[SkyWalker]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

But engine is also the chink in Eon' armor. The initial reports suggest the 3 pot Epsilon motor is not so good with NVH.

True. Also Eon lacks outright power. Alto maybe an old car, but with the K-series engine the car is a scorcher in the segment.

The question is - will people prefer overall refinement/quality/looks more than outright power. I guess we will soon find out.

[pgsagar]

As an A-Star AT owner, I wouldn't like to see it downgraded or something but market realities dictate product positioning and in a way I would be happy if that happens because I would like to see some spurt in numbers ( of sales of A-Star ) as I feel this is one car which deserved better footing in the market and that somehow eluded it till date.

Yes, Alto is simply no match for Eon, in terms of both interiors and exterior looks/proportions. Even K10 Alto is no match I guess for Eon, as far as looks go. Only A-Star has what it takes to fight. It would be better if instead of totally downgrading A-Star, MUL leaves present A-Star untouched and in addition launch a 3-pot A-star, as it has done in European markets.

For, all the strengths the Eon has, Hyundai's Fuel Efficiency quotient is its Achilles' heels. There are lot of Santros and i10s in my circle whose owners say their cars struggle to better sub-10 mileage figures. BTW, on this count my A-Star is just getting better and better. The FE has shot up to 15 kpl in inner city drives with aircon on all the time. And, it's an AT, mind you. It's brilliant on that count. And on looks and handling. The body is very taut, too - not a squeak. In fact, my cousin's Swift creaks and groans more. The paint finish and shine also I feel is best among all Maruti cars, south of Kizashi. Yes, its better than even SX4. The same goes for door-closing sound.

But MUL seems more happy pushing Swift, Ritz, Wagon R, Alto than paying any attention to A-Star. The reason seems to be its export performance. MUL seems more happy catering to overseas customers.

[romeomidhun]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

It would be better if instead of totally downgrading A-Star, MUL leaves present A-Star untouched and in addition launch a 3-pot A-star, as it has done in European markets.

Current A-Star engine is the same a 3-pot motor (K10B) that powers European model.

IMO, only the Cervo, with a K10B engine, and priced around 2.5L ex-showroom for the base model, will take on EON smartly. It has the looks and character for that fight.

Though EON has the looks, it lacks a good engine - its 814CC 3-pot engine is not a new engine, but a downsized Santro engine, and as expected and reports suggests, it lacks refinement.

[DevilsCry]

A friend of mine has A-star. I find it a fantastic car to sit in. The overall plastic quality feels good. But it is definitely around 65,000 rupees overpriced.

I feel that even if A-star gets 800cc engine, beige interior and appropriate price, it will still be no competition to Eon.

The looks alone of Eon simply blows away common man. It even looks far much spacious from outside (judging from pics) than A-star. The perceptions are going to make Eon winner over A-star.

[Aroy]

There is some thing about the Alto for it to outsell the Santro. At the lower end of the market where the Alto rules, even Nano could not make much headway. Hence Hyundai Eon may not be able to dent the Alto market much. The Alto even cannibalized the M800 sales, and now with the K10 variant there is no stopping it. If MUL gives the K10 better interiors then it will be a no brainer buy at the bottom end of the market.

At the upper end A Star, Wagon R, Zen, i10 and others are in a neck to neck fight, but lower end is the Alto territory.

[CRtorquefan]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Hence Hyundai Eon may not be able to dent the Alto market much. The Alto even cannibalized the M800 sales, and now with the K10 variant there is no stopping it. If MUL gives the K10 better interiors then it will be a no brainer buy at the bottom end of the market.

It all depends on the EON's pricing.
Alto base Non-AC version starts from Rs.2.4 lacs(excluding discounts), if Hyundai manages to price 'EON' base version for even Rs.2.5 lacs.
It can easily dent the sales of Alto then, as it'll be having the following advantages;
-Bigger 814cc engine as compared to 796cc F8D Alto engine.
-56 PS Power as compared to 47PS of Alto.
-I guess this 814cc, 3-pot engine to clock 0-100kmph in 15 secs for sure.
-ARAI FE of 21.1kmpl for EON is enough to fool 1st time buyers.
-Relatively Newer design of EON as compared to more than Decade Old design of Alto.
-Safety & Crashworthiness of EON is going to be much much better than Alto due to above written fact. Also being a Global hub, Hyundai will definitely going to export EON soon with 1.0 3-pot kappa engine & better features.
-Airbags & ABS 1st time for this segment, will be featured in top-end variant of EON.
-Hyundai enjoys better brand loyality than Maruti Suzuki here in India.

A-Star, Estilo lie in the different segment & continue to sell quiescently in decent numbers with Discounts & associated set of freebies.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by romeomidhun

Current A-Star engine is the same a 3-pot motor (K10B) that powers European model.

Oops! Sorry. My mistake. What I meant was 3-pot 800cc A-Star to take on Eon.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by pgsagar

Oops! Sorry. My mistake. What I meant was 3-pot 800cc A-Star to take on Eon.

Not necessary. If Eon bests Alto sales figures, MSIL can very well sell the current A-Star at a lower price.

[aravind.anand]

Hyundai should be able to produce a lot, A Lot of Eons and keep waiting period down. Else it would never be able to beat the Alto. A.S.S. of Hyundai is pretty good too.

PS: I wonder what the Eon would do to the high end Sonatas and Santa Fe's ! Wasn't the current Sonata's poor sales attributed to the lack of brand image??

[mxx]

No. We all know MSIL. they will continue selling alto , astar and years later the astar replacement too all at the same time. Cmon, they flogged the 800 for so long, and even now continue to flog it in non-metro cities. What makes you think they will retire alto. As fools in MSIL likes to think, alto is a brand new vehicle, and AStar is a premium hatch.

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Let MSIL first clear up things internal to them (read the strike) and get the vehicle delivery time in control. After that they would have sufficient time to plan their strategies.

On the other hand, its a win-win for HMIL considering the above two points and the success of Verna Fluidic plus a all new EON which is sure bond to attract masses!

Just my 2 cents worth...

[theMAG]

Except for the doomed Versa, Maruti has not shown to downprice a model into a lower segment. I doubt it will be different this time.

[Gansan]

I have a feeling this car will eat more in to the Santro / i10 market share than Alto's.

[Crazy4.Cars]

MSIL has responded, Alto F8 30000 cash discount and 20000 exchange bonus.

I have seen alto with 20k cash discount in 2011, this is first time it is offered with 30k cash discount here in Bangalore.

I love competation!!

[cingsman]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I don't think so. Since when is a Korean rated higher than a Japanese brand in India? As for the mileage, I will believe it when I see it. Neither Santro nor i10 have ever delivered on the promised mileage afaik.

Hyundai's sales are increasing. Nothing Japanese or Korean about it. It is just the companies at work and the brands doing their thing. As far as brand perception is concerned, Hyundai definitely ranks higher in my list compared to MSIL. In fact there is only 54% Japanese about MSIL !!

And ARAI figures are always to be taken with a pinch of salt. If one expects 21 kmpl in city, then he/she needs to smell the coffee!