Reference Auto



The new-look i10.



The recent slew of launches - Ford Figo, Volkswagen Polo, Nissan Micra and a couple of limited edition variants by Maruti Suzuki - has stirred up Hyundai, and in an effort regain lost ground, the carmaker is set to launch a new-look i10 this month.

Hyundai’s top selling car, which sees rollouts of 11,000 every month, has a new 1.2 litre (variable valve timing) VTVT engine that will give higher power and enhance fuel efficiency. This will be around the over 18 km/litre-mark, which is an important factor that influences a customer’s decision to purchase a car.

The new i10 gets its design from the ix35 SUV, the Tucson (mainly its front portion), while the rear excogitation has been slightly curved. It has got a new set of headlamps and tail lights with blinkers on ORVMs, door handles with the same colour as the body along with a casting.

There is a new front grille and adjustable head rests that form a part of the new i10. So far as the interiors are concerned, the car has music control keys in the steering wheel and comes with Bluetooth connectivity. It also offers adjustable headrest for greater comfort.

The revamped i10 replaces 1.2 L Kappa engine which Hyundai rolled out in 2007 and the car will offer 18 km/l of fuel efficiency.

The facelifted Hyundai i10 for the European market will be propelled by a new one-litre engine that will replace the 1.1-litre iRDe motor and emit lower CO2 emissions at only 99 g/km. According to Hyundai, this will be the cheapest car on sale, producing under 100 g/km of CO2 in Europe.

In India, Hyundai i10 had logged sales of nearly 7.2 lakh with a whopping 3.61 lakh being sold in the domestic market alone. The car maker has sold 60,898 cars in the first five months of the fiscal year, lagging behind Maruti Alto, WagonR and Swift.

Meanwhile, Hyundai recently rolled out a new i10, powered by a 1.2 litre Kappa engine, priced between Rs 3.99 lakh-Rs 5.43 lakh in India.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd managing director and CEO Heung Soo Lheem said in Chennai that, “This engine is exclusively manufactured in India only. This shows Hyundai’s commitment to India to make it a global small car hub.”

But the new-look i10’s revamped appearance may give it some space in India’s small car segment even though there are many such as Maruti Suzuki Swift & Ritz, Chevrolet Uva, Nissan Micra and Ford Figo, among others, in the race to grab a bigger pie. So, the new-look i10 needs to rev up in price, features, durability, comfort and safety before it hopes to surge ahead in sales.