i versus i

We wanted to test which is better of the two-1.2 Kappa or 1.1 iRDE?

It’s all a bit Reliance Industries – the younger and more aggressive Anil trying to surpass the seasoned and sensible Mukesh ‘Dhirubhai’ Ambani. Just like Mukesh, one of the richest men in the world with a gargantuan empire growing incredibly fast, the king of the supermini space in the Indian auto mart, the Hyundai i10 iRDE is going from strength to strength. But Anil, the younger brother, wants his share of the glory. He has the same blood as Mukesh running through his veins and he doesn’t want to wait in the wings. He’s more forceful and flamboyant, but whether he’s as sensible and as secure an investment as his brother, only time can tell. He’s the human equivalent of the 1.2 Kappa.

The Kappa i10 shares its underpinnings, mechanicals, body shell and interiors with the iRDE. The engine and drivetrain, however, are different. With an additional 111 cubic centimetres of engine volume, 13 more horses and an extra 12Nm of turning force, the new variant sure looks like an enticing prospect on paper. What’s more, Hyundai is also claiming that the new, lightweight, aluminium block engine is four to five percent more fuel efficient. A lot has been said about the Hyundai i10 iRDE, and there’s hardly a doubt about the fact that it’s the best supermini on sale in India today.
So knowing that the i10 is by and large a brilliant car, we were left with little choice but to go number crunching and evaluate various figures to gauge the advantages of the new Kappa variant over its superstar sibling.

Taking into consideration the changes they have introduced, Hyundai have apparently worked towards making the i10 a more accomplished highway car. The engine is stronger but the gear ratios are taller, which as our test results reveal, signify that the 40-60km/h and 60-80km/h figures for the new car in any given gear are no better than the iRDE. What this effectively means is that you don’t have to shift any less frequently in the 1.2 than the 1.1 while driving in slow moving city traffic. In fact the converse may be true, as the 1.1 is slightly quicker in the 40-80km/h roll-ons in all gears. The 1.2 Kappa, however, has a substantial advantage in terms of torque. Thus even with a heavy load, the car will not bog down easily. If you travel with the family often, the 1.2 will offer a stronger pull. You may get away with pressing the pedal with no trouble in third in the Kappa while you’d have to shift to second in the iRDE.

The taller gearing of the new car is also evident when you compare the top speeds in individual gears for the two variants. The Kappa is 4.3 km/h, 9.9 km/h, 14.2 km/h and 7.3km/h faster than the iRDE in first, second, third and fourth gears respectively. Also, the 80-100km/h and 100-120km/h roll-on times of the new car are substantially better than the standard i10 in all gears. Therefore, overtaking on highways will be a breeze with a more reassuring pull and a faster top speed, but there won’t be any tangible benefits at slow speeds except better load carrying capacity. The 1.2-litre car, however, has a big advantage in terms of outright acceleration. It sprints to 100km/h from a standstill in a class leading 14.02 seconds, a full 1.5 seconds faster than its smaller engined variant. For those who find the i10 a little lethargic and love giving their cars the stick, the Kappa should make sense.

The Kappa’s taller gearing and stronger engine also suggests that one could expect a marginal increase in fuel efficiency on highways, again substantiated by our test results. The Kappa goes one kilometre more on highways per litre of fuel, while covering exactly the same distance as the iRDE for a given volume in the city. Overall, the two cars offer almost the same fuel efficiency. The Kappa, performance wise, is a substantially better car on the highway. The iRDE is technically better in the city by a very narrow margin, provided you don’t load it up with people or luggage. If you travel a lot within the city with your family (weight), the difference between the fuel efficiency of the 1.2 and the 1.1 will increase further. Under these circumstances, the i10’s efficiency will drop sharply whereas the Kappa’s fuel economy figures will not be affected much.

So then, which of the two should you buy? With an OTR price tag of Rs 5,40,264 and Rs 5,55,256, for the iRDE and the Kappa respectively, there’s a difference of just Rs 15,000 in the top of the line (without a sunroof) model of both cars that comes equipped with ABS, twin front airbags, rear wiper, rear defogger, integrated stereo and fog lamps. If the extra 15 grand doesn’t hurt you, then the 1.2 Kappa with its extra torque and better highway cruising capabilities makes sense. However, at nearly 6 lakh, the i10 isn’t a cheap car by any measure. For someone who has already extended his budget to this extent, a 15 grand premium may just be too much to ask. If you frequently travel by road outside the city that includes long stretches of highway driving and/or with the engine operating under high load, the Kappa is a no-brainer. However, if your commutes are restricted to city limits with no more than three occupants, then saving those fifteen thousand rupees is what a wise man should do.

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