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i10 SE blue drive

12K views 93 replies 13 participants last post by  Longshot 
#1 ·
:wink: I am a bit confused I recently visited a Hyundai dealer who tried to sell me an i10 1 litre SE blue drive. I test drove a 1 litre 3 cylinder SE which had no mention of Blue Drive the only difference is ISG (intelligent stop go) a feature I would sooner not have, Hyundai inform me that the latest new model SE no longer has ISG.
I wonder whats been going on here, does anyone know when blue drive was introduced on the i10 1 litre SE and when it was discontinued clearly there are still some in the system. I wonder if they had a load of engines for the i10 Blue model that they wanted to get rid of as it seems the Blue version did not sell well and introduce a limited edition SE blue drive with the ISG feature just to run down stock.
I felt it was a bit sneaky to say the least to try and sell me this model without mentioning the above ISG and that this is a discontinued model that is no longer being produced. I am sure that given the choice most drivers don't want a car that keeps cutting out and restarting (hopefully restarting) it is difficult to see how this would save much petrol or emissions in real world driving, perhaps a small saving might be achieved on the rolling road tests but in the real world every start causes wear and tear on the starter motor and battery, anything taken out of the battery has to be put back in by increasing the charge from the alternator. Perhaps on a big engine savings may be more but on a little 1 litre 3 cylinder? The sheer unpredictability of when is it going to cut out what if it wont star again would cause me anxiety, what if you were a driving instructor or learning to drive? What do other members think of this feature?:nerd:
 
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#2 ·
ISG will make very little difference to fuel consumption and can be annoying. You can switch it off but I believe that it will reset every time you switch off and restart the engine. If ISG is no longer an option for the I10, and I have no idea about this, try and use it as a bargaining point to get a price reduction.
 
#3 ·
Hi Longshot, I am a driving instructor and have had a diesel i30 that has the isg system. I have done over 150,000 miles in the last 4 years. Not once has the system failed to restart the engine in all those miles. Your worry about wear and tear is unfounded as the car is still on its original starter motor, battery and isg system. In addition all of my pupils have taken to this just as they would any other type of car without any problem. AlanTR, not sure why you would say the system can be annoying, please explain? The system makes no difference whatsoever to the driving of the car as the raising of the clutch pedal when in neutral cuts the engine (as long as all parameters are met), and the depression of the clutch restarts the engine when the car is placed back into a gear. The system can be switched off via a button on the dash board if required as you state. However why you would want to turn a system off that does increase fuel consumption and reduce emissions is beyond me. With doing the number of miles I do a year any saving on fuel is worth having. Hope that has allayed your fears of a good system :)
 
#4 ·
These systems make a huge difference to fuel economy when driving around town in stop start situations (which is most of them)


The systems are designed to withstand any extra wear and tear and only operate under preset conditions eg if the battery isn't fully charged, or you are using lots of electrical equipment, then it doesn't do it.


Embrace the new technology - it is yours and the planets friend, and works well. After a few minutes you won't even notice it working. Its a good way of improving the efficiency of what is fundamentally Victorian technology!
 
#5 ·
Sorry PSmith518, I should have said "some people find ISG annoying" - comments that I have heard from others. Personally, it doesn't bother me - I never switched the ISG off on my previous IX20 and neither will I on our new Jazz CVT. In my opinion, if the technology is there, then use it - anything which lessens pollution in town traffic can't be bad.

Starter motors and batteries will be sized with ISG in mind and should be sufficiently robust to last a long time - I'm sure many will be glad to hear that you achieved 150K with original battery and starter motor.
 
#6 ·
Hello PSmith158.
Thanks for your input, As a driving instructor how do you know if your pupil keeps stalling the car or if it is the system that has taken over? I am genuinely interested as I am teaching my son to drive at the moment he also has lessons from a professional but I don't think the Renault Cleo diesel driving school car has ISG, my son reports that it is much harder to stall than his petrol Polo, another thing that I was wondering is how do the driving test centers react to the technology?

Regards
Longshot
 
#7 ·
Hello Alan TR.
Thanks for your response.0:)
I agree, I cant see that it can make much difference and the fact that Hyundai has now discontinued this on all but the specific Blue models speaks volumes.
Perhaps with a big dirty diesel pumping out filth in town centers a case can be made but a small clean petrol engine? :frown:

Rgds
Longshot
 
#8 ·
Hello DrNick.
Thanks for your contribution.
Do you have any figures to back up the claim of huge benefits in fuel economy?
I would be very interested to see them.
As you say it does appear from reading about this subject that the system can very rarely cut in in real world driving situations, which is why I worry that both my wife and I will have forgotten all about it and panic when the engine eventually stalls and would immediately go through all the normal engine restart procedures. We come from a generation of drivers who would not think highly of another driver who cant keep his engine running, maybe its a comfort blanket but I like to hear my engine running and as the driver of the vehicle I like to think that I will decide when my engine stops or starts.
I understand that this may be a driver preference.
Don't forget they were telling us diesels were more environmentally friendly a short while ago and look how that worked out.
Does anyone else agree with me?

Rgds
Longshot
 
#13 ·
Well we're all still learning. We've all been told in good faith that the world is going to **** in a handcart with CO2 being responsible for temperature rises and its going to keep going up. But then last week we were informed that increased CO2 has led to 50% more greenery in the world meaning the CO2 content will rise less quickly than thought, despite the rainforest being chopped down (but still going up- but who knows what might be reported next week!).
(My point is that new evidence changes opinion regularly - not that we can ignore climate change!)


Anyway, a real world study with a range of cars was done showing 5 to 7% improvement on an urban cycle
AAA?s Tests Reveal Real-World Benefits of Automatic Stop-Start Technology | AAA NewsRoom
If you drive around Southampton you will find your engine will spend more time off than on. This will inevitably lead to better air quality in urban areas as well as fuel saving, thus benefitting everyone and not just the drivers wallet!
You might not be able to access it but this paper Influence of the stop/start system on CO2 emissions of a diesel vehicle in urban traffic
from the Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment journal tests a car around Madrid and gets a 20% real world reduction in CO2.


It also depends a lot on what sort of technology is fitted. Some such as that fitted to Peugeots don't even use the starter motor. Energy is scavenged while the engine is actually stopping and stored in a big capacitor. This is then used to restart the engine (via the alternator) with zero extra energy being needed. Some systems even stop the engine mid compression cycle so compression is maintained, resulting in only a small "kick" being needed to restart the engine.
The devil is in the detail, as always!
 
#9 ·
Hi there,

I personally like the stop start feature and use it very often (on my 2016 1.0 SE which also unexpectedly has ISG!). I suppose it's important to consider that while the i10 burns fuel very efficiently, it still emits some 100g/km of CO2 which seems rather a lot to me? And if you are anywhere near the rear of any car on a cold morning, be it petrol or diesel, you will still get quite a strong smell of the un-burnt fuel - anything to reduce this is fine by me. I personally think it important to judge the situation - if you know you'll be moving in a very small amount of time it's probably not worth it. In any respect, the i10 has INTELLIGENT stop and go which means it will assess the situation - if you have restarted many times recently it won't work, it won't stop when the engine is very cold, for example. Having said all of this, I do fully understand why some chose not to use it - and I do question why Hyundai equipped my regular SE with ISG but seem to now be stopping it? You may be interested to watch this video from Fifth Gear - they tested identical Meganes (they are diesel though) with and without ISG and you may be interested with the results :) https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_nr0h7GXY6E
 
#14 ·
Hello Jabus.

Thanks for you input, I have noticed that a number of i10 SE owners were surprised to have this feature, this would include you it seems as you say it was unexpected.
I am pleased that you find you like the ISG. but I am concerned that buyers don't seem to be aware that they are going to get this feature when they order their car. I am all for new features and extra specifications are usually a good thing but I think the customer should be made aware of this and offered the choice. This feature is not included in the spec of the latest models, I do wonder why it was included on some cars without the new owner being made aware. For me it is a deal breaker.

Rgds
Longshot
 
#15 ·
Hello DrNick

Thanks for going to the trouble of sending me the links to test results I am not entirely convinced though the first link was to a test carried out in 2014 on a rolling road and also on a diesel vehicle in America therefor probably an automatic.
The second link was for 2 4wheel drive diesel vehicles although this test seems to have been done on the road at least.
I was wondering what advantage there would be on a 1 litre petrol engine city car ie. the i10 SE blue drive.
Thank you though I did appreciate the effort.

Rgds
Longshot
 
#16 ·
To be fair it's not that sneaky having ISG on a car if you can turn it off with one touch of a button. The dealer I went to mentioned it several times to me. For what its worth I've had the i10 blue drive with ISG for a couple of weeks now and I quite like it, there's a definite difference between the ISG kicking in and a stall so you I doubt you'll be panicked by it. The engine has started up just fine every time for me.
 
#20 ·
>:D Ah, I think I have discovered something here.
The i10 SE Blue is the environmentally friendly model with only 4 seats ISG, 13inch wheels low resistance to rolling tyre's, with no aircon and I imagine other tweaks to give it better economy etc. The Specs are on the Hyundai website.

The i10 SE Blue Drive, notice the DRIVE in the title is apparently a standard SE model (specs on the website) but it also has the addition of ISG. This particular model is not listed on the Hyundai website and no specifications seem to be available anywhere that I can find.
Anyone smell a fish ? >:D

Rgds
Longshot
 
#21 ·
Saw a new Mercedes with the stop/start system trying to enter a roundabout today, **** thing kept switching off, exactly what you need when trying to find a gap in traffic...

I know it's alleged to not put any extra wear on the components, but from a mechanical perspective I'm just not convinced (input from a mechanic who works on cars with this system day in day out would be interesting), personally I can't stand it and disable it on every car I have the misfortune to drive, just personal preference.
 
#22 ·
Of the two vans I drive on a daily basis, a Peugeot Expert which doesn't have Stop/Start and a Peugeot Partner which does have it, when I'm driving the Partner van, I always disable the Stop/Start in stop/start traffic and especially on roundabouts. I've almost been t-boned on a roundabout when I had to stop to avoid a car that cut me up and then almost immediately afterward when I went to move off but the engine had stopped and caused a delay in me moving off. I have to say, it's not my favourite piece of technology.
 
#29 ·
I have it on my Premium model, my wife loves it, I can live with it, but, it's just a simple case of pressing the deactivication switch once.?
It's really not a big deal, and in some long traffic jams I've found it very handy.
S.
 
#39 ·
:xNo problem with MPG my wife drives in a most environmentally friendly way, we did 35000 miles in our i10 1.2 1st Gen. before it needed new brake pads.
No motorway driving, I do that.

A thought back on the topic of the thread - if the ISG was a bonus as some think it is, I wonder why Hyundai hide this "bonus" from us, A spare wheel is an optional extra yet ISG is a "free bonus" that is not advertised?
Its going to effect resale values mark my words.
I can hear the deep intake of breath now as the salesman sucks in through his teeth, of course if it didn't have the ISG I could give you a bit more in PX but no one wants it, frankly its a pain in the arse and its not like you get free road tax or anything.
>:D
Rgds
Longshot
 
#37 ·
Hello Frupi.

The thing is my wife is a very nervous driver, and I think ultimately a matter of technical overload makes it worse. My first car only had 3 gears (Ford 100E) my wife learned to drive in a Renault 4 with a walking stick that came out of the ashtray for a gear lever. even as a passenger she is going for an imaginary brake pedal.
But I guess this is now all getting a bit to close to the personal.

Lets just say that for reasons of personal preference we do not want ISG.

Indeed my point throughout has been that as a matter of choice we would not choose to have ISG, if you look at the specs for an i10 as I did, then you find all models with the exception of the i10 Blue do not have ISG. (you were saying earlier about researching very carefully into what you buy) then we found that the car we have been sold has a feature you have been trying to avoid.
I was fortunate to spot this in the bill of sale and questioned why it said Blue Drive in the cars description , it was only then that the dealer came clean but even then attempted to insist that this is now common on all new cars. Imagine I would have turned up to collect my "new" car with the added surprise of ISG but then as soon as I rejected the Blue Drive they phoned me back and offered me what I had ordered in the first place so clearly there is/was a choice but they were then very slow in getting it to me, to the point where I gave up and got my deposit back.
I had negotiated a very good price and I think that dealer was able to give me a better price on the Blue Drive than the proper i10 as specified by Hyundai and then finding all his profit gone the dealer lost interest in us.

This thread has revealed that a number of i10 buyers have this "unexpected" and "surprise" feature, fortunately for Hyundai most don't seem to be too bothered and some consider it a "bonus" - we British I don't know? Keep calm and carry on.

Personally I think it is deception pure and simple.
 
#38 ·
The thing is my wife is a very nervous driver, and I think ultimately a matter of technical overload makes it worse. My first car only had 3 gears (Ford 100E) my wife learned to drive in a Renault 4 with a walking stick that came out of the ashtray for a gear lever. even as a passenger she is going for an imaginary brake pedal.
But I guess this is now all getting a bit to close to the personal.

I had one of those umbrella gear changes, funny thing, my wife presses her hand into the seat squab when I'm braking, she really thinks it slows us down. LOL
S.
 
#40 · (Edited)
I got a full spare wheel as well.
I'm a bit lost if I'm honest why this ISG worries you so much Longshot.
It's a split second touch of a button, and you no longer have it. My daughters last two Audis had it, and I thought it was a good idea.
When we found out we had it, I looked upon it as an extra for no more money, if I ever sell it privately, I'll see it as a good selling point.
I usually trade our Hyundai in around 4.5years old for another, I can't see a car having the latest technology being worth less? On the contrary I think trying to off load a car without it in five years may cause more trouble.
My friend has a Kia Sportage, he's done 122000 miles in it in three years, he's never had a moments trouble with the ISG, and he reckons he's saved quite a bit of fuel in traffic jams over that time, embrace it, and move on. LOL.
S.
 
#41 ·
Well as I say my problem is not with ISG as such, as a personal preference I would not choose to have it, if you want it you do have the choice, you can order a car that has it specified. If you look at the specifications for the i10 SE which is what I ordered it has not got ISG. the dealer tried to sell me an i10 SE "Blue Drive" which is not what I ordered. I cant find any information anywhere about a these special edition Blue Drive's, a situation that I personally find a bit worrying.

My objection is to being deceived.

Best Regards
Longshot
 
#42 ·
Interesting I have just been looking at the i10 specs for the 1ltr SE and the 1ltr Blue although the blue is 110 KG lighter it's 0 - 62 mph time is 1 second slower. So what are the times for the SE Blue Drive? What does the Blue Drive weigh? If the Blue Drive has the same engine as the Blue (which seems likely) how will the extra 110 KG affect the acceleration times and the fuel economy and C02 output.
WHY cant we find out?????
 
#44 · (Edited)
I'm only seeing 0.2 second difference between them on the Hyundai website. As the engine specs appear identical for the SE and the Blue, and as you say the Blue is lighter, the difference must be down to different gear ratios. The fuel consumption figures are significantly better but I suspect its been optimised for the test rather than for drivability by tinkering with gear ratios to match optimum efficiency at 56km/h!


There is only an SE blue listed (no blue on its own that I can see).If yours is not an SE blue or you've got 5 seats then it won't meet the emission spec needed for the lower car tax so there would be no point in messing with the gearbox internals despite having the stop start. However, this depends on whether there is a different gearbox for the stop start or if its just bolted onto the original gearbox.


But you are right. If you haven't specced something, then you shouldn't have to accept it if its there. In our case we weren't expecting cruise control/speed limit, but we got it anyway. The limit function is really good but cruise control in a 1 litre town car is not really required!
 
#43 ·
I specifically wanted a Premium model for the extras, they weren't available with ISG, if I'd gone for the Blue Drive I would have sacrificed what I wanted from the car.
I'm currently averaging 53mph, from the 1.0 and it sings along at 80mph on the M6, very relaxed drive, cruise control on, and able to have a conversation with my wife without raising my voice. That's unusual, as I usually raise my voice with her at home.
S.
 
#46 ·
:grin2: Thanks DrNick.
Do you know I was thinking if anyone can find out it would be you.
You have provided much useful info and data on these threads rcently.
Oh well the mystery continues.
 
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