Hyundai Alcazar ownership review: Upgraded from my 14-year-old i10

On open roads, fuel efficiency can easily reach 20 km/l, provided you drive sedately.

BHPian pradeep_mvpa recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I will keep this review short and crisp.

The search

I used to drive a 2009 model Hyundai i10 Era. It has been largely a trouble-free ownership for nearly 14 years. Ever since the car crossed 10 years of its lifetime, I wanted to upgrade to a new car. In mid-2022, we began the search with the following preferences:

1. Panoramic sunroof
2. Automatic transmission. No AMT
3. Good luggage carrying capacity – i10 had negligible boot space. Hence, we ended up using part of the rear seat to load the luggage during long trips/airport runs. This was a major inconvenience.
4. Max budget would be 25Lakhs.
5. Reasonably loaded with features + Android auto is must.

ADAS was on my wish list, but options were very limited such as XUV700 AX7 L (too costly for me), MG Astor (I like the looks, but my family does not), Honda City Hybrid (too costly for what it offers) etc. Hence did not keep it as a primary criterion

So, we started our search by checking out both the Tata Harrier and XUV 700. Liked both cars, especially XUV700. But ended up dropping both due to the following reasons:

1. XUV700 AX5 AT was within my budget. But it did not even come with a rear camera. Also, ORVMs were not folding internally. The waiting period was too high. Hence dropped it too. But I must say, I still admire this car.
2. Harrier XTA+ was within my budget and it had all the required features. But, heard too many QC issues about Harrier/Safari.
3. Both are huge vehicles. I wasn’t sure if I would be comfortable using them as my daily drives.

Towards 2022 end, I have evaluated both Grand Vitara and Hyrider Hybrids. The only deal breaker was the rear seat incline angle. It was too upright for me. Also, I felt the sunroof was a bit narrow compared to the other panoramic sunroof options available in the market. Not sure if it was just a perception. Family too wasn’t much impressed with the car. Hence, moved away from these options.

I had deliberately avoided Hyundai cars initially as I wanted to try a different brand this time. But, ended up visiting the Hyundai showroom after running out of options. The plan was to check both Creta and Alcazar.

We took the Alcazar out for a 45-minute long spin. I could navigate the car easily through city traffic and highways. Everyone liked the car, especially the interiors and panoramic sunroof. Kids liked the extra row too.

Feature-wise, Alcazar offered everything we needed and more. It also has many features that Creta did not have such as:

1. 360-degree camera
2. Front parking sensors
3. Optional 3rd-row seat which comes in handy when traveling with extended family. Also, 2 rows can be folded to make a flatbed
4. Second-row seats can be reclined like front-row
5. Fully digital instrument cluster
6. 18-inch wheels
7. Side steps which can potentially protect your car from scratches. Don’t think anyone will use it for the intended purpose.

Finally, we could zero in on our next car. We decided to go for the top-end version due to the following reasons:

1. Entry-level and top-end variants are not priced too far from each other.
2. Signature (top-end) variant was priced just 15K more than the Platinum (mid-level) variant. It offered front ventilated seats and front parking sensors as additional features. Hence, it was a no-brainer to choose the Signature variant.

Bidding adieu to our beloved i10.

PDI

Modi Hyundai guys (both sales and stockyard) have been very helpful in conducting PDI. They too joined me in the PDI activity. It was a very pleasant experience. This was completely different from our PDI experience with TATA for Altroz where they were too hesitant to even show the car to us. Not sure why.

Delivery day

Initial impressions:

• The car has a long list of features such as Ventilated seats, 360-degree camera, TPMS, Cruise control, Auto IRVM, auto fold mirrors, puddle lamps, Cooled glove box, air purifier with perfume, customizable ambient lights, Idle-Stop-Go, built-in navigation, wireless charging, auto headlamps, side cam view on the instrument cluster when turn indicators are a few to mention.
• This car measures 4.5m long which is shorter than all >4m sedans available in the market today. It makes the manoeuvre in the city an easy affair.
• On open roads, fuel efficiency can easily reach 20 km/l, provided you drive sedately. In heavy traffic, it can drop drastically to 6-7 km/l too. I cover 11kms to reach office. Typically, it takes one hour, and I get around 9.5 km/l. But if the journey takes 45 minutes, I get 11+.
• The engine/auto gearbox is not very enthusiastic to drive, but no way underpowered. Overtaking is very easy.
• Ergonomics are spot on.
• Android Auto works flawlessly. Did not explore the inbuilt navigation much, hence cannot comment on that. But one thing I noticed is, that if you use the MapMyIndia-powered inbuilt navigation, directions show up on the instrument cluster as well. Nice feature! Wish it gets replicated to Android Auto as well.
• Very comfortable car to drive.
• As unique as a special edition!

First long trip – To our native place

Within a month of purchase, we did a Mumbai-Kochi-Mumbai round trip covering more than 3K kilometres. The trip to Kochi was very comfortable as the roads were really good.

For the return trip, we chose the Mangalore route as we wanted to visit Mookambika temple.

Few clicks from the journey:

The car returned an impressive fuel efficiency figure.

Few random clicks

Long-term ownership review

1. Perfectly suitable for both city and highway usage. AT makes life so easy. Powerful enough, spacious and fuel efficient.
2. Ventilated seats – You may not like it initially, but upon prolonged use, one will get addicted to it.
3. A 360-degree camera and front parking sensors are very helpful every time you park/take out the car. Useful in bumper-to-bumper traffic too.
4. Dark colour is very difficult to maintain. Every minor scratch shows up.
5. The car is fuel efficient. No DPF issues yet. The ride quality is decent.
6. The music system is decent enough. Frankly, I expected more from Bose branding!
7. Hyundai has provided just one switch to operate the sunroof. You may want to just open the roof liner to enjoy the rain, but the chances of you opening the glass area itself are high!
8. The Idle Stop-Go (ISG) feature does not engage at times. Other than this, zero niggles after 8 months of usage. Everything works as expected. A highly reliable car.
9. The auto headlamp sensor is oversensitive.
10. Air conditioner is reasonably powerful
11. Headlights need a special mention. If it doesn’t rain you can still manage. When it rains, it is as good as driving without headlights.
12. We have extensively used the third row when we were in Kerala. It was mostly kids on the third row. The car behaved normally. Only once we had a 1hr long drive with 7 full-size adults onboard. The car was very bouncy on uneven roads.
13. Auto hold is used frequently. The car being an auto, does not roll back easily when on D mode. But due to the Idle-Stop-Go feature, when the ignition is off and you lift the foot off the brake, the car can roll back for a moment before the engine comes to life. The auto hold will prevent it.
14. Remote engine start – Helps you to keep the car cool when you walk into it. One can either use the Bluelink app or the remote itself if you are nearby.
15. Electric parking brake – The indicator on the instrument cluster disappears once you open the driver-side door. So, no way one can verify if the parking brake was engaged once you are out of the car. Many times I ended up reengaging the parking braking by leaning inside the car. I prefer the indicator to stay on for a few more seconds.
16. Android Auto is integrated with an auto headlamp sensor. When you enter a tunnel, headlights turn on automatically and the navigation switches to night mode. Nice feature!
17. The car needs to be driven for 3-4 minutes for the TPMS to show the tyre pressure. It kind of defeats the purpose, partially at least.
18. The cabin is well insulated from road noise. Upon sudden acceleration, a little bit of diesel engine noise creeps into the cabin.

Wishlist for future versions of Alcazar:

• Better headlights
• More enthusiastic gearbox for Diesel
• More exterior colour options
• Redesigned front end. The car looks weird from certain angles.
• ADAS
• Better safety rating

After 8 months of use, I can confidently say that this car is very reliable, comfortable, spacious enough and economical to drive. Running costs are similar to my old i10 at least for now. The best part about the car is, that it is city friendly. I use it as my daily drive to the office. I don’t own a two-wheeler, hence using it for all neighbourhood runs such as taking kids to tuitions etc. I find no problems in dealing with heavy traffic, narrow lanes etc. Front parking sensors and 360-degree cameras are really helpful in Mumbai traffic.

So, if you are looking for a car with city-friendly dimensions, to be used as an occasional 7-seater, fuel-efficient and super reliable, Alcazar is a good option for you to consider. But if your need is to have a butch SUV with brutal power with bigger space, look elsewhere.

Hope this review was useful for you. Thanks for reading!

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