[Aditya]

In the past, Hyundai made neutral looking cars whose styling almost everyone appreciated. But Hyundai & Kia are now competing in the same segments, in the same markets worldwide. We think the parent company took a very deliberate decision to opt for different, edgy & controversial styling for Hyundai cars. Not only would that make the brand stand out from the crowd, it would also serve as a distinct differentiator from its Kia siblings. The Hyundai brand is far stronger than Kia's - and if one of them had to adopt this futuristic design approach - Hyundai could surely carry it off better. Take the crossover segment as an example - if the Creta & Seltos both looked largely similar, they would only take sales from each other. But because the Creta is all futuristic & the Seltos is aggressive yet more conservative, they are able to expand their market potential.

Hyundai is headed by incredibly smart people. This was a conscious decision. And the controversial styling clearly hasn't affected sales, going by the new Creta's thunderous performance.

Creta: The 1st-gen Creta was easy to like when it came to looks. It's been 7 months since the 2nd-gen car was launched and I am yet to find an angle from which the car doesn't look weird.






i20: The current-gen i20 is a handsome hatchback anyway you look at it; dare I say, it looks very clean & "European". Hyundai is set to introduce the 3rd-gen car in the market soon. We have some spy shots and while the front end is still fine, the rear is rather clumsy with weirdly shaped tail-lamps and an unconventional, thick chrome strip running across the hatch.






Aura: The Aura replaced the Xcent which was a neutral looking sedan. The Aura looks sharp from the front (we like it), but the rear is extremely funky.






Elantra: The all-new Elantra is surely polarizing. I hate the front end styling:






Palisade: Hyundai's full-size SUV is extremely competent & generating good sales in international markets. While the side & rear profiles are fine, the large + strange radiator grille with slim DRLs and small projector headlamps is concept-car-like.






Kona: Hyundai has done well to make the Kona EV look like a conventional car, but the regular Kona looks like an oddball from the front.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene. Thanks for sharing!

Voted negatively. Looks are very important to me, and I hate Hyundai's new designs.

Which is a pity because their cars are driving better than ever. I had a blast high-revving the Creta turbo-petrol on the highway, enjoying the powerful engine & its sorted suspension. Hyundai is now at the top or near the top of most segments when it comes to engines, suspension tuning (Creta > Seltos and Verna > City), gearboxes, interior quality, equipment etc. The company is also showing a depth of engineering previously unseen, with excellent gearboxes (including dual-clutch), turbo-petrol engines etc. Even the clutchless manual IMT is so damn well executed. Guess who has the smoothest AMT in the market? Or the most refined diesel engines? Drive the Aura / Grand i10 1.0 Turbos and you'll be surprised at how fun they can be to drive. Technologically, they are a decade ahead of Maruti-Suzuki & guess what, the company is investing heavily into EVs too. Hyundai-Kia are at the top of their game.

[anandhsub]

Voted yes.

I like the new Verna styling more than my Fluidic and even the new Creta rear looks decent to me

However the new i20 looks terrible. Elite i20 IMO was the best looking hatchback in its segment ( yes more than even the Punto) and they somehow spoilt the rear in the facelift.

But this 3rd gen is the worst of the lot.

[clevermax]

I'm a Hyundai user myself, and I voted "I don't like it".

Hyundai always messes up with the design, at least part of it - for example, the new i20 has a good looking front, but I just hate the way the rear-end looks!

I think the results of this poll is going to be really interesting, "I don't like it" is gaining some serious momentum!

[BLACNWYTE]

Voted Neutral.

Mainly because the new designs from Hyundai seems yummy and yucky depending on where you are looking. I like the front and back ends of the new Creta but the side profile, not so much, mainly due to that silver trim. The rear ends of the Aura and Elantra looks good to me but the front end of Aura seems too busy for my liking and Elantra looks like Venom grinning. The new i20 front end looks smashing while the rear end needs some smashing. New Palisade, Tucson, Kona all are a combination of good, bad and the ugly in one, depending on where you are looking.

[Turbohead]

I hate the new design language! Period.

I initially found it repulsive but I don't feel like puking now after seeing a lot of them. This is not like the Octavia facelift which grew on me quickly. I still hate the Creta, new Elite i20 and the i10 twins. The Verna is acceptable though.

I don't mind boring designs but ugliness is not a trait I can accept. A big bug in the ointment actually, because Hyundai has never been so good in terms of ride and handling which is a big thing for me personally!

[vibbs]

I don't like the direction their design language is going.

But I have a slightly different opinion about their previous designs as well. They were neutral no doubt, but in my opinion, the design did not age well. I20 as well as the Verna and it's bigger siblings, all looked good to me when launched, but it wore off soon.

In less than a year, the design started looking stale to me.

Even then, this new direction is surely a step in the wrong direction.

[CEF_Beasts]

I voted neutral;

I know many will hate the new Hyundai design language but the 2020 Creta has grown on me and how! It looks futuristic and in the next 3-4 years the Seltos will need a facelift but this Creta can continue as there is nothing that looks like it in the market!

The new gen i20 which was seen in Europe had some excellent looks due to its LED headlamps but here it’s the projector headlamps spoiling the look. But looking at the blackened out bits like the grill and lower bumper grill, the grey i20 spied looks very sporty and expensive at the same time!

The Aura is essentially a Xcent with some make-up, the xcent was never good to look at especially the rear and the Aura has just accentuated that ugly rear!

Looking at the new Elantra that front end is stunning to stay the least, side profile reminds me of the current-gen civic present in India right now.

And the Palisade apart from those front headlights is a looker, the side profile looks really premium and the interior is top-class but still the Kia Telluride gets my vote as it looks better!

I feel as time is flying by the cars ought to change their design language as well! Even Mercedes-Benz is changing their design language, BMW is giving larger grills than ever, these changes are inevitable!

One classic example is a lot of my fellow friends had told me how ugly the new 2020 Creta looks sitting at home seeing the car on digital screens, one look at the car in the showroom or on the road they were blown away and have become proud owners!

Same will be the case with the new S-Class and the M3/M4 specifically!

[Sebring]

Hyundai never made good looking cars. Lets start with the Santro. That car came with a proposition, and that was 'tall boy'. i10 carried that forward. Venue, Elantra, Creta - I never liked any of them. But their value lies in features packed to the brim. And Indians lapped them up. In 2018 Hyundai appointed a new chief designer in luc Donckerwolke. These are his creations. The new i20, just unveiled, with heart shaped tail lamps is absurd and looks a joke.

[Abhi5868]

Voted Neutral.
Creta 2020 is a very competent car, if I ever had to buy one, it'd be the mid S diesel variant in black.

Apart from that I also like the new gen i20 and Verna. The Aura's too radical for my liking even though it's a great product. I have my own concerns with Hyundai as a brand, but no denying the fact that they've been bringing new technology setting benchmarks in the industry for a while now.

[400notout]

I would prefer a Kia model over Hyundai ( Seltos > Creta, Sonet > Venue) that is I were ever to consider the Koreans. My interest in Kia lies in the tiger nose grill and my fondness for cats. However I do like new Hyundai designs. When i look at them "futuristic and aggressive " are the words that come to my mind. Its a pity they dont fly.

[SmartCat]

Just like our troops are getting acclimatized to high altitude terrain in Ladakh, our brains will eventually get acclimatized to Hyundai's new design language. And it won't give us a headache when we look at new gen Hyundai car on the road.

Eg: Take a look at the much hated Toyota Qualis design. It does not look so bad now, does it?

[BlackPearl]

Voted "I don't like it". I think Hyundai is doing it deliberately. On one hand they are coming up with such polarising designs to grab a part of the market that likes such designs, while on the other hand Kia is coming up with good looking but a bit more conservatively designed cars to appeal to the other half. As a combination they will be a great force!

[srvm]

Voted for: Don't Like it.

How can you guys leave out that tooth-braces grille of Venue in the opening post?
It looks hideous to me.

[styx71]

Voted No

No offense to any current or prospective owners, but, I find the current design hideous. And as if this wasn't enough, they expect people to pay a premium price for these atrocities (purely from design perspective). I wonder how could someone sign-off on these designs and go to sleep without any feeling of remorse or guilt. It's as if they are running an internal competition for the quirkiest/ugliest car

But hey, it's working for them. Long live the bling features and the gullible uninformed customer - wouldn't be surprised if these are marketed as "futuristic" designs. Serious safety issues (Brakes) be damned.