Will Hyundai Verna Make An Impact In Mid-Size Sedan Segment?

India’s second largest carmaker Hyundai Motor is all set to launch the upgraded variant of its popular sedan Verna on August 22. The new Verna comes with a host of new features but it won’t be an easy task for the carmaker to make a big impact on Indian roads as the segment is highly dominated by Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and Honda City.

While Ciaz has become immensely popular due to its class leading fuel efficiency and is most affordable in the segment, Honda City is still a favourite among urban buyers due to its reliability and safety features.

The two cars compete with each other for the number one spot in the segment and does a business of 4500-5000 units every month. Hyundai is also aiming for similar numbers for Verna.

YK Koo, Managing Director, Hyundai India said, “We are targeting to sell around 4,500 units per month in the domestic market. We are confident of achieving the target and aim to deliver 10,000 units to customers before Diwali.”

There is least denial that Hyundai will try to up the ante with Verna but the success of the car is likely to depend largely on its price tag and the additional features loaded in the car.

The company has developed new Verna at an outlay of Rs 1,040 crore and claims it is the toughest vehicle in the segment. The new Hyundai Verna will come in both petrol and diesel version and also offers manual and automatic transmission options.

The car is more powerful than City and Ciaz in the segment. Hyundai’s new Verna will sport the same 1.6-litre petrol motor, making 123hp and 151Nm of peak torque, and the 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine producing 128hp and 260Nm of peak torque. The Honda City gets a 1.5-litre petrol mill developing 119hp and 145Nm of peak torque, and a 1.5-litre diesel engine that produces 100hp and 200Nm of peak torque.

Maruti’s Ciaz is also offered with a petrol and a diesel engine but is down on power front. The car gets a 1.4-litre petrol engine which produces 92.5hp and

130Nm and 1.3-litre Fiat-sourced diesel engine which produces 90hp and 200Nm of torque.

On the safety features, Verna will have two airbags for the lower variants, while the top-end variant will get more than two airbags. Honda City has six airbags in its top variant. On the infotainment front Verna comes with a 7-inch touchscreen system that has Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity etc. Rear curtain, Hands Free boot-lid, front ventilated seats & Eco coating are the additional features leaded in Verna.

While prices for the new Hyundai Verna will only be announced on August 22, it is expected that the new car will be costlier that the outgoing variant. If the company manages to put a competitive price tag on the new vehicle, it can be Hyundai’s one more successful car in India.