[pathik]

Originally Posted by Satishtv

Guys, If any one owns an EX variant, could you please post pictures of the same. Super confused if i should go for the EX variant - Petrol Automatic. The 15 inch wheels on the variant is my main concern. Any idea how the 5 inch infotainment system works on the EX variant? The EX petrol automatic variant costs 13.23 Lakhs in Bangalore!!

Here are some pics of my EX Diesel Auto:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/V1or27uK9kvIik2l1

[lightpower]

Originally Posted by Saiyan

.. I was trying to figure out how to close AC vents for the passenger.

Did you find out how to do it? Manual says to turn the knob below but there is no knobs on the vents in dashboard.

[Saiyan]

Originally Posted by lightpower

Did you find out how to do it? Manual says to turn the knob below but there is no knobs on the vents in dashboard.

No could not find this. From the manual it is not clear and the vents themselves don't seem to have anything. Looks like a case of cost cutting.

In fact there are other such small features which are missing in the car like illuminated buttons on the doors. Only one button on the driver side door has a backlight.

Somehow I thought Verna had illuminated footwell but maybe I confused it with the one on Rapid. Took the test drive on the same day for both.

Will be going for my first free service tomorrow. Check out the image for the update on the mileage from a highway drive.

[RaghuChn]

Awesome Saiyan! I got 23.5 KMPL after driving about 82 kms, first 27 being in city traffic (@ 16.2 KMPL). The remaining 55 kms on highway pulled it up to 23.5 KMPL. Isn't that too good to believe? 'Coz, ARAI mileage for the 1.6D Verna is pegged at 24.75 KMPL for manual gears and 21.02 KMPL for automatic.

One more attention to detail fact about the new Verna - when the reverse gear is engaged, the cornering lamps reverse their roles. While reversing, turning the steering to the left illuminates the cornering lamp on the right side and vice versa. That I found to be a great 'Human Touch'. (May be a lot of us know this already; may be that's how Cornering lamps function in all cars - but still, wanted to mention what I found out).

[RaghuChn]

Originally Posted by Saiyan

Check out the image for the update on the mileage from a highway drive.

Originally Posted by RaghuChn

Awesome Saiyan! I got 23.5 KMPL after driving about 82 kms, first 27 being in city traffic (@ 16.2 KMPL). The remaining 55 kms on highway pulled it up to 23.5 KMPL. Isn't that too good to believe? 'Coz, ARAI mileage for the 1.6D Verna is pegged at 24.75 KMPL for manual gears and 21.02 KMPL for automatic.

Just noted from your pic above of the MID -

Mileage - 25.7
Total run – 106.5 Km
Distance to Empty – 861 Km
So, total range at the beginning of the drive (I assume a full tank) = 861 + 106.5 = 967.5 Km
Tank capacity – 45 L
So, the max mileage calculated with the above information = 967.5 Km / 45 L = 21.5 Km/L
Therefore, is this mileage showing on the MID now, bound to drop? OR, should we expect the DTE figures to change?
Just curious to know how this whole equation works at the back end.

[Satishtv]

Hi Raghu, I just test drove the SX(o) petrol automatic. I felt the brake had a spongy feel to it. Was not giving me any confidence at all. Didn’t drive over 40 Kmph.

Do you see a similar issue?

[bhpfaninblr]

Originally Posted by lightpower

Did you find out how to do it? Manual says to turn the knob below but there is no knobs on the vents in dashboard.

Did any of the Hyundai Verna owners in BLR figure out operation of the Autolink app? I tried registering and it would ask me to 'contact dealer to update the mobile number for my VIN'. I called Advaith and they said they just updated but the Autolink app does not allow me to register

Is there any specific place to update the mobile number? Advaith Hyundai is clueless

Originally Posted by RaghuChn

Awesome Saiyan! I got 23.5 KMPL after driving about 82 kms, first 27 being in city traffic (@ 16.2 KMPL). The remaining 55 kms on highway pulled it up to 23.5 KMPL. Isn't that too good to believe? 'Coz, ARAI mileage for the 1.6D Verna is pegged at 24.75 KMPL for manual gears and 21.02 KMPL for automatic.

I just completed a 1000km run of my Hyundai verna in a week since taking delivery on 15 - Oct.
The total km/liter I got is 19.5 as we see in the attached picture. I have driven ~115 km in bumper to bumper traffic and the rest on the highways. It was 14.5 kpl when I left BLR - so city is around 14.5 and highways is closer to 21-22



[quote=Satishtv;4291598]

Originally Posted by RaghuChn

Hi Raghu, I just test drove the SX(o) petrol automatic. I felt the brake had a spongy feel to it. Was not giving me any confidence at all. Didn’t drive over 40 Kmph.

Do you see a similar issue?

The brakes will be the same for petrol and diesel and is very confidence inspiring

[Saiyan]

Originally Posted by RaghuChn

Just curious to know how this whole equation works at the back end.

I had got the tank filled in between that drive. Overall I am getting around 19.5 kmpl over 1700 kms.

[RaghuChn]

Originally Posted by Satishtv

Hi Raghu, I just test drove the SX(o) petrol automatic. I felt the brake had a spongy feel to it. Was not giving me any confidence at all. Didn’t drive over 40 Kmph.

Do you see a similar issue?

At speeds under 80 kmph I don't see anything wrong at all. The brakes are quite responsive and the car does not swerve or pitch, even on rain hit roads with gravels, rough patches and potholes.
However, at speeds >140 kmph, Verna's braking does not invoke the same level of confidence. I did feel a bit of spongy response and lack of bite when braking at higher speeds. That said, the car does not misbehave - it does stop in a linear manner, sans any drama. More on it in my next thread on the highway manners of the car.

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr

Did any of the Hyundai Verna owners in BLR figure out operation of the Autolink app? I tried registering and it would ask me to 'contact dealer to update the mobile number for my VIN'. I called Advaith and they said they just updated but the Autolink app does not allow me to register

Is there any specific place to update the mobile number? Advaith Hyundai is clueless

Strange! I was the first customer to take delivery from the showroom I picked it up from. The service advisers were clueless too, however, all it took was 1 phone call to a central number that Hyundai showrooms have access to, and they guided these folks.
Just for your reference though, here's what I know of it -
After the invoice is generated, the showroom sales guy generates a code on the system, that's specific to the mobile number he inputs there. This code needs to be fed into the Auto Link App on your phone, when you register during your first sign-in. That's how the App interacts with that particular car.

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr

I just completed a 1000km run of my Hyundai verna in a week since taking delivery on 15 - Oct.
The total km/liter I got is 19.5 as we see in the attached picture. I have driven ~115 km in bumper to bumper traffic and the rest on the highways. It was 14.5 kpl when I left BLR - so city is around 14.5 and highways is closer to 21-22

19.5 kmpl a very good number too! It's next only to Honda City (1.5 iDTEC). My friend's City gives him 19 plus consistently even in the city traffic.

I did a Hyd -> B'lore -> Hyd (round trip of over 1600 kms) on Diwali. Am compiling a thread on my observation & experience with my 1.6D SX(O) (Manual) through the trip. Will update once compiled.

[Shabzhere]

Great to see the car doing well. I booked a Diesel SX+ Auto today in Bangalore. Expecting delivery around first week of November as per the SA.

[bhpfaninblr]

The Verna 2017 MID shows the km/liter and instant km/liter. But it does not show these numbers for the duration from when the car was bought but since last fuel refill or for the current trip.

The settings on the steering wheel do not have a way to show MID from the time the car was first bought. However the total kms driven is shown clearly. Has anyone figured out to how to get the display of km/liter since the car was bought?

[Shinjith]

Would like to share the bad experience undergone after paying full payment for Next Gen Verna at Hyundai Himavasini, Hosur. It has shattered my confidence in the HYUNDAI brand.

Not sure if this is the right place to mention same. Moderators kindly move this to appropriate section if in-appropriate here

After test driving the next gen Verna was pretty sure that this is my next car, especially after using the Verna 2008 for last 9+ years. Wasn't satisfied with many other TD even of next segment SUV's.

Dealer was very pleasant and the Sales Manager Prasad asked me to make a booking for Rs 25K and told me delivery would be made in 3-4 weeks time. So make the booking advance payment on 23-Sep-2017 and trade in of old car too on same date.

Couple of days later called up himavasini and asked if the delivery could be made on 17-Oct-2017 as it had a corresponding personal occasion and was assured will do best. Based on this confidence I have advised bank to release balance loan and made full payment on 10-Oct-2017 (couple of Hyundai dealer folks repeatedly called me up to get the Bank code for them to be able to receive the payment).

As the date 17-Oct-2017 nears, i try reaching the manager and there is almost no response / in meeting msgs. On 17-Oct-2017, i again follow up and then am told that vehicle is not allocated etc. I am given number of Area Sales Manager Arun from Hyundai. I try speaking to him and understand that it will not be possible to deliver the vehicle in the earlier committed time.

I tried the online hyundai website to register complaint next day and surprised that NO RESONSE to that too. Three days later call the helpline to understand the status of complaint. The operator puts me to the dealer and we just enter into arguement mode with no solution and date when car will be delivered. Operator assures me he will raise complaint with high priority and I will have a solution in 24 working hours.

Its been over a week and when i follow up, i am told by dealer is that vehicle will be delivered by 1st week of NOV. Still DONT have a date on which vehicle will be delivered. I have been raising my concern that I am un-necessarily paying up interest due to this delay. Had dealer told me of this realistic delay i would accordingly have disbursed the full payment saving me thousands of rupees.

I feel cheated and all the more surprised and shocked that Hyundai management had turned a blind eye and deaf ear to my concern, which was the last thing i expected and contrary to all my interactions of Hyundai. I was until now a un-official ambassador for Hyundai but not anymore after this experience.

Request informed fellow members to suggest options to bring it to the notice of the right senior management staff of hyundai.

Attached screenshot shared by dealer of his attempt to deliver vehicle on committed time.

[X-Factor]

Originally Posted by bhpfaninblr

Has anyone figured out to how to get the display of km/liter since the car was bought?

I am wondering how many cars have the lifetime fuel efficiency figures. AFAIK the VW and Skoda don't have that, the max it records is upto 99 hrs and 59mins of driving time or 9999 kms of distance, if any of these two exceeds the limit the Trip Meter 2 automatically resets. It also has Trip 1 that shows instantaneous and average efficiency for a trip that gets reset after 2hrs of ignition off. How do you see this benficial?

Btw, did your car come with chrome garnish on the boot lid?

Originally Posted by Shinjith

Would like to share the bad experience undergone after paying full payment for Next Gen Verna at Hyundai Himavasini, Hosur.
.
.
.
Request informed fellow members to suggest options to bring it to the notice of the right senior management staff of hyundai.

Sorry to hear about the treatment meted out to you at the dealership. OP just two post above was promised less than two week's delivery and you are waiting for more than a month. I am guessing this depends on the ability of dealership to handle volumes.

However in most cases the initial delivery date commited are the most realistic and exceptions are possible only when there happens to be some cancellations. You cannot really complain with Hyundai based on a verbal commitment that "they will try early delivery".

However my experience when I contacted Hyundai Sales Support via website/email was good and good response within 24 hrs.

[bhpfaninblr]

Originally Posted by X-Factor

I am wondering how many cars have the lifetime fuel efficiency figures. AFAIK the VW and Skoda don't have that, the max it records is upto 99 hrs and 59mins of driving time or 9999 kms of distance, if any of these two exceeds the limit the Trip Meter 2 automatically resets. It also has Trip 1 that shows instantaneous and average efficiency for a trip that gets reset after 2hrs of ignition off. How do you see this benficial?

I started maintaining an excel sheet so that I can calculate lifetime mileage. Have set automatic reset to each time after fuel refill as I always fill the tank full.

Originally Posted by X-Factor

Btw, did your car come with chrome garnish on the boot lid?

No. It did not

Originally Posted by X-Factor

Sorry to hear about the treatment meted out to you at the dealership. OP just two post above was promised less than two week's delivery and you are waiting for more than a month. I am guessing this depends on the ability of dealership to handle volumes.

I was promised delivery within 2 weeks and got it. In any case experience at Hyundai dealerships is bad. The cars are great though

Originally Posted by Shinjith

Its been over a week and when i follow up, i am told by dealer is that vehicle will be delivered by 1st week of NOV. Still DONT have a date on which vehicle will be delivered. I have been raising my concern that I am un-necessarily paying up interest due to this delay. Had dealer told me of this realistic delay i would accordingly have disbursed the full payment saving me thousands of rupees.

I feel cheated and all the more surprised and shocked that Hyundai management had turned a blind eye and deaf ear to my concern, which was the last thing i expected and contrary to all my interactions of Hyundai.

Very bad experience indeed. Hyundai cars are great but dealer experience is not good. I would suggest asking for a refund and booking with a new dealer for a Jan delivery for a Jan manufactured vehicle

[RaghuChn]

Please refer to http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ip-review.html for an initial ownership review of the car. The focus on this thread is to provide a peep into its highway mannerisms. Many a question came up on aspects which I could not have tested within city conditions for my previous post. So, took my Next Gen Verna out in the open all the way from Hyderabad to Bangalore and back. Fellow BHPians who have driven on this stretch, would know very well about the pleasures and perils involved.

Disclaimers –

a. I apologize for instances where I crossed specified speed limits. I hate breaking rules and advise the readers that rules are meant for our own safety. Given I had to put the new car to test, I did resort to going over speed limits in certain places. Those instances were well calculated decisions based on ~20 years of driving experience and excellent understanding of the stretches (traffic at time intervals particularly at night, between town crossings, road conditions, truck traffic etc.), add to it a car with top-spec safety features (6-Airbags, AHSS, ABS & EBD etc), never compromising on my safety and that of other occupants of the road, including cattle and livestock.

b. There are no pictures to post here – could not click any. Plus, most of what I could think of showing, have already been posted on the detailed initial ownership review (link given above). to disappoint the Team-BHP family members who love pictorial story telling - sure everyone does.

What I liked –

• Very predictable behavior – linear pick-up and a long range of steady torque delivery
• Steering has NO vagueness whatsoever – precisely directs the car to where the driver commands
• Quietest cabin – negligible road noise filters in only on very rough roads; Engine noise – what’s that??
• Effective FATC (Fully Automated Temperature Control) and a resourceful AVN (Audio-Video-Navigation system)
• Excellent handling – feels planted, negligible body roll on curves (even at >120 kmph)
• Great fuel economy
• Ventilated Seats & Cruise Control – these are not just bling things, they are superb utilities
• Blue instrumentation lighting with rheostat is a boon during night drives – provides for a soothing environ, yet maintaining readability
• I loved the attention it grabbed while stopping for tea breaks enroute

What could have been better for 1.5 million rupees –

• Seating comfort – under thigh support and front seats lumbar support (lower back)
• Halogen projectors are good, but not great

Short preface on my expectations from the car on long drives –

I frequent to Bangalore and Chennai from Hyderabad over some weekends and festivals. This trip was no different though, except that it was the first long drive for my newest ride – Next Gen Verna 1.6D SX(O). When I drive to Bangalore, there is only one target – that of crossing KR Puram before dawn breaks – those from Bangalore know what KR Puram becomes in daylight – a sea of cars passing through a narrow 2-lane stretch, sprinkled with 2 wheelers and auto-rikshaws filling whatever couple of inches are left between 2 vehicles. Oh yes, there are buses, people waiting for buses almost half way into the road on the first lane, pedestrians walking across what’s left of the road like it is their drawing room, and much more. (Silk Board & Marathahalli Crossing too, put up a good fight for the number 1 spot !! No offence meant to folks who live in / love these areas).
Net-net, if I discount my prayers back in the days when Sachin Tendulkar would be batting at 99, it is this little stretch of about 300 meters (between when we get off the KR Puram flyover and pass under the hanging bridge), where I pray my hardest, just to escape without a scratch on the car!!
I give myself 6 hours to achieve the target. For me to meet this target (and in general as well on long drives), here are what I typically expect from my cars. Will go through this list comparing it with how the 1.6D Verna fared in each of these departments:

1. Good stability at higher speeds, with predictable handling
2. Brakes with good bite; excellent control during braking
3. Lower the turbo-lag at lower RPM band, the better for overtaking “Buri Nazar Wale, Tera Muh Kala” friends
4. Decent music system that plays mp3, has Bluetooth connectivity
5. Headlamps with good low beam and decent high-beam
6. Good seating comfort with decent under thigh support

Let us go through these parameters 1 by 1 –

1. Stability and Handling – {Rating – 10/10}
Starting from my office at Gachibowli (Hyd), I hit a stretch of about 35 kms on Nehru ORR. The toll road is good and wide, and has a speed limit of 100 kmph. Driving there at 100 kmph though, feels like trolling on 3rd gear! Since I had never crossed 114 kmph on my Verna before this experience, I started cautiously going to about 120 kmph. Felt almost like the car smirking at me saying, “Is this all you’ve got?”. I replied, “Hold on – lets hit the Jadcherla toll road, and I will show you what I have got”. While the ORR is a good road, there are wavy undulations at some places, which at speeds higher than 120 kmph, can bounce the car in the air for a second if you were riding on a soft suspension set up (like that of erstwhile Verna or Tata Manza). And trust you me – the landing thereafter is a very scary experience for any driver. Since it was my first speed test, I chose to stay safe and did not accept the challenge. Yes, you read it right – the car felt like being at 20% of its might, eager to accelerate very quickly to higher triple digit speeds on 6th gear.
Soon, I was out in the open ocean – the Jadcherla toll road. This is a fantastic 4 lane stretch (2 lanes on each sides of the divider). The quality of road is perfect for high speeds all the way up to Kurnool. If you are on this stretch without much truck traffic (or buses in the night), it is perfect to accept a challenge like the one above. I wasn’t all that lucky – there were a few trucks more than my liking and I found myself playing a video game overtaking them from left, right (and sometimes from the center – between 2 trucks). Highest I could do on this road was ~120 kmph, that too for not more than a few kilometers (5-7 km) at a stretch. Presence of trucks was a blessing in disguise though – I could check how precise the steering was, behavior during sharp cuts, need for changing gears (or lack of it, should I say) for acceleration and body roll on curves. The Verna scored a perfect centum in all these parameters – I was completely satisfied with the way the vehicle handled itself during these essential highway maneuvers. Once you shift into the 6th gear at 80 kmph, that’s where you will live, and whatever be the need – the car will accelerate to your satisfaction. The linear pick up and zero turbo (lag as well as thrust) through a wide RPM band (1100 to 3000) is an experience like ginger with honey, spicy yet sweet and smooth (and good for health too )! At high speed, the car feels planted and goes about its job with a smile. There is nothing in the name of engine noise that filters into the cabin (of course, with a mild music playing on the AVN).

2. Brakes – {Rating – 7/10 for higher speeds}
The brakes are compliant and confidence inspiring up to about 100 kmph. Typically, when you spot a speed breaker on time at about 100 kmph, it is business as usual with absolutely no drama (pitch, swerve, skid etc.) that tend to increase the heart rate a bit. However, at high speeds, to achieve the same braking distance, I felt a lack of bite. The first time I experienced it was when I was about to enter Anantapur – there is this speed breaker and generally that crossing is well lit. In some ways, that’s also an indication for me to slow down ahead of time. This time though, the area was not as well lit as always, and I realized I was close enough to it, only when I actually got close enough – had to jam the brakes from high speed, and immediately lost a bit of confidence due to lack of bite. However, as soon as the car decelerated below 80 kmph in a few seconds, things were very different. Though the car slowed down sufficiently to cross the peril at about 15 kmph, I understood the limitations. So, the first thing to upgrade was the head lamps. Went ahead with upgrading to Orsam’s Xenon kit (HID).

3. Acceleration & Overtaking – {Rating - 9/10}
We have talked enough about the car’s wide RPM range of torque delivery, starting from as low as 1100 all the way to 3000. This makes the next gen Verna a pleasure to drive in tight traffic as well as open highways. Add to it a perfect gear ratio. While on the highway, once you’ve crossed the 80 kmph mark, there’s no need to shift down from 6th gear. The car races forward at the slightest tap of of the A pedal. At 2250 RPM, the car cruises at 120 kmph and it can stay there all day long. All the way through across these speed / RPM bands, the acceleration was top notch – not for once there was even a hint of sluggishness anywhere.
Sometimes, I do find overtaking vehicles in city a tad tricky (only sometimes). And that’s attributed to a bit of blind spot. For example, when a biker is about 3 feet away from the car on driver’s side, with his front wheel at around B-pillar, he happens to become the Anil Kapoor in Mr. India !. That’s definitely not a ‘Mogambo Khush Hua’ moment, if you turn right. For just this one factor, I have taken 1 point off. Simple, effective solution would be to put a little blind-spot mirror on the ORVMs. I have still to do that though. In my opinion, the best position for that will be the lower bottom corner, inwards (towards the car).

4. Audio-Video Navigation system – {Rating – 8/10}
The one that came stock with my Verna is better than excellent for what I need. I am not an audioholic. I just listen to soft music (Carnatic classicals, Mohd. Rafi, Kishore Kr., Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Mukesh, SP Balasubramaniam, S Janaki, TM Soundarrajan, P Susheela, Kumar Sanu and some select Sonu Nigams to go with a few Shankar Mahadevans). Why am I listing many familiar / unfamiliar (some of them historical)? Just to provide a glimpse of what all it handles, and aplomb! Bass is sufficient and so is the treble. The most impressive factor though is, there is zero distortion at high volumes. Add to it, the Arkamy’s Sound Mood – there are subtle differences noticed across the 4 options available.
As of the file formats, it plays MP3, MP4, WAV (as many as I have checked). I could not get it to play .M4A audio format though. I haven’t yet tried videos, but I am sure, it plays the most common ones.
There are some niggles though. Fresh out of the showroom, the navigation system did not detect the GPS signals and for the first week, the car showed its location as Sriperambudur factory. It took some intervention (since even the ASS guys did not know what to do to fix it) from the Mobis engineer to fix it. One issue that crops up intermittently is that after a phone call, the music goes automatically into mute. It takes a mute and then unmute to bring it back to life.
But playing music is just a part of what the infotainment system does. GPS navigation, Android Auto, Mirror Link (not explored yet – my phone does not support Mirror Link), Apple Car Play (not explored) and steering-adaptive rear camera display are all on it. The navigation is pretty accurate and the interface is easy to read. The voice guidance is convenient and the system speaks up to call out a turn just at the right time to be able to change lanes and turn. First announcement happens 450 meters before the turn, second one 200 meters before the turn and then there’s one more which says ‘turn now’ right at the turn!! There’s a voice notification to announce curves about 100 meters ahead, which is independent of whether you are using the navigation system or not. Settings allow you to independently set the navigation volume and during each announcement, the music volume is lowered. Android Auto is extremely useful since Google Maps are your best friends if you are travelling to an address for the first time – like any GPS system, finding an address in an area can be a bit tricky on the vehicle’s AVN, while it is a breeze on Google Maps. For playing music, again, Android Auto is as useful as the other options in the AVN. So, I just go with plugging in a USB drive or connecting the phone on Bluetooth, if I have to stream from the phone.
The steering adaptive reversing camera is precise and quick. For some reason, our bikers believe in parking their rides as close behind (or in front of) a car as possible. With a restricted cross-section of visibility through the rear windscreen and a never ending C-pillar, this is an essential piece of equipment if you do not want to knock such a bike down. The image on screen is crystal clear in sunlight, and reasonably clear in twilight / night.

5. Headlamps – {Rating – 9/10 for stock projectors}
The stock halogen projectors are good. They serve the purpose very well in city drives. Important to mention here – the thing with me is to drive on low beam, default. I switch to high beam in city driving conditions, only when an oncoming driver is either ignorant or arrogant about staying on high beam. The ignorant ones switch to low beam (and I immediately reciprocate) and the arrogant ones get a taste of their own medicine. To that effect, stock projectors on Verna are more than sufficient. However, on the drive to Bangalore, the need was a bit different. For most part the roads are pitch dark at night; the speeds are very different and the need to see farther ahead than low beam’s reach, is apparent; you should not be surprised to find a cattle strolling on the road close to the divider, or still worse – trying to cross the road; and then, there are these speed breakers that can bitterly surprise an unaware driver. Though the number of speed breakers have been reduced in the last few months, there still are a few out there and there’s no sign board indicating the approach to these. I struggle to understand if putting a sign-board 500-600 meters before the breaker is more difficult than building a breaker itself!! But life is not about wish-lists, it is about what’s real and on at least this stretch, please do not expect anything that will give away the surprise. There is a cruel hump lurking somewhere in the darkness of the night once you enter & cross Anantapur towards Bangalore. The only way to avoid all of these perils mentioned above is to drive on high beam (the other way is to drive at 70 kmph or thereabouts, but that’ll mean you are always answering in present continuous tense saying, “I am still driving”, to a family member trying to check on where you are). I don’t want to say that I found the stock halogen projectors lacking, but yes – a HID would have been far more comfortable is what I thought. On reaching Bangalore, I took the car to Advaith Hyundai ORR and got the headlamp bulbs changed to Orsam Xenon kit. Took about 40 minutes to complete the upgrade. And boy!! The Rs. 12,000/- spent on it was worth every penny. On the way back to Hyd, the upgraded headlights put daylight between me and the road. And over the last week or so of driving in the city, I see that the count of arrogant drivers has gone down significantly

Orsam HID Kit -


You might wonder, how on earth did I manage to make umpteen trips in my Figo and Elite i20 – they obviously were not even as good as the Verna’s stock projector halogens!! Answer – I had upgraded the bulbs on those too, to Philips ExtremeVision and both the cars had good reflector focus, and felt nearly adequate.


6. Seating Comfort – {Rating 7/10}
At the moment, I am only able to comment on the driver’s seat, first hand – haven’t occupied the other four. I am anyways least likely to get to experience any of the other seats except the driver’s. So, what I write below about rear seats is purely based on feedback I asked for from my family. (My mom and dad have already declared that this is the most comfortable car – after all, it costs Rs. 1.5 million !!!!).
It is quite easy to find an appropriate driving position, even with reach adjustment missing from the equipment list. The good thing is, all the controls are reachable easily. The construct of the cock-pit is driver friendly. You’ll notice the AVN as well has a minor tilt towards the driver. All stalks are easy to access and feel very good & solid. The dead pedal is a boon while driving long. The bucket seats have good bolstering that hug the occupant well enough to hold him / her in place during those curves. What I found lacking though, is sufficiency of lumbar support. After sitting in for 4 hours, I had to stop for a quick breather to straighten my back. Never have I had to do that on my i20, which has a far superior lower back support, and so did my Figo. The driver’s armrest has a good fore and aft adjustment and is very useful.

I want to make a special mention about the ventilated front seats though. While driving long, after about 3 hours of continuous drive, switching the seat ventilation on, left me with an awesome feeling of rejuvenation – I felt good enough to pull along for another hour, before deciding to stop for a cup of tea and to straighten my back. Kudos Hyundai, for bringing this feature into Indian C2 segment cars!! The market is so competitive (and growing), that it won’t be too long before the Hondas and the Nissans and the Renaults and the Suzukis are forced to bring it in. Just the same way as Honda forced competitors to bring in sunroof into the C segment!! Through all of these, who benefits is the customer.

Coming back to the Next Gen Verna, the backrest angle coupled with the seat angle at the rear in Verna is something to applaud – Hyundai has got that spot on. The rear arm rest adds to the comfort, along with the rear AC vents. Had they provided an inch or two more of under-thigh support, there would have been no complaints. None of us in my family is too tall, so head room was more than adequate. Surprisingly, the occupant in the middle too (slim & 5’6” tall), did not have much to complain except a hard backrest (the folded armrest). The AC too does its job very well. I generally set the FATC at 22 Deg C. The initial time it takes to make the cabin comfortable, is around 2 minutes when the external temperature is around 33 Deg C and the car starts from being parked in shade. If parked in hot Sun, it takes about 3 minutes – I roll the rear windows down fully, front windows to about half way mark and also open the sunroof for about a minute. That helps getting all the accumulated hot air out pretty quickly.
Mileage – The most insatiable question we Indians ask about anything that runs on petroleum (everything between generators to rockets) – “kitna deti hai”!! I did note the mileage from Bangalore to Hyd, a distance of 633 kms from, home to home. Of these, 521 kms drive is on open highway, between Devanahalli and Shamsabad, and the remaining distributed between Bangalore and Hyderabad city traffic. The pic below says the story well. And jitna bhi deti hai, is better than most of its competitors with comparable engine size.




Final words on this thread – the Verna was a thrill to drive all through my trip. If there was anything that I felt could have been better, were the braking at high speeds and the seating comfort if you have to sit in it for hours together. Everything else, and the package overall should go on to make it a super hit in its segment.