Wait Over? Grand i10 Automatic Launching Soon & Its a DIESEL!

Few days back, we were left scratching our heads when a Grand i10 was caught testing in camouflage, even though it had been launched already. It was obviously speculated to be the upcoming Grand i10 Automatic (petrol)!

Hyundai-grand-i10-caught-testing-after-launch
Here is the mule that was caught recently.. Pic Credit: Team-BHP.com

In an interesting upswing of events, BS Motoring claims that Hyundai is all set to launch an automatic version of its Grand i10 hatchback but the revelation is that it will be a diesel!

Many people have been looking for diesel automatic versions of small hatchbacks over the years, for the perfect commuting sense it makes in the urban areas. However, manufacturers have just been lazy eared and we do not have a single automatic diesel hatchback in the country…Blames are on:

  1. The high final price of the product
  2. Power Delivery and Efficiency issues with small engines equipped with automatics

Hyundai had already indicated during its launch that Grand i10 Automatic will soon make its way to our shores within a few months, but we never got the hint that it may be a diesel, until now!

BS Motoring has stated that Hyundai is about to usher in a Diesel variant of the Grand i10 equipped with an Automatic gearbox. They have claimed that several senior executives of the company have nodded in an affirmative, and the Diesel variant with an Automatic gearbox could come to our market as soon as end-November or early-December.

Hyundai-Grand-i10-Launch-1

This diesel automatic version of the Grand i10 will be the cheapest such model in the country, priced in the region of 7 lakhs to lakhs INR. It will have a couple of “Firsts” to its name :

  • First Diesel Automatic in the country under 10 lakhs & hence the cheapest diesel automatic car you can buy in India!
  • First Diesel Automatic in the hatchback segment

BS Motoring also suggests that the engine on this upcoming model will be the same 1.1 litre, 3-Cylinder U2 CRDi engine putting out 69 bhp of maximum power and 160 Nm of peak torque.The 4-Speed automatic gearbox isn’t brand new either, having seen grinding action on the Santro and the previous-Gen i10. It also continues to be used on the Verna as well as the i20. It is being said that though a few tweaks will be done to the gearbox, it will by and far remain the same.

Will this move by Hyundai send the Grand i10 sales charts soaring?? More importantly, will it prod other manufacturers to come out with similar offerings for the aam junta?

Also Read: Hyundai Talks More on the Upcoming Compact Sedan, MPV & Compact SUV

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