Okay people, it’s official – the new Hyundai i20 will be launched on August 11 2014 in India. What’s more, the bookings start today! Hyundai revealed the official sketches of the Elite i20 in the morning giving everyone a glimpse of the design of the new car and has also uploaded a 15-second video on its YouTube channel (appended below).
You’ll see a gentleman on the run successfully dodging a sniper and taking the new i20 away dramatically through a huge “COMING SOON” billboard. The tagline used by the marketing guys is “the compromise ends on August 11th”. Perhaps the well-dressed chap in the video wasn’t aware of this, else he could have waited for a few more days…
Anyway, back to the car now. The new i20 is expected to carry the same engine options as in the current model. Two petrols and a diesel are on offer as of now. The cheapest i20 that you can buy today comes with 1.2-litre petrol engine putting out 79 bhp and 111 Nm of torque. It’s mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and we don’t see that combo changing in the new Elite! However, do expect a wee bit of better tune. There is a possibility of Hyundai deploying the Grand i10’s engine tune on to the Elite i20 which comes with an automatic box in addition to the 5-speed manual.
The bigger 1.4-litre petrol in the i20, putting out around 100 bhp and 136 Nm of torque, comes only with an automatic transmission and there is a possibility of Hyundai dropping this one from the range if the 1.2 Kappa engine gets one. However, it’s the 1.4-litre diesel mill that would continue to be the stonker of the range with its 219 Nm of torque and a six-speed manual tranny. But Hyundai should also be using this opportunity for adding a diesel AT variant to the lineup.
Expect the new car to be even more loaded with features and I somehow also feel that the broad looking exterior might have liberated more space on the inside too. That is something that we can only confirm at a later stage but I am more curious to know if Hyundai has played around with the chassis and suspension settings too…
Related: India Bound Hyundai ix25 Compact SUV Spied Completely Uncamouflaged; Interiors Revealed
Elite i20 Teaser Video:
