By : ANINDA SARDAR
UDAIPUR :
Even on the road from the airport to the hotel, it is impossible to not marvel at the irony of it all. Rajasthan has been described as the ‘Desert State of India’ for the longest time ever, yet the road to Aurika Udaipur seemed to cut through a lush landscape that I would associate with cooler climes. As we got closer to the hotel, the car turned off the main road into what looked like a badly done concrete street that would lead into a village. My second surprise of the day turned out to be the hotel itself. Carved straight into the mountain, this huge luxury hotel was nothing that you’d imagine could lie at the end of that village road. Had I been a clairvoyant, I would have read these as signs of what was to come because nothing about the Hyundai i20 N Line is unsurprising.
Founded in the 1550s by Maharana Udai Singh II of Mewar, Udaipur is a beautiful city. Filled with lakes and palaces, to me this Rajput city symbolises luxurious living at its best. From the monumental complex of 11 palaces that make up the City Palace to the exotic Lake Palace of ‘Octopussy’ fame or the mountain top monsoon palace of Sajjangarh, Udaipur is pretty in its presentation of luxury beyond comparison. It’s an open invite for exploration, but Udaipur is a city whose exploration feels unsatisfying when you do it solo. You need a companion, I found mine in the latest variation of Hyundai’s hotselling i20.
The thing about this city is that while it is full of lavish palaces and is dotted with history at every turn, it is also a city of narrow lanes and chaotic traffic where you’d want something compact. Which is exactly where the i20 comes in. At 3995mm by 1775mm, this compact hatchback is less than 4 metres long and 1.8 metres wide. Quite apart from the fact that its sub-4m length helps Hyundai and its customers get tax sops, these dimensions mean that the car is compact enough for you to negotiate almost all motorable lanes and bylanes without breaking into cold sweat. It is a character trait that you want by your side when you’re driving from Aurika to the City Palace, even though the driving distance is just over six kilometres.
My own itinerary was even more trying because while the rest of the junta headed out towards the excellent highways and twisty mountain roads for photography and vehicle evaluation, I headed deeper into the city. Stop 1 was of course the outside of the City Palace. From there I would head to the Vintage and Classic Car Museum at Gulab Bagh, scything right through the Tibetan Market. From there it’s a short brrap, vroom, zap to Shree Lala Kachori at Jheeni Ret Chowk where the plan was to sample some of the most delectable Hing Kachori and Pyaaz Kachori before heading out towards the Abu Road where I’d be able to stretch the legs of the i20 N Line. In these crowded city roads, the N Line’s heavier steering wheel wasn’t a problem per se but I did feel on occasion that I would probably prefer the lighter steering wheel of the regular car here. However, the car’s 7-speed dual clutch transmission feels like a boon. At one point, I remember muttering to myself that I probably should have done a better job of convincing the father to pay for an automatic instead of the manually transmitted car (not an i20) that he proudly showed off to his brother soon after we drove it home. The combined convenience of the compact proportions with the automatic transmission really does spoil you in more ways than you can think of.
For all its compactness however, this hatch isn’t small on the inside. I don’t think I’d have a single issue accommodating my family of four, plus one more. On the flip side they might have complained about the ride quality over the bumps and speed breakers because the damper settings on this N Line is 30 per cent stiffer than on the regular version of the same hatch. In the process of gathering these thoughts I noticed a few crumbs of Kachori on the gear selector lever. Irritated, I quickly brushed them off. The sporty yet plush interiors of the i20 N Line are such that you are inspired to keep them clean. Specks of Kachori crumbs on the dashscape irritate the senses as much as the rot of misplaced romance carved into the walls of Sajjangarh’s walls by idiotic hands. I’m sure you’d all agree that something so pretty should remain unspoilt.
For a motoring enthusiast, no day trip to Udaipur is complete without a drive towards the fantastic Abu Road and a quick dash up to Sajjangarh. From Shree Lala Kachori, which I feel is better than the Paliwal Restaurant, I first cut through the city bearing south before setting a south-westerly course that would take me to the turnoff marked by the Amargarh Resort. The road to the turn off is NH48 and is beautifully surfaced. Cruising at a steady 100kmph set on cruise control life felt good. The stiffer suspension, which had felt a tad bothersome in the city, made the car feel more planted than a regular i20 on that wonderfully smooth stretch of tarmac.
All too soon, the i20 N Line and I arrived at the Amargarh Resort. A quick check in the sportily blacked ORVMs and I hung a right on to a stretch of road that can only be described as a motorist’s delight. Superbly laid out tarmac, divided in the centre by a bright yellow line, unbroken at bends and near inhabitated areas but otherwise dotted and two lanes on either side. To keep you from getting bored there is a lovely mix of short to medium straights with sweeping bends as well as some tight ones thrown in for good measure.
It was here that I had hoped to explore the sporty credentials of this i20 with the N Line badge. This was the road that would decide if this Hyundai was the real thing or a great pretender. Up and down and up and down the road I went. After two or three runs I decided I had had enough and that it was time to pen down my thoughts. Besides, I also wanted to make the quick dash up to Sajjangarh to catch the sunset over the City of Lakes, a must-do when you’re there.
There is no doubt that the handling is better and sportier than what you get in the regular car. The steering felt nice and well weighted with a decent amount of feedback too. There was however scope of improvement in two areas. First, that transmission. It is a huge advantage inside the city when negotiating stop and go situations and it’s also more than adequate when out on the highway, but show it a twisty climb and you’ll find its Achilles’ Heel. Shifts are a bit slow even in manual mode, so there was a lag between me shifting down and the power actually kicking in. Second, the 1.0L turbo-petrol is great when it comes to refinement and efficient transportation. If only its 120 horses and 172Nm of peak twist force felt adequate enough to be able to match the car’s dynamic abilities.
This sense was further reinforced on the climb up to Sajjangarh, where the narrow road is anything but well surfaced. Having parked at the top, I picked out a nice vantage from which to witness Lord Surya do his evening thing. As he slowly started his inevitable move to hug the horizon, I realized that the person who will buy the i20 N Line isn’t looking for a seriously sporty experience. Rather, he wants a life of richness and pleasure while at the same time telling the world that his inclinations and perhaps even abilities are towards sport. Not unlike Udaipur itself, which, with all its palaces and lakes, always embodied the idea of fine living more than anything else. Sure, the city’s mountain top fort and its walls will always remind you of the martial valour of the fierce Rajputs but this isn’t where you’d want to stand and fight. That would be Chittorgarh. Here, in Udaipur, you’d want the world to know that you have the intent and the legacy to fight, if need be, but this was a place of refinement and sophistication and fine living. Which is also, the Hyundai i20 N Line, in a nutshell.
