Hyundai Xcent Review
The Hyundai Xcent has finally made its way into the Indian market. The car, which basically is a Grand i10-based compact sedan, has already managed to create quite a buzz in the market mainly because of its refreshing new design and a feature-rich cabin.
Offered in five petrol and five diesel trim levels including Era, Magna, Sportz and Asta; prices for the all-new Xcent start at Rs 4.66 lakh for the petrol-powered base variant, going all the way to Rs 7.38 lakh for the top-of-the-line diesel variant.
Exterior
In the looks department, the Xcent is identical to the Grand i10 right until the C-pillar. It’s from here onwards that the differences start to come in. Hyundai has done a good job of merging the sliding roofline with the stubby boot. Most of the entry-level sedans are derivatives of their hatchback siblings, which is why they usually end up looking a bit ungainly. The Xcent, however, looks well proportionate and compliments the Grand i10 rather well.
Interior
Hyundai, unsurprisingly, has packed in a lot of features in the Xcent to tempt the buyers. The car comes with a number of segment-firsts including rear AC vents, 1GB hard drive and a cooled glove-box. Other features include dual front airbags, ABS, push-button start, all-electric rear view mirrors with turn indicators and fog lamps. Design wise, the cabin looks and feels a whole lot better when compared to cars like the Honda Amaze. The quality of plastics, too, is right there at the top with the segment leaders.
Engine
Powering the Xcent is the familiar 1.2-litre Kappa2 petrol engine retuned to produce 81 bhp of power and 115Nm of torque. The talking point, however, is the 1.1-litre U2 CRDi diesel engine producing 71bhp and 160Nm of torque. This new 3-cylinder unit is a variation of the existing 1.4-litre CRDi engine that is found in the i20. Speaking of which, there is a possibility that Hyundai India might consider the more powerful 1.4-litre diesel unit for the Xcent. As for the drive-train, the car gets a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic gearbox with the latter only offered with the petrol engine.
Competition
Now that Hyundai has put it on sale, the Xcent competes with the segment leader Maruti Swift Dzire and the Honda Amaze. The car will also be up against the upcoming Tata Zest.
Specifications Summary
Engines : 1120 cc, Diesel, 71 bhp @ 4000 RPM power, 1197 cc, Petrol, 81 bhp @ 6000 RPM power
Gearboxes : 4-speed, Automatic, FWD
5-speed, Manual, FWD
Seating Capacity : 5 seater
Steering : Power steering
Hyundai Xcent Colours
Hyundai Xcent is sold in the following colours in India.
Phantom Black, Pristine Blue, Red Passion, Sleek Silver, Pure White, Twilight Blue