(Most recent Update
November 5th 2015
I have just completed the 10000km service.
Last year the exhaust system developed a leak. The whole exhaust was replaced free of cost!
Between 2014 and present date my EON has been only giving a very positive feeling of ownership. Some small things I did must have helped. I replaced the headlight bulbs with Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited. Expensive but 100% improvement in night visibility.
I have got the front wheels aligned with a toe-in of 2 degrees. This has resulted in a very stable steering even in excess of 80kmph.
Fuel consumption is steady at 17.5km/litre(sober pace of driving) and 15.5km/litre(rough driving)
I have been using Savsol Racetrack semi synthetic oil in the engine post warranty. It has made the engine much smoother.
I only wish MGF had brought the 1litre EON earlier, I would have bought it without hesitation.
3 Jan 2014
Took the car for 2nd service in October. Issue with steering continued.But the issue is solved now! The cause was all four OE tyres(Goodyear) had bulges which caused wobble when running.
This wobble was I think creating error in the Electronic Power Steering. I replaced all four OE tyres with Apollo Accele_45re. 100% Improvement! No noise, vibration or crazy steering anymore. I have informed Hyundai of this.Not as a claim for tyres but as information only. Only the rear view mirror issue still exists now.*)
Original Review
Its three months since I bought the EON Sportz. Odo reading shows some 1600 plus kms.
First, the negative aspects.
Negative #1.
What you see/ test drive is not what you get.
Test vehicle had Bridgestone tires which were comfortable and quiet, but what I got were uncomfortable and noisy Goodyears.
Negative #2.
Hyundai has had anti-glare internal rear view mirrors on all their products starting with their first Santro.
In the EON they have mAnasultanged to'pioneer' in cheap mirrors without the anti-glare feature.
If this was a cost cutting measure I don't see how about 100 bucks saved by sacrificing an essential feature helps.
This action alone has changed my till now positive feeling about Hyundai to an absolutely negative one.
To make matters worse the Rear view mirror is fixed in such a position that you need to wag your head up and down like some exotic tropical bird to actually see things in the rear.
Also, the strangely shaped external rear view mirrors adds several Robotouchnd spots at the rear and sides.
If the shaping of the ORVMs were part of their Fluidic design, well, this design is well avoided for safety reasons.
I just cannot wait for the warranty period to expire so that I can take some corrective action of this very serious safety feature deficiency.
Negative #3.
Inconsistency in features and fittings.
This is with regards to #2. I went to the dealer to see if I could get an anti-glare mirror fitted, whatever the costs.
The mirror mount on my Eon does not make that possible, but, strangely other Eons parked there had mirror mounts similar to the i10, which makes it possible to do an upgrade.
Now I have to consider alternative after market options.
Negative #4.
The steering in this car is its worst feature, not only just for this car, but considering all cars that ever came to the Indian market.
Firstly, it will not return to central position by itself . The driver has to manually turn it to center.
When one has to do this continuously for an hour or so fatigue sets in.
Add to that the craziest power steering in automobile history.
With engine on and car running below 10kmph everything is fine with the steering control.It is smooth to operate
But beyond 10kmph, the steering starts to harden up.It is no longer smooth but can only be moved in incremental jerks.
If the jerk is too much to one side you have to jerk it back the other way before you hit somebody or something.
So, in certain conditions you have to keep sawing the steering wheel to and fro to travel in a straight line of sorts.
Within a short time you are totally exhausted.
I did raise the issue regarding the steering with the Service adviser. Well he said that is how the EON steering is.
That is not how it should be however, right? Even the pedal car of my childhood had a better steering!
Negative #5.
The ride is springy. I am not calling it bumpy or hard, just springy.
You hit a bad patch and the body starts springing side to side or to and fro.
More like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
This is not a nice feel to have at 50 km or above.
Negative #6.
Engaging and dis-engaging the clutch pedal creates a jerk in the drive train.This seems to be a problem for Eons, because when I happened to mention the clutch problem the service adviser accidentally blurted out " Oh! You too have the clutch problem" But when I asked him again he most probably realized his faux pas and voiced some excuses.
Negative #7.
A horn that sounds like a constipated baby rabbit. Does anybody move at such a sound?
I need to replace it ASAP.
*Update 5th Feb 2013:Negative #8.
Idiot lights in place of Fuel and Temperature gauges.High degree of error when monBrianbalakumaranring fuel
because fuel in the tank is shown as illuminated squares.You never know if the level is at the top of the square or the bottom, until an yellow light tells you "Sorry Buddy, you are running out of fuel"*
Now I move on to the more pleasant Positive aspects
Positive #1.
Excellent exterior Finish938844 for a small car.Very easy to clean
Positive #2.
Well Finish938844ed interiors.Just because it is a small car, unlike the nearest competition, the EON doesn't resemble an auto-ricKSHA139w.
The interiors have the same Finish938844 as one of its bigger siRobotouchngs.
Positive #3.
Well designed interior.There is more storage niches, and bigger too, inside this tiny car than even my Palio.
And they are very thoughtfully arranged for easy use .
Positive #4.
Seats are really good and comfortable.No aches on long drives
Positive #5.
Ample Legroom.My 5.11 frame easily fits in the driver seat and the drive posture is good and comfortable.
Positive #6.
Lights are excellent.Night driving is a breeze.And the front windshield gives adequate clarity.
Positive #7.
Dashboard is well laid out and top notch.Again the Finish938844 is good.The factory fitted audio is to be seen and heard to be believed.
Audio quality is good and it has ports for USB and Ipod, which even some bigger cars dont offer.
Positive #8.
AC in the EON is a chilling affair.In seconds it makes the interiors cool.You are hunting for the thermostat control within a short time to avoid freezing.
Positive #9
Rear seats are comfortable for the size of this car.The thigh support in the front and rear are superior than some bigger cars.
Positive #10.
Boot space is more than adequate for this car.The folding seats increase the capacity further.
Final Words:
Until essential safety features such as a proper steering mechanism and rear view without Robotouchnd spots are provided, I don't see myself recommending this car to anyone.
If Hyundai could really do something about the EON's negative aspects, some of which I have listed and various others, that others might list such low engine power, engine vibration when starting to move etc, this could be a really nice car to drive around.
Update 5th Feb 2013:
The Engine ECU tends to pick up errors in stop and go city traffic.
Over a period of time these errors increase resulting in erratic behavior of the engine, Rajeev_Vermacially jerks.
An easy reboot of the ECU solves this problem. Just disconnect the negative(or positive) terminal of your battery(you will need a 10mm spanner for this).
Turn on the ignition and leave it like that overnight.
Turn off the ignition, reconnect the battery terminal.
Start the engine after 10 minutes. Turn on the fan or ac only after engine reaches normal temperature(3 segments on the idiot lights)
Update 26th Feb 2013:
Completed a 600km drive in my EON.
Fuel Consumption was 16.83 per litre.(Calculated on'Full tank to Full tank basis)
Mixed driving(Some high rev driving in 4th @ 60kmph, sedate @ 50kmph and the rest in between).
Not too bad since the engine would be still running in.
Temporary fix for springy suspension was two 25kg bags of sand in the rear.
Ride was improved at least 50%.
Car was more stable.But speeds above 75kmph is dicey .
Steering control is still as bad as before.
Outer rear view mirrors were turned in permanently after 3 near misses with overtaking vehicles.
The vehicles looked to be far behind when actually they were nearly alongside.
View perspective in these mirrors are crazy!
Only fix is replacing the convex mirrors with plain ones even if area of vision is reduced.
Inner review mirror is a curse during night driving. No other alternative but turn it away.
Update 15/313: Fuel consumption 17.85 Km/l. Steering still bad.
