With the Hyundai Accent being discontinued in India, the Korean carmaker has no product for the lucrative entry-level sedan segment, currently dominated by Maruti Dzire and Honda Amaze. Filling this gap will be a much more modern compact sedan, based on the BA platform that underpins the Grand i10. Hyundai has in fact gotten down to the task and the prototypes of the Grand i10-based sedan are getting ready for road tests.
In terms of design, sources at Hyundai India have revealed that the rear door design being the same as the Grand i10’s. The pillar line will start slim from the top of the door and thicken as it reaches the boot lid. In terms of boot volume we could expect it to match its rivals in the segment. Not much difference will be seen in the tail lights - as they will carry the fluidic design philosophy and will stretch onto the boot lid.
As far as the mills go, the petrol unit will be same as that of the Grand i10 hatchback, while the diesel version will be a 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine from the i20. The new compact sedan will sit below the Verna Fluidic, as Hyundai's entry level sedan offering in India.
Since the Grand i10 does feature generous levels of equipment, expect a similar strategy for the Hyundai compact sedan as well. Also, twin airbags and ABS+EBD should be standard on the top-end variants of the car, given the competition.
We expect Hyundai to unveil this compact sedan early next year at the 2014 Indian Auto Expo.
