Hyundai’s C-segment sedan, the Verna, has been around in the Indian market for eight to nine years now. And the Korean manufacturer always kept it updated with new features and facelifts at regular intervals. With the latest iteration ageing soon, the facelift avatar of the Verna was unveiled at the 2016 Chengdu Motor Show in China. The new Verna is now launched in China and will make its way to India sometime next year.
The facelift Verna is based on the production-ready concept shown at the Beijing Motor show earlier this year. The concept was designed using Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design and the same was carried forward in the facelift. Seems partly inspired by the new Elantra that was launched in India recently.
Up front, it is dominated by a fairly large hexagonal chrome lined grille with horizontal slats, while the air dam gets a honeycomb mesh grille. The swept back headlamps come with projector lights surrounded by LED daytime running lights. The bumpers are sharp and look sophisticated and get redesigned angular fog lamps as well.
The new Verna measures 4,380mm in length, 1,728mm in width and 1,460mm in height and has a wheelbase of 2,600mm. Walk around to the sides, you get a dropping coupe-like roofline with a shoulder crease that extends to the boot and that is retained from Verna’s peculiar design.
At the rear, the tail lamp design seems partly inspired by the new Elantra which was launched in India recently. The wraparound tail lamps and the repositioned number plate housing, which is now integrated into the rear bumper, are the major noticeable changes.
The interior again takes its cues from its elder sibling, as it gets an all-black cabin finish with brushed silver inserts. An eight-inch infotainment screen occupies the centre console, while the steering mounted controls includes cruise control, Bluetooth connectivity, and a trip meter. The larger wheelbase will provide more legroom to the rear passenger with rear AC vents adding the comfort. The car is expected to get dual airbags and ABS as standard, while the top spec will come with six airbags. Dual zone climate control, sunroof, Apple CarPlay and Android connectivity, push-button start, GPS navigation and a reverse camera are some of the features that will ensure that Hyundai comes to India with all the bells and whistles.
The new Verna is powered by similar engine options in China as the ones offered in India. So the India-bound Verna will have two petrol options, a 1.4-litre engine which develops 106bhp and a 1.6-litre churning out 121bhp of power. The diesel engine options will include the 1.4-litre and the 1.6-litre putting out 89bhp and 121bhp respectively. Both petrol and diesel engines will be mated to six-speed manual gearboxes while the four-speed automatic transmissions will be offered only on the 1.6-litre engines.When launched in India next year, the facelifted Verna is expected to be priced between Rs 8-13 lakh. It will face the C-segment rivals like Honda City, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Fiat Linea, Nissan Sunny, Renault Scala, Skoda Rapid and the Volkswagen Vento.
