[Nitrous Power]

Originally Posted by allinbalance

I disagree. I too have driven the Sonata in US and it is a brilliant car. It will sell very well, once launched in India at a reasonable INR 1.5-1.8 million level.

I speak for myself and many I know - if one can afford a INR 1.5 million+ car, one can afford to pay the price of petrol. The experience is worth it.

I disagree here. With current fuel pricing scenarios, any thing above 15+ lacs and you need diesel option for sure. Look at Chevy Cruze, only diesel engine available but still giving though competition to Altis and outselling Laura and Jetta, both available with Diesel and petrol options. OTOH, Civic with only petrol engine is not finding many takers. Same is the case with a segment higher - Skoda Superb diesel is outselling Petrol only Accord, Camry and Nissan Teana all combined.

Originally Posted by bigron

@ allinbalance -Prove me wrong ! Which is the highest selling superb model the petrol or the diesel !Why is the accord not selling despite the hassle free ownership of a Honda ! The highest selling 3 series model is the 320d , the highest selling 5 series model the 520d. I am sure 5 series folks can buy a 530i and pay for the fuel to get that complete driving pleasure. Lets get something straight owning a car is one thing and running it another. The spectrum at which the sonata plays still gets affected by rising fuel costs. I can understand someone with a 750Li being immune to rising costs but at 15 to 25 lacs you are affected by rising fuel costs.

+1.

Originally Posted by elantracrdi05

I would go further and say that Diesel is the fuel of choice across the ranges for luxury cars as well! The 730ld sells way more than 740li / 750li. The 525d / 530d / 520d sells more than 523i / 530i. There is no comparison between the 320d and the 320i. Getting towards the 15-20 lac budget, any car offering a diesel is outselling petrol counterparts by a factor of 3-4 times. Its pure economics - that's why its surprising that India strategies are dictated by what these companies do globally (where prices of diesel and petrol do not differ much).

+1. When I bought Merc C- class last year, I didn't even consider C200K and went with C220 CDI.

Bottom line, Hyundai will have to launch diesel engine in Sonata if they want decent numbers.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by Nitrous Power

Bottom line, Hyundai will have to launch diesel engine in Sonata if they want decent numbers.

Agreed. The huge difference in price of petrol and diesel has convinced people to not even look at petrol option. This mindset, and drop in demand for the petrol models, has meant that petrol models are highly discounted. The price difference between the petrol and diesel models (esp luxury segment) are so high that it would require upwards of 70,000 kms of running to recover the extra cost. Today with technologies like GDI and TSI, petrol options are looking attractive. A 200 bhp GDI, in a good looking and modern Hyundai, at 18 lakhs is terrific value IMO.

[KPS]

I thought that Hyundai would have show cased their top end Equus sedan which retails at around $ 56000+ in the US. Though this car would in all probability never come to India, it would have show cased Hyundai battles with the like of Mercedes, BMW, Lexus etc in the North American market.

Hyundai Equus : | Hyundai

[rajoy123]

I was expecting to see the facelifted i20 :( well, you never know!

[shuvadips]

Instead of naming thses cars again as Sonata or Elantra they should name these like i40 and i45. The current i series Hyundai cars are selling like hot cakes. Sonata or Elantra never sold much so is my suggestion.

Like i20 is the new Getz.

The looks, the engine and the accessories that they have, if they come to India and prized correctly with the i series name should sell.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by shuvadips

Instead of naming thses cars again as Sonata or Elantra they should name these like i40 and i45. The current i series Hyundai cars are selling like hot cakes. Sonata or Elantra never sold much so is my suggestion.

Like i20 is the new Getz.

The looks, the engine and the accessories that they have, if they come to India and prized correctly with the i series name should sell.

IMHO, it does not make much of a difference. The i45/i40 is indeed the Sonata. Here in Singapore, the Sonata is sold with the i45 name (Sonata name is strongly associated with the taxi fleet). And I think i40 is the name given in some of the European markets.

[condor]

Hyundai's designs have been evolving over the years. Gone are the days of the early Accent's. While I personally dont find anything exciting in their small cars, their sedans & SUVs are where I must admit that the design & styles have improved.

* Sonata looks a lot more confident now.
* Hexa is good to go even for production - atleast from outside.
* new Verna & i20 / i30's - all evolving.
* Veloster - looking goood
* new Elantra - has some of the biggest headlamps that I have noticed, and yet these dont stick out like on other cars.

One may argue that they are taking cues from other manufacturers, but then the current form of the automobile itself is like that. There is a limitation to what styles they (and any other manufacturer) can come up with. But atleast there seems to be a family look to their current designs.

[mahen_narang]

I liked the EON in cricketing theme, nice pic, thanks for sharing Rehaan. Any update on this baby car of Hyundai from the Auto Expo?

[elantracrdi05]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Agreed. The huge difference in price of petrol and diesel has convinced people to not even look at petrol option. This mindset, and drop in demand for the petrol models, has meant that petrol models are highly discounted. The price difference between the petrol and diesel models (esp luxury segment) are so high that it would require upwards of 70,000 kms of running to recover the extra cost. Today with technologies like GDI and TSI, petrol options are looking attractive. A 200 bhp GDI, in a good looking and modern Hyundai, at 18 lakhs is terrific value IMO.

In my opinion, the running costs of the diesel is not the only thing that one should factor. One of the key differences that some people fail to realize is the difference in residual value after a few years of running. Petrol counterparts depreciate enough to make the strongest of us weep whereas diesels manage a far better value. Given that, I think that even if we look at doing approx. 1,000-1,500 km / month (which is what the majority of the car owning community would do), diesels make good sense if not great sense!

[vinayrathore]

Apart from the missing i20 fluidic, the new fluidic Tucson, that was spotted a number of times by BHPians (Thread) was also missing. Was expecting it as it is increasingly being spotted, earlier in Bhutan plates and now even Delhi reg. I myself saw a NL registered one yesterday.

[naveen.kk]

Great,
Hyundai doesn't seem to leave any cream for others in any of the segments.

That's like targeting...

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by rajoy123

I was expecting to see the facelifted i20 :( well, you never know!

Yes, the fluidified Hyundai i20, which was being tested in Europe and later near Hyundai's plant here in Sriperambatur was expected to be showing its new face there. But alas! it wasn't there. Overall, the crowd in Hyundai's stall seemed less compared with the crowd at the adjacent Renault's stall. Or was it because the crowd was in the large floor area of Hyundai? Hexaspace concept was a bit too far away from reality and production too.

[FuelInjector]

Yes. Saw some pics on fluidic i20 and its modelled like a bat-mobile.
Does anyone know why cars have sun roofs? What would be the utility value for those? i understand convertibles and non-converts. But sunroof beats me.

[k_ajay]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

The Hyundai Veloster was shown at the Delhi Auto Expo 4 years back as a concept car. It is now sold in international markets. The 3-door “utility coupe” runs a 1.6 GDI engine. Note that it only has a rear door on the left-hand-side. Its safer and probably cuts costs too!

Attachment 865007

Is there a possibility of Hyundai bringing the Veloster to India? Looks so hot, interiors are well appointed too. The displayed model also has the secret 'suicide door' on the left hand side of the car.

Would be interesting to see if this gets introduced in India.

[sridhar-v]

I have been puzzled by the display, in Gurgaon, of 2 cars for a short period. The first was the SX4 hatch & the other was the Hyundai Veloster.

Now I have come across these 2 snippets of info which, to my mind when extrapolated, indicates that there is some method to the madness. Possibly they were testing the waters by dipping their toes for a consumer feedback test.

Firstly - the Veloster
Quick Drive: 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo (Review) (The Torque Report)

A 201hp hot hatch. And it must not have cost much to bolt on a turbo & bump up the brakes a size or 2. And the 1.6 petrol is already being imported for the Verna. ( I think it must be the same basic engine). Also the 6 speed GB (manual & auto) are possibly from the Elantra range. So stocking spares etc must not be a problem. Hyundai-Assemble it locally & u have a winner on ur hands.

Second- Suzuki
Suzuki Teases New S-Cross Concept Ahead of Paris Debut (The Torque Report)

Looks like a study for the successor to the SX4. And the post says it is likely to be near production.
Maruti - for once don't underestimate us & bring it in.