Classy Upgrade

One of the nicest feelings in the world is to get an upgrade, be it with airline seats or cars - that feeling of moving on to something nicer always provides a nice boost. So, I've spent the past few weeks feeling rather smug since my set of everyday wheels have received a nice upgrade. You see, Hyundai needed our Grand i1O long-termer back and very politely asked us if we would be willing to return that in exchange for the new Xcent. So, as you can imagine, our reply was in the absolute affirmative. After all, my elders have always taught me never to look a gift horse in the mouth!

So, while I was perfectly happy driving around in the Grand i1O, the upgrade to a bigger car does feel nice. Add to that the fact that the Xcent offers even more features as standard equipment than the Grand, and it only increases the feel good factor of the car. So, other than the myriad of features already present in the Grand, the Xcent also has automatic climate control, a rear view camera, and an electro chromic mirror. City driving is something that both the Grand and Xcent absolutely excel at. Their light controls - be it the clutch, steering or effortless gearshift - make driving a soothing experience, while the comfortable suspension makes the everyday commute quite bearable.

The 1.2-liter CRDi engine too does a stellar job, providing good response and more than enough power for city driving. Another positive is the refinement of the engine, which is easily the best in its class. On the other hand, the engine does provide stellar fuel efficiency - with the current average hovering around the 16km/l mark, despite my commute being largely in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Overall, I'm feeling pretty upbeat about the Xcent, and am definitely looking forward to spending some quality time with the car over the next few months. 

Words : Kapil Vashist