Affordable Luxury

We drove the new Hyundai Elite i20, based on the 'Fluidic Sculpture' 2.0 platform, on the Jodhpur-Ajmer highway in Rajasthan recently.

In December 2008, the Hyundai i20 set a new benchmark in design style, and the way it was loaded with equipment was once the prerogative of high-end luxury cars. The 'Fluidic Sculpture’ styling philosophy rewrote the design language of the entire family of Hyundai cars. It is easy to improve on a product that is dated and needs improvement, but it is a difficult task to improve a car that has set a benchmark in its segment. 

The Elite i20 is designed using the new 'Fluidic Sculpture' 2.0 platform which it shares with the Genesis. The front end is dominated by the single frame hexagonal honeycomb grille with wide elongated swept-back headlamps and trapezoidal fog-lamps. The combination of the honeycomb grille and sweeping headlamps gives the car a wide and low sporty stance. 

The tornado line from the front fender runs along the doors and ends into the wide three-step wrap-around tail-lamps. Along with the tornado line, chrome door handles, two-tone diamond cut 16-inch alloy wheels and the black C-pillar give the Elite i20 a uniformly sporty look from the side along with the front and rear. The new "Fluidic Sculpture' 2.0 design also endows the Elite i20 with a low, squat and sporty stance. With the launch of this car's predecessors, Hyundai had set a new benchmark in the quality of interior and the way it was loaded with equipment. As I said earlier, it is easy to improve a run-of-the-mill car, but when you have to improve a class leader, it becomes very difficult, and Hyundai have done just that. The first i20 had a brown and beige interior and this did not look as classy as the new beige-and-black of the Elite. The interior is well appointed and takes the quality to the next level, setting a benchmark once again. 

The Elite is loaded to the gills with features such as multi-function steering, Bluetooth connectivity, proximity-sensing key, tilt and telescopic adjustable steering and auto folding mirrors. On the safety front, it is equipped with dual airbags, ABS, smart brake pedal for better control during panic braking, impact-sensing door unlocking and rear parking camera with steering adaptive parking guidelines. 

The Elite runs on the same powertrain, with the 1.2 dual VTVT Kappa and the 1.4 U2 CRDI engines producing 83 PS and 115 Nm of torque and the diesel U2 producing 90 PS and 220 Nm of torque. 

If there was a shortcoming in the i20, it was the way the power was delivered: mainly the turbo lag. This has been taken care of in case of the Elite. Hyundai have worked on improving the power delivery. The petrol engine is mated to a five-speed gearbox and the diesel powerplant is mated to a six-speed one.

The front suspension is a McPherson strut set-up and the rear one is torsion beam unit. We were put up at the Umed Bhavan in Jodhpur, and the drive was for a distance of no km on the Jodhpur-Ajmer highway. I was given the 1.4 diesel. During the drive one could feel all the improvements in the car. The power delivery was found to be very good as the car pulled from as low as 1,100-1,200 RPM without a fuss and the power delivery became stronger as the revs built up without there being any spikes in the power curve. The gear-shift was slick along with short throws. The car is capable of pulling away from as low as 65-70 km/h in the sixth gear.The biggest improvement is in the ride and handling department. Now the car inspires confidence to drive fast, and the steering feel and feedback is very good. There is a little body-roll when you push hard around tight corners. At high speed, while going through fast-flowing corners, the car holds the line well and even under hard braking it does not lose its composure. Hyundai have also worked on the refinement of the engine and the car. You can hardly hear the engine within the cabin and hardly any road noise filters inside.

The new Elite i20 manages to tick all the right boxes and it seems that Hyundai are poised to make life rather difficult for their competitors. The new car is once again going to set a benchmark in the premium hatchback segment.

Story: Aspi Bhathena

Published by: Car India