[msrsooraj]

Originally Posted by A350XWB

Playing the devil's advocate, I do not understand the hue and cry regarding the omission of rear disc brakes. As a positive, the review says that ABS is now offered across the range, which is actually a welcome move. The highly regarded segment leaders - Ciaz, Fiesta, Vento, Rapid, City, none of these offer rear discs. Linea offers it only on the T-Jet version. So, why should Hyundai care? The next argument is enthusiasts care about it. But was the Verna an enthusiast's car any time? It is always been reported that Verna's suspension and steering is nowhere near to an enthusiast's taste. So, it is actually logical for a company to cater tot he mass market, by offering features that actually attract the majority buyers. Unless it is proven that it has affected the braking efficiency (like the L and V variants of Swift), I don't see a point for this negative criticism.

I guess you are right. I have always wondered why Hyundai cared to offer disks at the rear when none of the other cars manufacturers in the segment went on with the drum. Disk breaks are certainly important. But like you said, Verna has never been an enthusiast's car. And i have never seen a single Verna involved in an accident (I must have been living under a rock) despite the horrible handling and the soft suspension. Maybe its that nobody has ever tried to corner a Verna. Except for a few or occasional highway sprints, has anybody pushed Verna to its absolute limits that the poor handling led the driver right into an accident? If the read drum breaks can deliver the same, then why not?? But being a Verna owner, I kinda love the rear disks. Apart from all that, I actually thought the new Verna looks pretty.

[rsm97]

I personally was never really a fan of Verna's looks, but earlier one atleast had an identity of itself. From the images in this nice review, it appears to me that Hyundai has adopted 'neither here nor there' position. Wondering why a facelift should make the product bland. It neither looks most handsome, nor most dramatic, nor the best feature loaded in its current form. It will be very surprising if anything in C2 segment changes due to this introduction.

[RSR]

In addition to the 1GB on-board memory, the music system has indeed been upgraded to feature phone book and call log access (in addition to the Bluetooth-enabled handsfree phone functions and music streaming present earlier):



For a full list of phones with phone book & call log access compatibility, refer to this list.

Originally Posted by ramprakashr

When sales numbers started dipping late 2014, they introduced a CX variant on the 1.4L VTVT and CRDI. It was a very good package and now they have conveniently excluded it.

Yes, the CX variant was the most value for money package on the pre-facelift Verna. The 1.4 litre engines with 107 PS for the petrol and 90 for the diesel are quite adequate for the Verna, and on par with competitors in the segment like Ciaz (95 PS & 90 PS), Fiesta (91 PS), Sunny & Scala (99 PS & 86 PS) and non T-Jet Linea (90 PS & 93 PS). By not providing the S variant (equivalent to old CX variants) with the 1.4 litre engines now, they are missing a huge opportunity!

I hope they make amends soon.

Originally Posted by PearlJam

I think the excise advantage applies only for engine size less than 1.5L for Diesel (and 1.2 for Petrol), as well as a length of less than 4 metres. So I don't think Vento and Rapid qualifies for excise advantages.

The 4m excise rule is for what the government terms as "small" cars (excise - 12%).

For cars more than 4m in length:

If the engine capacity < 1500 cc (both petrol & diesel), the excise is 24%.

If it is > 1500cc (both petrol & diesel), then the excise is 27%.

So there is a 3% difference in excise duty if the engine capacity exceeds 1500cc (for both petrol & diesel).

Thus, the Verna 1.6 (petrol & diesel) attracts an excise duty of 27%, along with the Vento 1.6 petrol and Rapid petrols.

All other cars in the segment (including the 1.4 Vernas) attract an excise of 24%.

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Here's how the Verna 4S stacks up, against it's direct competitors vis-a-vis prices across variants.

Thanks for those price comparison charts, RavenAvi! There is a huge gap between the 1.4 Base variants and 1.6 S variants of the facelifted Verna in both petrol and diesel. The 1.4 S variants need to be introduced in this space, and the automatics need to be made cheaper by providing them on the S variant, instead of the more expensive variants.

Originally Posted by karts

I think, Hyundai has priced the new verna too high for the facelift and few added features, few stripped down. I bought a 2014 Verna 1.6 CRDI SX, The ex-showroom Chennai was 9,76,000 and on-road after discount came to 10,70,000. I think the earlier SX is now S(0) and the pricing of 10,78,000 does not seem reasonable for the added features like projector headlamps and re-designed nose, at the same time cutting short rear discs, rear head restraint etc.

While some of that ~ 1 lac rupee difference is because of the hike in excise duty (after the concessions were withdrawn on 31st December, 2014) there is no doubt that the S and S(O) variants are priced quite high.

As I mentioned before, they need to axe some variants and introduce new variants if they want to attract more customers. The S trim level needs to see the addition of 1.4 litre engines as well as 1.6 litre Automatics as well (in both petrol and diesel).

[deetjohn]

The biggest miss is that 6 speed Auto on the 1.6L CRDi from the Elantra. And its not like it would have been very difficult to achieve. A stupid decision!

And the front fog lamps look very confusing. They should have used the rectangular ones from the first Verna, that was a simple but great looking design and would have lifted the way the car looked from the front.

[i74js]

I am asking myself a question - Can this facelift bring in more footfall to the Hyundai Showrooms; I think no.
There is nothing new that Hyundai has offered with this facelift which can exceed buyers' expectation / what the peers are offering.
Hyundai has always taken advantage with segment first, but it seems that the Japanese peers (Honda & Suzuki) have started offering almost 90-95% of what Hyundai is offering and thus for all practical purposes, Hyundai is no longer a competition to them in C segment.
I think its time for Hyundai to go back to drawing board (of they have already been there and done that), should prepare for a all new Verna.
They have engines & transmissions to offer, but the final configuration at trim level is not impressive and several of the buyers would stay away as what they want is not offered at the price point of their expectation.
Retaining old AT in this facelift was a wrong decision, though the decision might have been taken considering sharing of engines between Verna and Elantra; if transmission is also shared, it might result in killing Elantra.
Anyway. Keep up the good work Hyundai.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by Carpainter

Just for info, I think City doesn't have touch screen system. Only the ACC has feather touch operation. Ciaz has touch screen audio only on the ZXi+ trim.

City does have a touchscreen infotainment system in the top 2 variants.

Originally Posted by D4D

Good thing to know that the ride has been sorted to an extent.
How is the GC when loaded with 5 adults and luggage?

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to test the car with full load. The entire test drive was conducted with 2 passengers on board.

Originally Posted by D4D

This trend of deleting items from the equipment list is alarming. It started with the Elite i20 and now on the Verna. What are Hyundai thinking?

The funny thing is Hyundai themselves set benchmarks in the segment when it comes to introducing cars with segment-first features; and with model updates, they silently eliminate these, just to re-add them with a new launch and call it segment-first all over again! We have seen it at the time of the Transform too, when their strategy of removing disc brakes was heavily criticized by all and then with the introduction of the Fluidic Verna, they shouted from top of the roofs of how they have added rear disc brakes which none of the direct competitors offered (Fiat offered it only in the T-Jet variant then).

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by S2!!!

City does have a touchscreen infotainment system in the top 2 variants.
Attachment 1341515

It is NOT a touch screen for the second time! That 5" display is a non-touchscreen one. Please check the specs indicated by Honda again. It says Advanced Integrated Audio with 12.7 cm (5") Screen. No mention of touch screen there as well.

Please check TBHP's official review as well. From the review:

5" head-unit display shows album art, track number, song name, album & artist. It's not a touchscreen:

I did report the post yesterday but no action was taken in that regard.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by Gannu_1

It is NOT a touch screen for the second time! That 5" display is a non-touchscreen one. Please check the specs indicated by Honda again. It says Advanced Integrated Audio with 12.7 cm (5") Screen. No mention of touch screen there as well.

Originally Posted by Carpainter

Attachment 1341515

Oh, my bad. Shall get that edited. Thanks for pointing it out

[msrsooraj]

Originally Posted by i74js

I am asking myself a question - Can this facelift bring in more footfall to the Hyundai Showrooms; I think no.
There is nothing new that Hyundai has offered with this facelift which can exceed buyers' expectation / what the peers are offering.

Ummm, i can't really agree to that. True, the Hyundai has offered nothing more than a facelift. But with the facelift Hyundai has done the following.

• Its still making news. Call it marketing or staying in the Headlines.
• Not everyone thinks that the new Verna is ugly (including me).
• Have given the potential buyers a reason to go visit the showroom.

Verna is not an enthusiast's car. People who enjoy driving would certainly prefer a City or a Vento. Even the Fiesta offers excellent handling even though its not that powerful. People who buy Verna mainly do that because they can. Some people just like the surge in power. People who have and are ready to spend 12Lakhs would seriously reconsider changing their decision to buy Verna and then instead go for a City because its drivable. Verna is a car for people who thinks that Cruz is a bit too much. That's not a petrol-head statement I just made but not all are petrol-heads.

People buying a car is mainly two things 1. the Money and 2. The Looks.


People may not like the new looks but it will certainly bring a lot of customers to the showroom so that they can see the car for real. And that's one very important thing. The customer buying it is the second step. But for the second step to take place, step one is a must. Maybe if the Hyundai can offer a better deal, people might just buy that afterall.


By the way, @Hyundai: Bring back the rear disk. Not that its necessary, it still was very nice.

[arnabchak]

Great Review S2.

Disappointed with Hyundai on some factors:

1) Why skim on safety? Rear disc removing in a facelift is not done. Understand that you have provided the ABS yet why curtail somethin you already have in the earlier model.

2) Is it just me? I still preferred the earlier grille than this "Sonata" inspired one.

3) City and Verna. City still looks better(barring the chrome mustache grille)

4) Missed opportunities:

- Rear AC
- Auto Retracting ORVMs
- A new speedo console. Somehow, the console on the Verna looks dated now
- The rear lamps. Still too bland.
- The low rear seats. I hated the under thigh support during my journey in my Bosses Verna.

Overall, it may not do anything to worry the Ciaz and the City.
On top of everything, the price is a "killer". The price will certainly kill----Of course the Verna itself.

Too expensive to cut ice with the Competition.

R.I.P.

[Bigzero]

I had taken my old Santro for servicing yesterday and I happened to see the new Verna in flesh.. Somehow I didnt find it very appealing ( very subjective ) - though one can possibly say that the design is "more mature" etc.

My 1st Gen i20 has 4 discs and am quite surprised to see that the newer versions and even the Verna doesnt have 4 discs nowadays. My i20 is not even top-spec by the way. It is a Magna trim, with ABS and four discs. Quite disappointing I would say. I dont know whether I can attribute it to the discs but I have been saved from banging into dogs and errant pedstrians a few times thank to the very effective brakes, a few times in the 65K kms that I have covered.

The service advisor told me that around 150 people have already booked (!) - I am sure most of them have not even seen the car in flesh before booking.

I am looking for an upgrade ( have been so for quite some time ), and Verna is not in my list. Add to this my concerns on ever-increasing spare part and service costs. The two Hyundais I have now, have become expensive to maintain!

I have never been loyal to any brand, but it so happened that both in 2003 and in 2010 when I purchased the Santro and i20 respectively, Hyundai seemed to have just the right car for me that ticked all boxes. And I am happy with the two purchases. But I dont think that is the situation anymore.

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

Hyundai seemed to have just the right car for me that ticked all boxes

You're lucky.

If you see the Verna segment, there is no one car that has everything, otherwise only that would have sold. You have to compromise on something. What different people compromise on, are different - hence you see all manufacturers surviving in some way.

For me (personal opinions, no flaming please):
Vento - noisy engines (diesel), only 5 gears (for ease of cruising), plain looks, relatively poor service network

City - noisy engines (diesel), poor handling, steering, and lack of outright diesel engine performance (all quoting from team-bhp review), ugly front grill, ugly center console

Rapid - Same as Vento, added with nightmare reports about service

Ciaz - Under powered engines

Verna - as already discussed in this thread

Summary - There's nothing in the above that I could just blindly buy, without weighing in what matters to me.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by msrsooraj

Ummm, i can't really agree to that. Verna is not an enthusiast's car. People who enjoy driving would certainly prefer a City or a Vento. Even the Fiesta offers excellent handling even though its not that powerful. People who buy Verna mainly do that because they can.

Sooraj,
The cars mentioned in contention are aso not enthusiastic cars.

The ones that are, dont sell- Read : Fiesta and Linea.
City ticks some boxes but not the "driver's delight" aspect.
No car in this segment is surprisingly complete and misses some important aspect or the other, making it very difficult for the prospective buyer to go ahead with their eyes closed.

That's where brand perception comes in and Maruti, Honda excel and Hyundai cash in to some extent where as Ford and Fiat fail completely.

[PearlJam]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

The competition is not offering it. But Hyundai was and has taken a step back and that is why it leaves a sour taste.

According to me, what was offered earlier is inconsequential, unless you're buying a pre-owned car. If you're buying a new car today, you need to see what everybody else offers today, and then decide.

Just to give a few examples, Honda city used to have rear adjustable neck restraints, Wagon R used to have smoother 4-cylinder engines, the older Dzire used to have better handling, and Swift used to have bigger rear windows. But that is history, no point brooding over it

[msrsooraj]

Originally Posted by arnabchak

Sooraj,
The cars mentioned in contention are aso not enthusiastic cars.

The ones that are, dont sell- Read : Fiesta and Linea.
City ticks some boxes but not the "driver's delight" aspect.
No car in this segment is surprisingly complete and misses some important aspect or the other, making it very difficult for the prospective buyer to go ahead with their eyes closed.

That's where brand perception comes in and Maruti, Honda excel and Hyundai cash in to some extent where as Ford and Fiat fail completely.

That's surprisingly well said.
A perspective buyer considers a lot of factors before selecting a car. Like you mentioned, the brand value too. Linea and Fiesta are drivers delight, agreed. But Fiat has had a very poor run in this country. Things have changed considerably with the arrival of the Linea but still people refrain from buying a Fiat. I have seen the same vibe regarding the Ford too. I really don't know why but people make all sorts of excuses not to buy a Ford.

My point is that just because a car offers pure driving pleasure does not guarantee that it will sell. What people want is a balance. A balance of performance, comfort, (certainly) Brand value and price. A lot of people can afford slightly more than a Linea or a Fiesta and hence they go for the Vento and City.

What you said is spot on and absolutely correct. What I said is that people who enjoy driving will prefer the City or the Vento more than a Verna. People who enjoy driving will certainly enjoy the Ford and Fiat but still might want to go for a City or a Vento because a lot of other reasons that make considerable difference to a potential buyer.