyundai service centres.

Few issues about i20 Asta

Even though it is a gem of a car and I never regret purchasing it, there are a few issues, for example, the A/C is not very effective, the reason being the weak 90cc compressor made for European market, firm seats again keeping in line with European markets and yes a slightly more expensive repair costs as compared to maybe a Swift, but all in all a very very good car so much so that even though it has completed 1L+ on the odo it still has that refinement and performance and efficiency like day 1.

It is so sad that the newer lot of Hyundai cars have done so much cost cutting but back in the day they did made some of the most sorted cars.