The new Hyundai Verna in its 5th generation is all set to make its India debut on August 22. The new sedan from the Korean automaker, now in its third generation in India, will take on the likes of popular offerings like the Honda City and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. The new Hyundai Verna in its past offerings was a popular car in the Indian sedan space for its good looks, well spec interior and creature comforts. So lets see how the new Hyundai Verna stacks up on paper against its rivals. But, before we being, we have had a chance to drive the new Hyundai Verna very briefly on Hyundai’s test track in Chennai so read that first drive review here.
For the new gen Hyundai Verna, the Korean automaker has ditched the smaller 1.4-litre engine in favour of the larger 1.6-litre motors only. The 1.4-litre motor will still be available for the export markets though. The new Verna gets a 1.6-litre petrol, which is the highest displacement engine in its class.
The Verna Petrol gets 121 bhp of peak power and 151 Nm of peak torque from its 4-cylinder 1.6-litre engine. The Honda City gets a 1.5-litre petrol engine that makes 117 bhp and 145 Nm of torque whereas the 1.4-litre engine in the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz makes just 91 bhp and 130 Nm of torque. The petrol engine in the Verna gets both a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic whereas the Honda City gets a 5-speed manual and a CVT gearbox. The popular Maruti Suzuki Ciaz also gets a 5-speed manual gearbox but the automatic is a 4-speed unit.
In terms of claimed fuel economy for the manual gearbox, the Ciaz scores highest with 20.7 kmpl where as the Hyundai Verna is rated at 17.7 kmpl and the Honda City at 17.4 kmpl. Fuel economy figures for the automatic are again dominated by the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz which clocks 19.1 kmpl as compared to the Honda City’s 18 kmpl and the Hyundai Verna’s claimed 15.92 kmpl.
Diesel Engine and Gearbox
Similar to the petrol engine, Hyundai has ditched the smaller capacity 1.4-litre unit that used to be available in the last generation Verna diesel. Instead the new generation Hyundai Verna will only receive a 1.6-litre turbocharged 4-cylinder unit. Just like the petrol, the diesel engine is also the largest in its class.
The Hyundai Verna Diesel makes a class leading 126 bhp of peak power and 260 Nm of peak toque from its turbo 4-cylinder 1.6-litre mill. Comparatively, the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz makes a measly 89 bhp and 200 Nm from the tried and tested 1.3-litre diesel DDiS engine. The Honda City too is far lower in terms of power and torque with just 99 bhp and 200 Nm of peak power and peak torque produced from the 1.5-litre i-DTEC engine.
In terms of manual gearbox configurations, the Hyundai Verna and the Honda City both get the 6-speed units while the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz gets a 5-speed unit. The Honda City and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz do not offer an automatic gearbox with the diesel engine whereas the new Hyundai Verna will get a 6-speed automatic gearbox mated to the 1.6-litre diesel motor.
In terms of fuel economy, the more powerful Hyundai Verna’s claimed FE figure is rated at 24.75 kmpl as compared to the Honda City’s 25.6 kmpl and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz’s 28.09 kmpl. The automatic Hyundai Verna Diesel offers 21.05 kmpl.
[source=auto.ndtv]