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Old 2nd August 2013, 20:01   #1
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SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!

Source:Overdrive


The Hyundai Eon is the most affordable Hyundai you can buy in the world. Introduced towards the end of 2011, the Eon was the Korean car maker’s answer to the Maruti Alto.
While Maruti averages about 23,000 units of the Alto every month, the Eon manages around 8,000 units. In fact, when Hyundai positioned the Eon below the Santro, we were expecting sales to fly. However, the Eon has not exactly set the sales charts on fire, and the Hyundai i10 (which costs nearly double the Eon) sells more units every month.


The introduction of the Alto 800 has certainly not helped Hyundai India any further. And now we notice that a facelift for the Eon has already commenced testing, even though the car is yet to complete its second year of sales.
These images were snapped by Overdrive’s reader, Mr. Dorai M A Raj, and they seem to have been taken somewhere in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. You can see an Eon wearing camouflage while two 2014 Hyundai i10s are directly ahead of it.
Based on the position of the camouflage, it appears that Hyundai would be changing/tweaking the bootlid, bumpers, hood and maybe the head and taillights to some extent.


Expect the 814cc petrol engine (which is also offered with an LPG option) to continue unchanged. We speculate that Hyundai would be looking for a year-end launch of the updated Eon (since it coincides with the car’s 2nd year anniversary) if not an early 2014 launch (Auto Expo 2014 premiere is not unimaginable).
Hyundai’s Chennai plant is the only site where the Eon is made. Apart from domestic consumption, it is also exported to markets such as Vietnam and Philippines.
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SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!-580172_10200112735682268_629297516_n.jpg  


Last edited by Achyuth Vaibhav : 2nd August 2013 at 20:03.
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Old 2nd August 2013, 20:52   #2
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Anything would be an improvement over the current Eon visually. Its completely over designed for a small car, and the head/lamps and just too damn big for a small car.
The Fluidic design philosophy just does not seem to work on Hyundai's hatchbacks, especially when you consider their excellently designed sedans like the Verna and Elantra.
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Old 2nd August 2013, 22:27   #3
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re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!!!

That was pretty quick of Hyundai to start Road-testing already! any idea if there will be changes in the Interior? Probably already though to appeal to the Masses :P
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Old 3rd August 2013, 01:29   #4
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!!!

The current EON looks stunning for a car in that segment and price. IMO nothing is required there.

Most of the weak points identified have been in that ancient engine.

Improve the refinement, idle quality, drivability and FE to match/& beat Maruti and you have a winner on your hands.

If that's too much work, then just plonk the Santro's engine in there

Last edited by Mpower : 16th August 2013 at 23:54.
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Old 3rd August 2013, 09:25   #5
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav View Post
Source:Overdrive


However, the Eon has not exactly set the sales charts on fire, and the Hyundai i10 (which costs nearly double the Eon) sells more units every month.
I beg to differ here. I would like to state my opinion here and nothing to offend any of the alto owners. My brother has an eon and so have used it a good number of times.
First fact is i10 is not double the cost of Eon unless you compare the Eon era with i10 asta, which shouldn't be right way to compare.
Eon as a whole is a nice package among the small cars. You don't get such a design in any of the other cars unlike the boring alto, spark, etc. Even though we say that the leg room in the rear is small and the boot is bigger than the other small cars, the leg room again is not smallest again among the other competitors. Infact I can say I feel much better sitting in the rear seat of an eon than in an alto. (I am 178 cms in height).
Comparing the sales chart, I believe among the 20K units of alto, if we see how much alto 800 and k10 garners separately, probably we will get a clear picture. Just to assume, if santro is renamed with another eon badge and add it with eon sales, you could see even eon touching somewhere around 12-13K. That's the reason I see hyundai offers discount on eon which is almost less or equal to what maruti offers on alto (atleast in chennai here.)
I believe if there is an EON facelift, then it could be refining the gearbox and the shift.
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Old 8th August 2013, 09:49   #6
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Achyuth Vaibhav View Post
Source:Overdrive


Based on the position of the camouflage, it appears that Hyundai would be changing/tweaking the bootlid, bumpers, hood and maybe the head and taillights to some extent.


Expect the 814cc petrol engine (which is also offered with an LPG option) to continue unchanged. We speculate that Hyundai would be looking for a year-end launch of the updated Eon (since it coincides with the car’s 2nd year anniversary) if not an early 2014 launch (Auto Expo 2014 premiere is not unimaginable).
Hey, Achyuth Vaibhav. Not sure of your judgement that the Engine is not undergoing change.
I updated my Initial Ownership thread in this regards. this refer to a news link in DNA, repeating the same here as it will be easier to check.

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/story.asp...009&ed_page=10

So, apart from the cosmetic changes that you sugesst basedon the position of the camouflage, the Engine Upgrade too can be anticipated.

No mention of the increase in price though but this upgrade will be lot more alluring to the potential new buyers than the cosmetic changes.
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Old 8th August 2013, 11:52   #7
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!!!

sources say Eon, next year, will be coming in with a 1-litre gasoline engine as well.

this to take on the ALTO Twins of Alto 800 & K10.
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Old 8th August 2013, 19:41   #8
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by arjab View Post
sources say Eon, next year, will be coming in with a 1-litre gasoline engine as well.

this to take on the ALTO Twins of Alto 800 & K10.
1-litre gasoline? That should be the Kappa 1.0 lit. instead of the expected Epsilon 1.1 lit. engine from the Santro/i10 that many (including myself) thought would find its way into the Eon's engine bay.

They must be doing this in the interests of fuel efficiency, I guess. The modern 3-cyl. 12-valve chain cam Kappa 1.0 is bound to be more efficient than the old 4-cyl. 12-valve belt cam Epsilon 1.1, not to mention future proof in terms of emissions as well.

The Alto k10 would probably get a facelifted version of the Current Alto 800's body by that time. The rivalry between the Alto and the Eon only keeps getting better and better!

Last edited by RSR : 8th August 2013 at 19:43.
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Old 8th August 2013, 21:14   #9
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!

Wow, Hyundais' are on a fast track !! The i10 Grand and now facelifted Eon !!
Apparently they are trying their best to lead all the segments.

My in-laws have recently brought an Eon and my aunt has brought an Alto 800. I don't see any difference in between both the cars, except that the Alto 800 looks ugly to the core, whereas the Eon looks relatively stylish.
In that case, I am still wondering why alto is selling 23k units and Eon is selling 8k units.

Coming to this scoop, from what I see in the pics, it turns out that the 2014 Eon (last car) looks bigger than the 2014 i10 (the 2 cars ahead).
Doesn't look like a much of structural change in the rear and front of the car. May be they are trying to make the design, a little more fluidic in an attempt to make the sales of Eon a little more fluidic .

Also, I don't see any reason to introduce a 1litre Eon, where the Santro is doing its job well. May be, they could do a facelifted Santro to give a new life to Santro sales.

Unlike the i10 Grand, which has been brought to kill the i10 and i10, hopefully the facelifted Eon does some magic in eating up the Alto 800 sales.
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Old 9th August 2013, 03:12   #10
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!

Quote:
Originally Posted by AbelAFC View Post
Anything would be an improvement over the current Eon visually. Its completely over designed for a small car, and the head/lamps and just too damn big for a small car.
The Fluidic design philosophy just does not seem to work on Hyundai's hatchbacks, especially when you consider their excellently designed sedans like the Verna and Elantra.
Totally agree. Am seeing the new i10 pics as well and feel the same.
The fluidic design somehow makes it look Kia-ish when it comes to the hatchbacks. The elegance is gone.

On a smaller note: Are we all not bored already, after seeing the Verna, Elantra and the Sonata, all looking alike? The i20 looks way better, slightly away from their usual Fluidic concept.

Too much chocolate is always boring, unless it is Dark chocolate
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Old 16th August 2013, 19:56   #11
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 View Post
The Alto 800 looks ugly to the core, whereas the Eon looks relatively stylish.
Very much true. Just hoping that the new Alto K10 would be better.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Soumyajit9 View Post
Also, I don't see any reason to introduce a 1litre Eon, where the Santro is doing its job well. May be, they could do a facelifted Santro to give a new life to Santro sales.
1lt Eon would appeal to the private buyers who don't want a 800cc 3-cylinder car. Even though the Santro sold ~3000 units in July, most of them would be for use as taxis. At least in Mumbai, I haven't seen any new private Santro.

The Santro has lost its appeal to private buyers as its long in the tooth, but cabbies prefer to have it only because of its initial cost, reliability and cheap spares.
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Old 16th August 2013, 23:05   #12
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!

My two cents: the lower sales of the Eon could also be due to the dynamics of the segment.

While Hyundai is known for its relatively hassle free A.S.S. the perceived cost of ownership post purchase is also higher. It would be interesting to compare first car / only car nos. in these sales figures.

I have a feeling that a number of these buyers buy the Altos cause they feel a Maruti is cheaper and easier to maintain.

This factor, i believe, reduces as the you keep going up in terms of segments, and hence doesn't affect the buying decision as much in higher segments as, in most cases the buyers are willing to absorb the higher cost of spares and higher service costs etc.
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Old 17th August 2013, 10:25   #13
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!

IMO, it is very difficult to dislodge a well settled entry segment seller for a commodity as expensive and prized as a 'Car'. Most A segment buyers are risk averse, since this is mostly their first car and hence they go with time tested reliability and may I use the word 'herd mentality' with no offence to them. This is because they think that so many people cannot go wrong, hence they go with the existing best sellers.
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Old 17th August 2013, 11:25   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saket77 View Post
IMO, it is very difficult to dislodge a well settled entry segment seller for a commodity as expensive and prized as a 'Car'. Most A segment buyers are risk averse, since this is mostly their first car and hence they go with time tested reliability and may I use the word 'herd mentality' with no offence to them. This is because they think that so many people cannot go wrong, hence they go with the existing best sellers.
I agree completely!

This is one of the reasons why the Tata Nano, despite being a fabulous example of simple, frugal engineering, and despite being priced lower than both the Alto and the Eon, is not doing well (of course, there are other reasons too).

Let's not forget that most A-segment buyers happen to belong to one of the following categories:

i) those buying an affordable second or third city runabout for themselves or a family member, or

ii) young single people buying their first car, or

iii) families looking for a safer, more comfortable form of transport than the two-wheeler.

Category (i) is less risk averse, as they have a fall-back option. That's why the Nano LX sells more than the other trim levels, as it's being eagerly bought by these consumers. Tata simply fails to cater to this category by not providing them a Nano VX with power steering, front disc brakes and other additional features. Hyundai also manages to persuade many buyers from this category to purchase the Eon.

Category (ii) consumers are willing to take a calculated risk, as long as they get the "cool" factor with their purchase. But they will not tolerate unreliability, real or perceived, or an unsatisfactory ownership experience. The Eon cleverly targets this segment of consumers (just take a look at their advertisements!) It looks like Datsun is also aiming squarely at such consumers with their first offering, the Go.

Category (iii) of A-segment consumers are the most risk averse, and rightfully so! They also form the largest category in terms of numbers. The Alto800 successfully caters to this segment, and has taken over the baton from its predecessors, the Alto and the legendary M800 before it.

Given these dynamics within the A-segment, it is going to be very difficult for a competitor to dethrone the Alto800. The Hyundai Eon and Datsun Go will not be able to match the numbers of the Maruti Suzuki product, and both Hyundai and Datsun seem to be well aware of this.

The real disappointment is Tata. They just do not understand that they cannot get many category (iii) buyers to buy the Nano, even if it had a diesel engine! What's worse is that their marketing (so far, at least) has kept away category (ii) buyers, though they want to change this. The worst part is that they are not listening to their loyal category (i) buyers' requests to give them a Nano VX/ZX or provide more features on the LX.
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Old 17th August 2013, 11:39   #15
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Re: SCOOP: Hyundai EON Facelift spied!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Balaji31582 View Post
Eon as a whole is a nice package among the small cars. You don't get such a design in any of the other cars unlike the boring alto, spark, etc.
Design is very subjective thing, if you ask me i would rather be in a nano than a eon. Eon to me looks absolutely confused styling. It looks like crumpled metal. I would prefer a Nano or Alto(maybe not alto because of safety issues recently posted on tbhp) anyday over eon.
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