Hyundai's Grand i10 is an all-new hatchback that sits between the current i10 and i20 in the carmaker's model line-up.
The open highway outside Hyderabad airport also served to highlight another of this diesel engine’s weakness – a lack of outright punch. Performance feels smooth and linear at best but you truly miss that strong surge in the mid-range that is so typical of more powerful diesel motors. The top-end isn’t strong either and the engine labours as you approach the 4,000rpm mark and it's best to upshift early. Overtaking on the highway won’t be effortless, especially with a full load of passengers and luggage.
At low speeds however, this compact diesel motor is pretty responsive. There’s very little turbo lag and the Grand i10 smartly darts forward from as low as 1200rpm. Clearly, this diesel engine has been tuned to perform city duties and coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox with short gearing, the Grand i10 can effortlessly amble around in town without the need to constantly shift.
It was hard to gauge the ride and handling of the Grand i10 on our short drive on the smooth airport road but the immediate takeaway is the sense of stability and surefootedness the Grand i10 offers at high speeds. It feels much more planted than the pervious i10 and even in cross winds is quite stable. The electrically powered steering is quite light and weights up well at speed, but it doesn’t feel consistent nor does it deliver feedback in a linear way. Hyundai still has some way to go before it can match Ford’s steering feel, which is the benchmark today.
Boxed in between the i10 and i20, the Grand i10 doesn’t have too much room to manoeuvre with its pricing and hence we expect a starting price of Rs 4 lakh for the petrol variant and Rs 5 lakh for the diesel variant (ex-showroom, Delhi) when the Grand i10 goes on sale on September 3.