We’ve found quite the ideal urban commuter in this Grand hatch from Hyundai.
As the day wears on and the kilometres pile up, I discover what else makes the Grand i10 such a great city car. For a start, it feels very grown up for an affordable hatch; it is surprisingly refined, smooth and well-insulated. And tagged on to the great build quality and the smoothness of the motor on the move is also the fact that this car needs the least amount of effort to drive. Let me clarify — driving in stop/start traffic is a chore, but less so in this car. And it’s not that the controls of this car are only light. They are extremely light, yes, steering, gearbox, clutch, brake pedal and even the accelerator. But none are so light that they feel totally disconnected. The Grand even willingly turns into corners, despite the longer wheelbase.
BACK SEAT: Passengers get tossed around at the rear.
Later that evening, I do get to hear some complaints about the car. Passengers sat on the rear sets have plenty of legroom. But they’re getting tossed around quite a bit, especially over the sharp expansion joints and lumpy patches on Mumbai’s Marine Drive. A car with an extended wheelbase (for India), like this one, is seldom as stiff as the original, and that normally means you need to use a stiffer suspension. Still, I did 130-odd kilometres in the city in a single day and didn’t feel any worse for wear.