Now, we know Hyundai is capable of turning out spirited little cars more than good enough for your daily commute and the odd weekend trip to the relatives and friends in residence at adjoining geographies.
What Hyundai has got its teeth into this time is something not very toothsome; a hard nut, to wit, a sub-4-meter compact sedan. They call it the Xcent and say it will fill the void left by the erstwhile Accent. In an official word, Hyundai has communicated the launch date of XCENT – 12th March 2014 it is!
Xcent was unveiled to the media before the Auto Expo and the global audience at the Expo 2014 in Noida. The company believes that the new car will succeed in enticing the ‘X’ generation aged 20 to 30. Keeping this particular congregation in mind, Hyundai has bedecked the Xcent with things that it believes will be cherished by its potential targets.
Take for instance the rakish slant of the windshield, the swept back smoked headlamps and wrap-around tail lamps with chrome inserts, there is more chrome elsewhere, and then there is the 2-DIN audio with USB, CD player and 1GB internal memory. The rear seats get AC vents, a welcome addition on a budget car, and will be hugely appreciated come the subcontinent summer.
The new Xcent, by the by, shares its platform with the Grand i10. Understandably, it looks it too on the inside and the outside. Occupant safety is equivalent to what competitors provide. You get dual-airbags up front, ABS, rear parking assist, rear defogger, and central locking.
During the official unveiling, Hyundai confirmed that Xcent will come with petrol and diesel engines and the petrol will also be mated to an Automatic gearbox. It will be the same 1.2L Kappa2 motor that does duty on the Grand i10, but they did not reveal the diesel engine. It could be the 1.1L U2 diesel engine from the Grand i10 or the 1.4L CRDI diesel engine from the i20 as the company has the choice of both the engines to keep the car in the ‘Small’ car category.
Hyundai Xcent Expected Prices:
After its launch on 12th March, Xcent will go against the segment leader Dzire and Honda’s workhorse Amaze. Grand i10 starts at Rs 4.29 Lakhs for the base 1.2L ERA and we expect Hyundai will launch Xcent at around a 40-50k over the Grand i10. This means that this Hyundai’s compact sedan may start at around Rs 4.75 lacs (or slightly under) in the Indian market, in turn undercutting both the Dzire and Amaze.
With the new option you will have, which one will be your choice? And in case, you want more options, we have as many as 5 new cars coming in this segment list of which you can check here.
Related Reading: MB Reader Snaps Next-Gen i20 in Chennai; Reveals Interiors Details!
