Designing a car is easy. In fact, designing one of those cars that goes
up on the bedroom wall of boys is the easiest. It's got to look great, sound
great and go like its tail is on fire. Designing a car for the masses is a
little more difficult, because it has to have space but not look like a box on
wheels. It has to be practical and thoughtful but be inexpensive. And the
designers have to do this two years before the car actually goes on sale. Then,
think of the designers at Hyundai who designed the Verna. They designed a car
that would be sold in markets as varied as the USA, Europe and India, and they
made it one of the best-selling cars in all of the markets that matter.
'Make in India' is a concept that is promoted by the current government
and car manufacturers are working towards it themselves. However, back in the
early 2000s, not everyone thought of India as a global manufacturing hub —
except for Hyundai. Not only that, Hyundai promised India that the country would
get the same product every
other market got, so along the
way the India-market i20 was sold with a bewildering array of segment firsts: a
1.4-litre petrol engine, a six-speed gearbox for the diesel, six airbags, disc
brakes all around. Some of these features still aren't available on the competition's
products.
It seems hard to top a story like the
i20's, but incredibly, the Verna manages to do so with ease. It is sold in more
markets than the i20, including the all-important US market. Not only that, it
has consistently remained among the top sellers in that market and India, where
it remains the only car in its segment to ignore the excise benefits offered by
engine size and still remains one of the best sellers.
The i20's appeal begins with its design.
When it ousted the Getz, it was a big leap of faith for Hyundai because it let
go of the 'Getz' name which was a trusted one, and that's never easy for a
manufacturer to do. It means starting from scratch again — except, in the i20's
case, it just picked up where the Getz left off, and then took off, as far as
sales are concerned. It was modern, it was full of features, and with that diesel
engine coupled with the six speed gearbox, it went quicker than any of the
petrols in the segment — it had performance that was truly global.
The fluidic Verna may have retained the name of its predecessor, but what
changed was everything else. It didn't look the same, either on the inside or
the outside. It changed for the best, though, and the market loved it. It was
fresh, it was modern and more importantly, it never let go of the things that made it a favourite — the long list of features (including
first-in class features like diamond-cut alloy wheels), safety, powerful yet
efficient engines, especially the diesel, which offered refinement that rivaled
some petrol-powered cars. Despite those great looks and a coupe-like roof line,
it never ignored the rear seat occupant, cosseting them with lots of legroom and
fine leather upholstery.
The i20's design has grown up even more since then, with the second-generation Elite i20 looking like it came out of Europe. And it
has — it's been designed at Russelheim, Germany, at Hyundai's design facility. The
front has gotten more aggressive yet pretty all at the same time. From the
side, the silhouette hasn't changed much but at the rear, the Elite i20 can
make you go weak in the knees. Those triple-barrel tail-lamps have not usually
been associated with something with a Hyundai badge on it, but we're coming to
accept that great designs are becoming the norm with Hyundai. Kia, Hyundai's
other brand, proved it a while ago, and the lessons learned are being brought
to the masses with the likes of the Elite i20 and Verna.
However, Hyundai isn't content to rest on its laurels. It isn't a matter
of just staying ahead of the competition; to truly progress you need to
challenge yourself. That is something that Hyundai has done over and over again.
The Fluidic Verna is still a very current, modern design, but Hyundai chose to
update it yet again with the 'Fluidic Sculpture' design philosophy to give us
the 4S Fluidic Verna. Look in the mirror at the current Verna and you have to
look really hard to realise that it isn't a Sonata or Elantra following you —
that's how much of a difference the update has made. The chrome grille, the
creases on the bonnet, the LED-effect tail-lamps, the hidden exhaust tip,
they're all design elements that elevate the sophistication of the already
good-looking Verna. Oh, and they've retained that alloy wheel design that
nobody else has put on their segment competitors, even a year-and-a-half after
Hyundai introduced them on the Verna.
The Elite i20 may be plenty good looking, but Hyundai has been hard at
work with it as well, constantly looking for ways to elevate its design. You
see the result on these pages — the i20 Active. It's called that because it is
a crossover hatchback, meaning active people (this means you!) can go a lot
further off the beaten path than the Elite i20 would allow. This also means
that in traffic, the people who come closer to admire the i20 Active will stay
at arm's length because of the aggression in the design — a useful feature for
the commute, no doubt. Where the Elite i20 is a pretty car, the i20 Active is
one with more aggressive good looks than prettiness. The
new bumpers contribute a lot towards this, with the front offering a silver
faux skid plate-cum-bullbar and big, round fog lamps. The matte black plastic
additions on the side in the form of a faux running board, wheel arch
extensions, and rub strips for the doors also offer hints that the i20 Active
won't shy away from an excursion off tarmac. Finally, the large rear bumper
picks up where the front bumper left off, with a faux silver skid plate and a
matte black lower half with big round lighting elements that house the
reversing lamp and reflector.
The i20 Active takes the alloy wheel design one step ahead — these are truly
wheels that any car a class above would be proud to be wearing. And judging
from their 16-inch rim diameter, that's probably true because most sedans a
class above also run 15- inch rims. The Elite i20 and i20 Active are the only
hatchbacks that have a rim size equivalent to global markets — more evidence
that Hyundai treats the Indian market the same as any other.
On the inside, the i20 twins have enough space and quality to compete with
the best, whether it is kneeroom or boot space that is being discussed. The
goodies don't stop here; there is a 1GB hard drive on which you can load your
music. There's no need to carry any other media device along.
That's not to say that there aren't other options; discreet aux-in and
USB ports are available, and pair your phone via Bluetooth, and the excellent
steering mounted controls can play your favourite tracks right from your phone with
no trouble at all.
The Indian car buyer is one of the
hardest nuts to crack. He wants everything in his car — efficiency, power, good
looks, space, reasonable service costs... everything — because it is the most
expensive thing he'll ever purchase. Hyundai competes on every single one of
those parameters without compromising on anything, and that makes it a truly
global manufacturer. It may 'Make in India', but sit in a Hyundai 4S Fluidic
Verna or an i20 Active, and you could be sitting in a Hyundai anywhere on the
planet.
Published by : Motoring World
