Hyundai to showcase the Grand i10 sedan and Santa Fe facelift at the Auto Expo

Content

Hyundai has had a quite successful 2013, launching some of the most beautiful cars in their segment. The ‘fluidic’ design language has been working well on their sedans and the Grand i10 hatchback has been very successful too. For the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, Hyundai has planned to unveil their much talked about sedan version of the Grand i10 and launch the facelifted Santa Fe SUV.

The Grand i10 sedan is a car many people are looking forward to. As the name suggests, the car is based on the Grand i10 hatchback and is expected to share much of its external appearance with the later. Even on the side profile, we expect the car to be similar to the hatchback to the  point of the C-pillar, from where on things change drastically. The roofline will flow into the boot section and sharply rake into the back. The Grand i10 stands at 3.76 meters, easily qualifying it for the Governments concessions. The rear loading lip is a bit high and gives the car a sporty look. The rear will sport the same design of the rear lamps and indicators as the hatchback and it will be the same story with the interiors. The Grand i10 hatchback has the best creature comforts in its class and it would be interesting to see the same in the sedan.

The sedan will get the 1.4-litre diesel unit from the i20 premium hatchback that produces 89bhp and 219Nm of torque while the petrol unit is expected to be the 1.2-litre Kappa engine that produces 81bhp and 114Nm of torque. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a five-speed manual gearbox or a four-speed AT for the petrol, though there is a possibility of the diesel getting an AT box too, sometime in the future.

The sedan will compete in the C-Segment compact sedan class against well-established  names like Maruti Swift Dzire and the Honda Amaze. If the success of the hatchback is anything to go by, the sedan will be a tough competitor in the segment.

Hyundai has also planned to launch the facelift of their SUV, the Santa Fe, at the Auto Expo. The Korean automaker’s flagship SUV will get a fresh makeover, complete with a modern ‘fluidic’ design and a sleek shape. The chassis layout is same as the Hyundai’s i40. It will be offered with only a 2.2-litre diesel, carried over from the current model. The engine has received upgrades in the form of the third-generation common-rail diesel technology for better fuel efficiency and lower emissions. It produces 195bhp and 421Nm of torque. The variant line-up is also expected to remain the same and the car will be available as a 2WD Manual, a 4WD Manual or a 4WD AT.

The current generation Santa Fe , being imported as a CBU (Completely Built Unit)it is quite expensive. For this facelift though, Hyundai plans to locally assemble the SUV at the Chennai plant, which may even serve as an export base for the RHD market. Thus we expect the Santa Fe to be priced around Rs 22 lakh for the base two-wheel-drive version.

Besides these two cars, we can also expect to see other cars like the i20-based WRC car at the Korean car maker's stand.