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Old 28th February 2009, 20:58   #1
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Verna CRDI SX AT - test drive

I took a test-drive of the Verna AT yesterday & today from Advaith Huyndai, Bangalore. Here are my observations:

Exterior:
Minor changes (chrome) here and there. I see no big difference from the pre-face lifted version.
Looks are subjective. But, IMHO Verna is the most uninspired design of the C Sedan Segment. I think Linea & City are fantastic lookers, and the Fiesta traditional and propah’. Dezire looks ugly & disproportional. Verna is bland, but nothing to complain about.

Feature Differences:
  1. Alloys are now part of the SX/SX AT.
  2. Tyres are now fatter 185/65 compared to 175/70 of previous version: should improve handling
  3. Minor additions like leather wrapped steering wheels, luggage net, additional speakers (4s+2T)
Interiors:
Looks a little different form the old version, and IMHO a little better. The ICE is a 2 DIN mp3 player. It sounded pretty good on FM. They didn’t have a CD, and I did not carry one to check the fidelity. One big grouse is no facility for USB/iPod. I don’t care about CDs (too cumbersome), would rather have something like what’s done in ANHC. Can’t really complain, I guess masses would prefer a CD player.
Seats are a little hard and not as comfortable as ANHC. The front armrest is too narrow and mostly a namesake. I felt the overall quality of the cabin to be better in Verna though.

Performance:
Considering this to be an auto, I found the performance to be good. Since I have driven a manual a week back, I would think this would lag around 2 secs down to the 100. (~13s). Don’t ask me how I can be sure, that’s just a guestimate. Kickdown, and there's the trademark Verna acceleration, albeit a tad subdued. I felt the engine to be a lot more noisy than manual in kickdown mode (with windows rolled up, there’s a muffled boom inside). I may be wrong. There wasn’t much of a bumper to bumper traffic while I was driving to - the turbolag may be there, but definitely not as painful as you don’t have to worry about shifting up down and feathering the clutch. That’s what auto's for anyway.

Overtaking is still be as effortless in a kick down mode.

Handling:
Much has been discussed about poor handling of Verna. I found the handling to be pretty decent, in fact good for the most parts. I deliberately made some quick lanes changes and overtaking around the sparsely populated outer ring road, and there was no dramatics – it was there where I expected it to be. The salesgirl was gently complaining - so didn’t push further. I couldn’t get above 110 as I was in city limits still. Maybe it’s the 185/65 is doing its job. But then again, I am not a rally/track driver, and i couldn’t get any sweeping corners - your mileage may vary.

Mileage
Couldn’t check, of course. Salesgirl mentioned 14/20 - but we won’t believe her do we? . I would be happy with a 12/17 here.

Conclusion:
The AT comes at about 10.24 OTR Bangalore, about 74K more than the SX M/T. That’s good money to pay for the convenience and ease of use in traffic. Frankly this being the only ~<10L diesel auto, its not like we are spoil for choices here. We can always nit-pick it’s a 4 speed - but Corolla & Sonata too come with 4 speed autos. Or go about 6 lakhs more and get the smooth as butter Laura DSG (but a Skoda?).

Would I but it? Sure, if I were in the market for a diesel. If at least 60% of the driving is within city traffic, this is the diesel variant to buy. With low priced spares and a good Hyundai service network, you can’t go wrong here. Enthusiasts obviously should stick to the M/T.

Good job, Hyundai. I would have given a double thumbs up if they priced the entire diesel variants 40K less.

Last edited by GTO : 1st March 2009 at 16:22. Reason: No more than 2 smilies please.
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Old 1st March 2009, 00:29   #2
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Nice detailed review skywalker! I didnt like the looks of the new music system either. And wonder why they cant give ipod/usb support as standard fittings.
My interest has been in the interiors. How exactly are they different from the pre-facelifted verna? Has the standard of plastics been improved or is it just the seat fabrics that are different now?
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Old 1st March 2009, 10:40   #3
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Thanks for the review. I am also considering Verna AT, to upgrade from my Santro AT.
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Old 1st March 2009, 15:46   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pras.oct25 View Post
My interest has been in the interiors. How exactly are they different from the pre-facelifted verna? Has the standard of plastics been improved or is it just the seat fabrics that are different now?
they looked a little better. But nothing drastic. Seat fabric too seemed to be of a little better quality. Its almost a month before i tried the older version, so i could be wrong though.
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Old 2nd March 2009, 00:22   #5
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damn, i would buy this car with 1.5lakh discount 10.24 sounds tooooo much for such small car, no matter it may worth it. just my opinion not necessary i am right. dies it have air bags and other fancy safety stuff, like, anti locking, abs etcs?
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Old 2nd March 2009, 00:44   #6
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10.24L is bangalore. It will be much lesser than 10 in Mumbai.
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Old 2nd March 2009, 08:33   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max View Post
damn, i would buy this car with 1.5lakh discount 10.24 sounds tooooo much for such small car, no matter it may worth it. just my opinion not necessary i am right. dies it have air bags and other fancy safety stuff, like, anti locking, abs etcs?
look at it this way - its ex showroom price is just ~60K above the topend manual, which i say is a good difference to pay. The CRDI M/T top-end ex showroom hasn't changed much for some time now. In fact its reduced a bit, and they have added more stuff (like alloys).

As for pricing, i find Verna/Fiesta/City overpriced for the size/features. ABS,CC and most other functionality is there, no airbags. Bad omission - that. Only Linea & SX4 feel like VFM in this segment.

Last edited by SkyWalker : 2nd March 2009 at 08:42.
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Old 2nd March 2009, 08:51   #8
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Pricing is one thing. Spare part cost is another thing altogether
this is where the verna scores!! and stocking of parts also..
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Old 3rd March 2009, 16:47   #9
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@SkyWalker, what make are the tires? They tubeless?
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Old 3rd March 2009, 17:04   #10
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@luv: sorry didn't check the make
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Old 3rd March 2009, 17:09   #11
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Skywalker, nice review.

"the terbolag" you have mentioned as may be.

This is the most important cause of concern.

Any idea about it, as in city driving it is really a bothersome.
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Old 3rd March 2009, 18:00   #12
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Verna CRDi/Getz CRDi really need an automatic transmission. Some times its painful to drive in city with the huge amount of torque available and frequently changing gears with the ratios being longer.

Still Verna CRDi with A/T is not worth 10.23 lacs in bangalore. I would say hyundai has always overpriced verna. Same is happening with i20. Looks like hyundai is going GM way.
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Old 27th March 2009, 15:44   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djay99 View Post
Still Verna CRDi with A/T is not worth 10.23 lacs in bangalore. I would say hyundai has always overpriced verna. Same is happening with i20. Looks like hyundai is going GM way.
Hyundai is world no.5 in terms of sales now, only after Toyota, GM, Ford & Volkswagen. Across the world, Hyundai is now known for what Toyota and Honda's were known for - Quality and Reliability.

In India, in addition the Quality, Hyundai is also a premium brand. Hyundai charges premium, and customers pay premium - because they know they are getting long lasting quality.
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Old 31st March 2009, 19:59   #14
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skywalker that was one perfect review! I am sure hyundai would like to hire you

I just booked mine in Mumbai, it cost me exact 10, little less. I already have a manual one for my dad and I am pretty impressed with the car(manual). Yes the handling is little messed up but than come on we live in india, for this same price I would be buying myself a nice sweet BMW in USA. So keeping indian import duties in mind, its a good car for that price range for an auto. I searched and searched, but only auto was skoda for 13 but than skoda would kill me with just the bills from the dealer.

I will be cruising in a week in my new auto diesel mid size giant
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Old 2nd April 2009, 11:57   #15
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Quote:
Salesgirl mentioned 14/20 - but we won’t believe her do we?
You should have told her 'Lets tank up the car and go for a really long drive to see if what you say about the mileage is true.' .
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