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Old 24th September 2017, 01:17   #1
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The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

The Next Gen Verna has been launched on 22-Aug-17 at an ex-showroom price tag of 7.99 lakhs – 12.39 lakhs. Here is a first-hand ownership review of the SX (O) Diesel variant. While I will try to provide tit-bits about other variants (as much as I have explored), the focus below will be primarily on the 1.6D SX (O) Manual. Happy reading.

What you will like:-
• Refreshing looks – the coupe-like design is very new and appealing
• Excellent fit and finish – even shut-lines and nice paint quality; great quality plastics and stocks / buttons
• Highly refined and better tuned 1.6L U2 CRDi VGT diesel; has excellent low end torque for those city maneuvers
• Super-smooth 6-speed manual gearbox (6-speed auto variant also available for a choice)
• A huge leap forward in ride and handling over the outgoing 4S Verna, thanks to improved suspensions and the K2 platform
• 2 Airbags and ABS are standard across the range; SX (O) trim gets 6 Airbags
• Feature rich package; adds many a D-segment features like automatic boot release, ventilated front seats, electric sunroof, cruise control and projector fog lamps, to name a few
• Hyundai’s reliable & accessible service experience

What you may not like:-
• Rear legroom will be at a premium if you are 6+ feet tall. For our friends with turbans, even head room at the rear could be a concern due to sloping roofline.
• AVN may have some initial niggles – needs a software upgrade, I suppose
• Clutch is quite springy – eager to push back, just as in my other Hyundai (Elite i20 Asta CRDi)
• Rear seats are not foldable – virtually nothing innovative to manage cargo / boot space
• No rear disc brakes, no telescopic steering adjustment, no auto folding ORVMs, no rain sensing wipers (Seriously???)

Buying Decision and Experience:-
Strange as it may sound – I was actually in the market for a bigger 7-seater. Initial considerations were Innova Crysta & XUV 500. And I haven’t yet ruled either of them out. Just decided to go with a sedan this time and keep the 7-seater for may be 2-3 years later, given that the utility for a 7-seater in my life today isn’t very high (for once, I was trying to be more practical than impulsive, when it came to changing cars). Even then, I almost booked the XUV 500. But after reading the fellow BHPians’ take on aftersales of Mahindra, I decided to let it be in the cold-storage for now.
Off topic - Mahindra is very serious about its flagship blockbuster and has come a long way since its launch in fixing the issues and niggles. Give it a year or two, we may see a facelift (hopefully with the long overdue sliding 2nd row) and incremental fixes on the after-sales front, although the friendly beast may then cost a couple of lakhs more.

Once I made my mind up on the C3 segment, the options were pretty limited. Honda City, the Next Gen Verna (which was still about 10 days away from launch), Skoda Rapid and Volkswagen Vento. I did not have to do much research. To begin with, walked into the KUN United Hyundai showroom, ECIL Cross Roads, Hyderabad, and saw the trailers on the electronic kiosk, of the New Verna. The looks of the car were simply amazing and it was a classic case of love at first sight; looked no further!

Note – I did not test drive the Honda City, since the 1.5L iDTEC’s power (100 PS @ 3600 RPM) and torque (200 NM @ 1750 RPM) quotients were substantially lower than Verna’s on paper. And I was looking for a peppier drive.

Even though the showroom was accepting pre-launch bookings for the New Verna, they had very little information about the car itself or its pricing. I told the sales person that I can’t book unless I get some basic information on the features at least. He called me back a day later to provide me with a list of features – most of what he told me matched what we see in the new Elantra!! That was it, the decision was made. I made the pre-launch booking with an agreement that the car will be delivered within 20-25 days of launch (around mid-September). But I was in for a pleasant surprise – two days after the launch, I got a call from the dealer saying that he had the top-spec New Verna in my color of choice – Polar White. I knew that there were about 4 cars in their yard at the time I made the booking – about 5-6 days before launch. But it was very nice of the sales manager to include me in his list of first few customers, despite the fact that I was set an expectation for a mid-Sep delivery. I visited the showroom and finished the formalities. Also took a closer physical look at the car. Every bit of what I saw made me feel that it was worth the money. Refreshing design, loaded features and many more! Even though, the car was ready to be delivered on 28-Aug (the invoicing and temporary registration was done by 27th Aug itself, to beat the price hike due to Cess increase), I chose to take the delivery on 1-Sep due to sentimental reasons.

Overall a dream buying experience – completely eventless right from my first step into the showroom, till I drove away with my newest ride from there.
Here I am, writing about what it looks & feels like. This is my first review on Team-BHP, though I am a regular reader of so many posts and reviews here. So, please bear with my flaws and feel free to let me know if there are aspects that I could explain better.

Exterior
The C3 segment sales chart is currently led by Honda City, and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz hasn’t done too bad either. The outgoing Verna had been pushed to a distant 3rd position, from once being the leader in the segment for almost 2 years, when the Fluidic Verna was launched in Q1 2011.

The newest sedan from Hyundai gets a familiar face, a large hexagonal radiator grille, much like what’s seen in most other Hyundai family of drives (Grand i10, Xcent, Elite i20, Elantra, Tucson and Santa Fe). The stance feels very mature and sure footed. The New Verna is built on Hyundai’s K2 platform – the same as what the Elantra is built on, with about 50% high strength steel (AHSS) in its physique. That means a lighter kerb with added strength.

The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-front_lights-.jpg

The front view looks fairly sophisticated. The swept back head lamp units which house the halogen projector headlamps, cornering lamps and LED DRLs, sit neatly in perspective to the radiator grill. Some helping of chrome looks decent – particularly, around the projector fog lamps. There is a separate air dam towards the bottom part of the bumper – adds to great looks. Subtle crease on the bonnet aligns well above the head lamp unit – gives an ‘open eye’ feel.
There is so much Elantra in this Verna that when I got the first views of the car, it was parked besides an Elantra, and simultaneous first look at the front faces of the two, I could not spot much difference at all!

The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-front-1.jpg
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-front-2.jpg
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-front-3.jpg

Side view, the waistline is purposeful and gives the car some butch looks. Compared to the outgoing Verna, this car does not swoop down forward as aggressively – just has a subtle tilt forward. It is the coupe shape with a longish bonnet that makes it look sporty and eager to surge forward. Alloys are standard on SX variants and above. SX+ and SX (O) get diamond cut alloys, while the SX gets silver alloys. There are no plastic claddings provided on the doors – no change from the 4th gen. There is again a subtle helping of chrome on the window lining.

The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-side-1.jpg
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-side-2.jpg

The rear end of the car reserves the factors that would turn heads. The all new tail lamps are LED, and designed on the same lines as those of Elantra (Elite i20 gets a similar design but they’re not LEDs). The car feels raised from the rear, because of smallish rear windscreen cross section (I guess, because it is sloped almost at 30 degrees ). The rear end is clutter free. Except the badging, there is no chrome – looks very neat.

The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-rear-1.jpg
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-rear-2.jpg

The rear-view camera nicely tucked in besides the boot lid open button.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-img_6640.jpg

(Note – Hyundai’s official website shows a chrome lining at the bottom of the boot lid – not to be seen in any of the production cars! Not sure if I am missing a point here ) A snapshot from the Hyundai's website shown below with the chrome lining.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-rear-chrome-insert.jpg

No ‘CRDi’ badging seen anywhere in this diesel. It is replaced with a simple D, next to 1.6. Also, there is no badging difference between SX, SX+ and SX (O) – we can't tell these variants just by looking at the badging.

The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-img_6638.jpg
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-rear-badging-1.jpg

The dual tone bumper has a black insert at the bottom that raises up on the corners to connect with the reflector-tips. The tail-pipe has been concealed behind the bumper, and can’t be seen unless one sits down to locate it.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-rear-4.jpg

Dimensionally, the Next Gen Verna is supposed to be larger in size than the outgoing 4S Fluidic. Here are some stats for the Next Gen Verna compared to the older one –

• Length – 4440 mm (Overall, 70 mm longer than the older one; rear leg room increased by 44 mm and 8 mm in the front)
• Width – 1729 mm (Overall, 29 mm wider; liberates 11 mm additional shoulder room at the front and 9 mm at the rear)
• Height – 1475 mm (same as the outgoing car)
• Wheelbase – 2600 mm (30 mm increase in the wheelbase compared to the outgoing car)

Interior
Seating Space & Comfort – Front seats are fairly comfortable, well bolstered, neither too stiff nor too supple. Lumbar support is just ok (I won’t give it a 5 star – it was much better in my i20 CRDi). The under thigh support is not the best you’ll find as well. The height adjustment to the driver’s seat is definitely a welcome feature, which has been standard on most top-spec cars, across B, C and D segments, and across manufacturers off late. In this car, especially, given that there is no reach adjustment to the steering, seat height adjustment helps find the right driving posture.

The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-front-max-vs-min.jpg

The seats have a long slide range. At 5’10”, I can’t reach the pedals with the seat pushed all the way back. But when you do that, it is impossible for someone to be seated behind. The gap between the backrest and the rear seat edge is barely 2-3 inches. Now, I don’t know if there is a purpose to this kind of design. Net-net, if a 6.5+ feet tall individual is driving, the Verna can only have a little member seated on an isofix child seat at the rear, behind the driver.

With the driver's seat pushed as far behind as possible, I struggled to fit in (and then to get out as well) - my knees pressed hard against the hard backrest -
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-legroom-full-push.jpg

With the driver's seat set to my driving position, there was comfortable leg room for me at the rear (I am 5'10") -
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-legroom-my-position.jpg

Driver's armrest is more than useful, has a decent fore and aft play, with a good size storage hole underneath. Good thing, it does not interfere with gearshifts even in pulled forward fully.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-arm-rest-comparison.jpg

That's a full-size pencil sitting inside for size reference.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-drivers-arm-rest-storage.jpg

USB Charging, Aux, USB Data and 180W Power ports at the front. The tray below has a removable rubber matting - feels premium and easy to clean.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-front-ports.jpg

The rear seats are perfectly reclined for a comfortable long drive. They’re sufficiently bucketed to provide lateral support. Under thigh support, again, could have been better. The doors open wide enough for a comfortable ingress. Though there is enough width to accommodate 5 regular adults, the center part of the seat is raised and will be most comfortable for a shorter member in the family. Also, there is no center head-rest too. The transmission tunnel won’t bother such a fifth passenger too much either. There is isofix provision on both the sides. The rear seats are not foldable (I don’t know if it is because of the isofix, but I am told that the Verna never had a foldable seat right from Gen 1).
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-img_6604.jpg

Rear AC vent has been added; pretty useful in Indian summers.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-rear-ac-vent.jpg

This transmission hump won't bother most center seat occupants.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-transmission-hump.jpg

A USB port has been provided at the rear, below the AC vents.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-rear-usb-charge.jpg

The rear armrest is decently wide and has space for 2 cups-
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-arm-rest.jpg

No, the rear glass does not roll down all the way. Appreciable glass area all around though - the cabin does not feel claustrophobic even with the sunshade closed.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-windows-roll-down-80.jpg

All 4 doors have bottle holders that can comfortably hold a 1 litre Aquafina each
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-img_6632.jpg

What’s missing is a nifty little opening to the boot in the armrest well (Hyundai calls it Ski Pass Through Rear Seat). This is provided in Elantra to be able to load longer poles / pipes etc., that would go through the opening, into the cabin if needed. Net-net, the flexibility in utilizing the boot-space is limited on the Verna.

New Features and Gizmos
Sunroof – The SX (O) and SX+ Automatic variants have been equipped with a sunroof. A nicety to have, it has one-touch motorized open / close function and comes with anti-pinch feature.
Though not a panoramic sunroof, It does make the cabin feel more airy.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-img_6669.jpg

7” touch screen AVN – Has everything you could ask for. Audio, Video, Android Auto, Apple Car Play, Mirror Link, Navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, Hyundai iBlue connectivity etc. etc. There could be a few niggles / bugs here and there, given this is a brand new system built from scratch. But with Hyundai’s dependable after sales service, these issues (if you do face any, that is) cannot be a showstopper for long. I faced a minor issue with the GPS not detecting my current location. It was resolved by a Mobis Field Quality Engineer in no time.
It connects to the phone like a breeze and except for that little initial niggle with GPS, it has been functioning without any issues. Has sufficient bass and treble for a non-audiophile. Yes, if you need a party punch, you may need an amp to go with it.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-img_6651.jpg

Hyundai Auto Link – This is a great feature that allows the car to interact with a smartphone and provide many useful statistics on the vehicle’s performance. Shown below are a few screenshots of the application.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-collage_auto-link.jpg

Hyundai iBlue – Connects through Bluetooth to a smartphone, and makes it work as a remote control for the ICE.

Android Auto / Apple Car Play / Mirror Link – For all of these, the phone needs to be physically connected to the data USB port (there are in total 3 USB slots – 2 for charging and 1 data where you can plug in a USB drive or a smartphone). Bluetooth connection will be disabled as soon as either of these features are started.

Automatic Headlamp with Cornering function – The corners are illuminated when the steering is turned in a certain direction. It is pretty useful in those dark, 90 degree corners. The cornering lamps have a soft switch-off (theatre dimming effect). You almost will never realize when it went off after the turn.

Smart Trunk – When this function is enabled in the driver’s MID setting, the trunk lid opens automatically when the key-fob is within a meter of the rear bumper for 3 seconds. The blinkers flash, the car beeps 3 times and viola !! the trunk opens (a feature seen in the new Elantra). Very useful when you have both hands full of stuff to dump into the boot. But otherwise, I found it a bit annoying sometimes (probably because I am not yet used to it) – an unassuming pause for a few seconds near the tail would open the trunk lid. So, I have kept it turned off for now. Yes, one very impressive & thoughtful attention to the detail is, when the trunk opens, I get a notification on the smartphone (Auto Link app) stating “Trunk Open” – COOL!

Ventilated Front Seats – There are separate controls for each of the front seats – a toggle switch each with 3 stages. This feature is extremely useful in hot and humid places. A sweat-drenched back on the shirts is a thing of the past with the New Verna SX (O). See the seat perforations close up -

All of these perforations (they cover the seat base and entire backrest) are functional, and the cooled air feels very soothing in hot days.
The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-img_6667.jpg

Rear Windscreen Shade – A netted curtain that can be pulled up manually to cover the rear windscreen. It is a very handy feature to have during night drives – our traffic on highways for some reason does not believe in driving on low beam.

Rest, the car is equipped with other regular features in the C3 segment, such as power windows (drivers’ one-touch up and down, anti-pinch), rear AC vent, auto-climate control and height-adjustable front seat belts, to name a few.

The Driving Experience so far – As I pen this write-up, I have driven the car a little over 450 kms – all of it in city driving conditions. Haven’t yet taken it out on a longer spin. I do have a trip lined up to Bangalore from Hyderabad, sometime around Oct 1st week – will update the thread on the car’s highway manners post that one. For now, here is a quick peep at how the machine has fared in city traffic.

More than sufficient torque kicks in at about 1200 RPM and the car indicates a gear shift upwards from the 1st gear at around 15 kmph. You could shift to the 2nd gear in as low as 9 kmph and the car eagerly surges forward up to about 30 kmph before asking to shift up to 3rd gear. Having driven the i20 CRDi for about 2 years and 48,000 kms, I initially followed the same gear shift pattern – but that is too slack for this machine. At idling RPM and at about 10 kmph, on 2nd gear the car pushes forward so aggressively that in typical city traffic conditions, clutch usage increases. The clutch is smooth, but has a springy action, eager to push your left foot back out of the bay – guess that’s a norm with Hyundai cars (my i20 also had a similar new clutch feel). 3rd gear can be comfortably deployed at around 20 kmph without bothering the oil-burner, and has a range till about 45-50 kmph when the car indicates a need to shift up to the 4th gear. The 4th has a longer range – from about 40 kmph till about 75 kmph around which the indicator asks for a shift up. 5th and 6th gears have not yet been used too much. I took it out on the Nehru ORR once and the max speed I hit was 114 kmph, at 2944 RPM (wonder how I remember these numbers so precisely? Auto Link is the answer ). I hit the 6th gear at 80 kmph (which is more or less the same as what I would do in the i20). All through, right from 1200 RPM all the way till ~3000 RPM, the torque delivery is very linear. There is no turbo lag at all. And, there is no jet-thrust post a certain RPM band, like in my i20 CRDi or my 1st gen Figo TDCi.

The car feels planted and sure on turns, with almost no body roll felt. This is a huge improvement over the outgoing Verna. Hyundai has changed the platform to the K2 one, and a stiffer, wider body is a certain reason for its highly improved road manners. The car also gets a slightly stiffer set of suspensions and dampers at the rear. Small to medium potholes are absorbed aplomb with only a minor ‘thud’ intruding into the cabin. There is no ‘horse-ride’ on offer after a road undulation – it settles down nicely and stays completely in control. The steering does not offer any real feedback – again, a trait I am so used to with the i20. As speed picks up, it does get nice and stiffer but up to about 40 kmph, it can easily be mistaken for drive-by-wire technology (well, nah – I am exaggerating, but you know what I mean, right?).

I took the delivery just a few days before the additional Cess was instituted, adding to the Ex-Showroom price. That saved me almost 70k in the net landing cost. Not bad at all!! But barring that, I did not get a single rupee as discount or even floor matting for free. That's expected when you set your eyes on a new launch.

Final words – There are 7 color options to choose from, 21 new features, looks very refreshing, is a huge leap forward in driving dynamics and handling, both petrol and diesel options, and with 6-speed slush boxes on offer across both engine choices, competitive pricing (positioned in between the Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz). All these put together in a package, easily overshadows the not-so-good things about the Verna, such as short supply of rear head and leg rooms and slightly sub-par thigh support (Honda City is the most comfortable car in this segment though, if you use a chauffeur and could not care less about the thrill of getting behind the wheels). Overall, I certainly feel very content with the decision to buy the New 5th Gen Verna.

Variants and their introductory price list (Ex-showroom): These are from when I took the delivery, on 1-Sep. Please check the incremental impact of added Cess that has been introduced since then.
• E Petrol MT: Rs 7.99 lakhs
• EX Petrol MT: Rs 9.06 lakhs
• EX Petrol AT: Rs 10.22 lakhs
• SX Petrol MT: Rs 9.49 lakhs
• SX (O) Petrol MT: Rs 11.08 lakhs
• SX (O) Petrol AT: Rs 12.23 lakhs
****
****
• E Diesel MT: Rs 9.19 lakhs
• EX Diesel MT: Rs 9.99 lakhs
• EX Diesel AT: Rs 11.39 lakhs
• SX Diesel MT: Rs 11.11 lakhs
• SX Diesel AT: Rs 11.26 lakhs
• SX+ Diesel AT: Rs 12.61 lakhs
SX (O) Diesel MT: Rs 12.39 lakhs. The variant that’s largely described above; On road price in Hyd - some 2 digit change short of 15 Lakhs (pre Cess hike)

Await expert comments on what else would make the review more complete and helpful. Thanks for reading through!

Last edited by GTO : 26th September 2017 at 08:39. Reason: Spacing :). Thanks for sharing!
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Old 26th September 2017, 08:42   #2
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 26th September 2017, 10:43   #3
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations on your new car Raghu. Wishing you lots and lots of happy miles ahead!
Nice and simple write-up. you mentioned 21 new features over the outgoing one. Could you please list them so that it can be easy for others.

Hyundai has really upped the game as always with every new face-lift/launch. I feel Hyundai is the only company which is consistently improving their cars keeping in mind the wants and aspirations of the customer. Of course everyone looks for profit and they should be but there is a desirability factor with Hyundai and the premium they charge for that looks completely justified.
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Old 26th September 2017, 11:34   #4
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations on your new acquisition!

I am a little shocked to see that the SX+ and SX(0) variants are priced so high. It is more expensive than the base variant of the Hexa.
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Old 26th September 2017, 11:38   #5
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations on your new car. Yours would be the first ownership review of the new Verna.

When the car is viewed from the front, it wears the same face as that of the elite i20, although the slope of the bonnet is much more than that of elite. Since you also own an elite i20, you would be the best to comment on this aspect, since they would be sharing the same parking.
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Old 26th September 2017, 11:43   #6
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations on your new car! While I decide to stop slacking and start writing my own ownership experience of the next-gen Verna, I would like to ask you how is the car doing with respect to fuel economy (I know it's a little early for you to comment - but just want to know what the MID numbers say)
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Old 26th September 2017, 13:52   #7
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations Sir!! Its a nice review.

Most of the features also belonged to the earlier Neo Fluidic Elantra (2013) which I currently own. And Hyundai added many more new features making my Elantra look a tad older than the Verna. If you eliminate some nitty-gritty stuff, the only difference I see is a 200cc displacement between the engines.
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Old 26th September 2017, 14:32   #8
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations on your new Verna Raghu. The new Verna certainly looks more elegant than the outgoing model and certainly is refreshing. I have test driven it and found it to be more refined and predictable over the outgoing model in both its ride and handling. The earlier pricing was apt, but now with the additional Cess coming into play has to see how it’s going to hold on. Nevertheless, it’s still looks VFM when compared against its prime rivals because of the engine and transmission it offers along with its features. Wishing you a wonderful journey with your steed.
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Old 26th September 2017, 15:33   #9
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by RaghuChn View Post
Here is a first-hand ownership review of the SX (O) Diesel variant. While I will try to provide tit-bits about other variants (as much as I have explored), the focus below will be primarily on the 1.6D SX (O) Manual.
Congrats RaghuChn on your latest acquisition

I was a huge fan of the first gen Hyundai Verna, especially that 1.5 CRDi for its mind-numbing torque thrust. It was was over my budget back then, though I would jump at every driving opportunity that my friend gave on his car.

The biggest gripe I have about the latest gen Verna is not offering an all-round disc break setup, and that quite weird headlamp cluster. They must have at least offered a sportier black inserts on the headlamp cluster.

Anyways, wish you a very happy, fun-filled and peaceful motoring.
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Old 26th September 2017, 15:52   #10
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations on your new acquisition RaghuChn !

It is somewhat absurd to know that new Verna still carries the age-old issue of poor back seat space. While it leapfrogs others in new features list, innovating on back seat space would take her miles ahead of the competition.
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Old 26th September 2017, 17:07   #11
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations on your new ride. What is your opinion about the twin tone seats, IMO they don't look nice. They have deleted some features like auto folding mirrors, which were available on the previous models.
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Old 26th September 2017, 17:47   #12
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations on the acquisition of a D4FB 1.6L beast. Its true that on paper the figures look promising. I am interested in knowing the feedback when the tyres hit the tarmac. I also hear that there are slight changes in the electronic steering setup and supposedly more responsive.
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Old 26th September 2017, 18:37   #13
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by RaghuVis View Post
Congratulations on your new car Raghu. Wishing you lots and lots of happy miles ahead!
Nice and simple write-up. you mentioned 21 new features over the outgoing one. Could you please list them so that it can be easy for others.
Thanks Raghu! Yes - I will compile the list and share on this thread shortly.


Quote:
Originally Posted by vinit.merchant View Post
When the car is viewed from the front, it wears the same face as that of the elite i20, although the slope of the bonnet is much more than that of elite. Since you also own an elite i20, you would be the best to comment on this aspect, since they would be sharing the same parking.
Thanks Vinit! On the front looks compared to Elite i20, I guess the similarity stops at the grille shape (nearly). And may be that's a cause to why some of these family members show so much resemblance. A closer look, I can see some substantial differences in the front character because of - a) different headlamp design, b) fog lamps are completely different c) 3-dam grille in i20 vs 1 prominent one in Verna, with a thinner add on below. Posting a pic for a quick comparison.

The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review-i20_verna-comparison.jpg

PS - The Elite i20 Asta CRDi is not with me anymore. Did not have enough parking space to retain it (I wish I did, and never had to let it go - it was a piece of marvel by Hyundai). My stable currently has a WagonR VXi (AGS), alongside the Verna.

Quote:
Originally Posted by pathik View Post
Congratulations on your new car! While I decide to stop slacking and start writing my own ownership experience of the next-gen Verna, I would like to ask you how is the car doing with respect to fuel economy (I know it's a little early for you to comment - but just want to know what the MID numbers say)
Thanks, CONGRATULATIONS to you too, & look forward to reading your review ! The 'Accumulated Info' screen, which reads the stats for about 1 km shorter than the odo, reads 14.7 kmpl. The trip data for my last drive from office to home (about 27 kms), at off-peak night hour on a typical rainy season city road (plenty of surprise pot-holes to be discovered every day!) yesterday, read at 18.9 kmpl. The car has done about 460 kms or thereabouts. So, I guess it is increasing with every drive !

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vik0728 View Post
Congrats RaghuChn on your latest acquisition

The biggest gripe I have about the latest gen Verna is not offering an all-round disc break setup, and that quite weird headlamp cluster. They must have at least offered a sportier black inserts on the headlamp cluster.
Thanks ! they absolutely must have brought back the all-disc brake setup at this price point and on a machine that's otherwise so high on safety features.

Quote:
Originally Posted by yogesh.8984 View Post
Congratulations on your new acquisition RaghuChn !

It is somewhat absurd to know that new Verna still carries the age-old issue of poor back seat space. While it leapfrogs others in new features list, innovating on back seat space would take her miles ahead of the competition.
Thanks ! Oh yes, absolutely - while this is a huge IF (at least has been so over the last 5 generations of the car), Verna improving in this area will mean it would give a run for every penny to the cars 1 or 2 segments above! It could already be eating a bit into its elder sister's market (the New Elantra, at least in the oil burner category), given that the two siblings are not very different on the rear head room at least.
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Old 26th September 2017, 18:42   #14
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations RaghuChn. Wish you many miles of safe motoring.
I feel the New Verna is an honest attempt by Hyundai to capture the C2 segment and think it would definitely do well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by yogesh.8984 View Post
Congratulations on your new acquisition RaghuChn !

It is somewhat absurd to know that new Verna still carries the age-old issue of poor back seat space.
It is not an issue. There is enough legroom for 2 six feet tall individuals to sit one behind the other. The concern is that the two prime rivals have acres of space. Never felt the space in the Verna to be so cramped that it became a deal-breaker.

Quote:
Originally Posted by behaln View Post
They have deleted some features like auto folding mirrors, which were available on the previous models.
The previous models too never had auto-folding ORVM. However, since that 'welcome function' as referred by Hyundai, is available on the lower placed Grand i10 and Elite i20, it is expected that the feature makes its way to the new, premium C2 segment sedan.
Any other feature you feel has been deleted in the New Verna?

Last edited by drive2eternity : 26th September 2017 at 18:49.
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Old 26th September 2017, 18:54   #15
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Re: The 5th-Gen Hyundai Verna: 1st Ownership Review

Congratulations RaghuChn on your new ride.

I still have fond memories of our Verna CRDi, which my family got back in 2008. That beast offered ballistic performance, comfy interiors and a pleasant ownership experience. The later gen fluidic verna was a looker, however the wobbly ride & handling was a cause of concern.

This latest gen Verna though is an absolute peach! The beautiful design, impressive feature-list and strong engines(especially the 1.6D) make this beauty a complete all-rounder.

Looking forward to include this beast in our garage!
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