re: Review: 2nd-gen Hyundai Verna (2011) Caution: Long post, read at liesure
Today evening at 05:45pm I got a call from Kundan Hyundai asking if I can come down to their showroom for a TD of the CRDi SX model. Was pleasantly surprised on hearing this. I said I would be reaching there by 06:30pm (showroom is just 3kms from my house). The Sales Exec (SE) said the showroom is open even on Sundays upto 07:00pm. Took the whole family together (Daughter, Wife, Mom & Dad). A crystal white Demo Car was waiting outside the showroom just for me. Called up the SE & I said I am besides the demo car. Till he came I was drooling over the meaty 16" alloys, they are simply awesome. The big discs with the calipers stand apart. The front bumper seemed to be low slung & almost kissing the ground (as the car was standing on a rough patch of land).
The SE came by & handed over the keys to me. This being SX model, I had to insert the key in the ignition position.Demo car had clocked 500+ kms. As the engine came to life, there was almost "pin drop silence", the engine was hardly audible. Started the car with the reverse gear by pressing the knob, as I had to take it on the road in reverse. The IRVM display of reverse camera is too good. I think this is "the" feature of this car & worth all the moolah. We were six in the car (5 of my family & the SE). The car pulled effortlessly with the AC on full blast. The gear shift was quite smooth. The car builds up momentum after 1500 rpm, & beyond 2000K it is a real beast (I could feel the adrenaline rush). With 6 people onboard & AC ON, the way in which the car pulled was simply superb. (Just imagine a man used to driving a Normally Aspirated Indica V2 for 7 years, the feeling was beyond imagination). Within a couple of seconds I was cruising at 3 digit speeds (fortunately the roads were empty). People in back seat were asking the speed, & with a wide grin I uttered, it is 100kmph.
We had already covered 10 kms & I asked the SE if I can divert the car to my house just to check if this beast can be accommodated in my apartment parking. He nodded willingly. This car was really turning heads. When I entered my parking kids came running by asking if I had purchased this vehicle (poor chaps didn't notice the demo car decals on either sides). Just when I was checking the car the SE phone rang, asking him to get back to the show-room as other customers were waiting for the TD. With a heavy heart I had to drive back to the showroom & thus came an end to the dream run.
Couple of observations:
1. The much talked about rear seat under thigh support (this is the thorn in the neck), though ladies didn't complain about it, Dad who is 5'9" cribbed about it. Fortunately most of the times he would be in the co-drivers seat & this shouldn't be a deal breaker.
2. The rear visibility did not cause me much of a problem.
3. The 16 inchers fill up the wheel wells, leaving very little gap. Now the suspension being tuned on the softer side I am a bit apprehensinve about the tyres rubbing against the well, when car is fully loaded.
4. The front bumper bottom is exactly 185 mm above the ground level (measured with a tape). So for a car with GC of 165mm as said earlier, there would be some parts at a level even lower than the front bumper, couldn't make out as it was dark.
5. When the ignition is turned on, the dash is illuminated with the blue-white light for day running (This is also a very handy feature). When the parking light is turned on the dash light dims quite a bit. In most of the cars I have observed that the instrument cluster is illuminated only when the parking light is turned on along with the key in ignition position.
6. The boot is humungous & the spare wheel is an alloy.
7. When I was cruising @ 80 in 5th gear on an open road, a bicycle chap suddenly made a right turn from nowwhere. The SE had his heart in his mouth, but not me. The brakes are damn good & the car behave well under sudden braking. Whole credit to the all 4 discs, ABS with EBD
Now the price for CRDi SX model:
Ex-showroom (Pune) - 9,34,500
Octroi (2%) - 18,609
Insurance - 34,040
RTO Individual - 66,723
Other charges - 6,000
3rd Year Extnd Warranty - 9,035 (Std warranty is for 2 years, ????kms as the SE didn't know the exact figures)
Total Individual - 10,68,988
If I opt for my own insurance (transferring my old car NCB), I can surely save upto 18K. This would bring my OTR just under 10.5 lacs (seems to be a good figure). All said & done this car is now at the top-spot in my hit list (though I haven't test drive any others). But the bar is set at a higher level now. Wish the new Fiesta & the 1.6 Multijet would be as much fun to drive, else I would cut a cheque for the Fluidic Verna
Last edited by AutoIndian : 15th May 2011 at 23:07.
Reason: added point 7
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