GLOBAL BRILLIANCE

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