New Hyundai Grand i10 review, test drive

This car is even more impressive on the inside. Beautifully built and loaded with features, the insides of the Hyundai Grand i10 have a crisp and fresh feel to them. The design of the two-tone dash is neat and clean, with no extraneous or over-styled features giving it a mature look. The top half is finished in high-quality, non-reflective black plastic. Half the centre console, the instrument panel and half the door pads are finished in this colour. A rich toffee-like beige is used for the rest. Plastic quality is as high, if not higher than that seen in the Verna, and fit and finish are spot on as well. The steering wheel and gear lever, for example, are beautifully detailed, and Hyundai has used faux metallic highlights to good effect.

 

The airy feel of the cabin and the feeling of spaciousness are enhanced by the big seats, which have a bit of a sporty feel to them. The good news is that even very tall drivers can be comfortable behind the wheel without affecting rear legroom; there is just so much space here. The rear seats have very impressive legroom and good thigh support, but passengers in the back are sat a bit low. And while they do get an air-con vent, the Grand isn't really as wide as a Hyundai i20 or Tata Vista in the back. There's plenty of storage spaces inside the cabin, though, with one-litre bottle holders in each of the doors, two large cup-holders behind the gearlever, and a cubbyhole for storing your phone or tablet near the handbrake.

 

The carmaker has always been strong on features and options, and this top Asta trim of the Hyundai Grand i10 is no exception. You get a cooled glove box, keyless go and a two-DIN integrated audio system with 1GB of onboard storage for your music and Bluetooth connectivity for your phone. Audio quality is fairly decent and pairing your smartphone won’t take you more than a minute either. Also, the audio controls on the steering wheel are well positioned with large buttons for functions you’d use the most such as mute or volume control. Climate control is missing, however, and you don't get airbags or ABS as standard, even on this top-end version; you have to pay extra and opt for them. What makes it even worse is that you can only get this on the Asta trim.