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The Hyundai Casper micro-SUV has just been officially unveiled internationally, ahead of its launch in South Korea. Hyundai is expected to bring its smallest SUV offering, the Casper, to India and it will sit below the Venue. There are talks that the Casper could get a different name in India. However, Hyundai is not the only carmaker entering the micro-SUV space in India, as Tata has also unveiled the Punch, its offering for the segment, that will launch in the coming months. Both these models will also face competition from the Maruti Suzuki Ignis, which while being labelled a premium hatchback, offers many things the micro-SUVs do. Hence, we decided to put these three models up against each other, to see how they compare on paper.
- Hyundai Casper is smallest in the segment
- Tata Punch expected to have most powerful engines
- Micro-SUVs pricing will overlap with compact SUVs
Hyundai Casper vs rivals: dimensions
| Dimensions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Casper* | Tata Punch* | Maruti Suzuki Ignis | |
| Length | 3595mm | 3840mm | 3700mm |
| Width | 1595mm | 1822mm | 1690mm |
| Height | 1575mm | 1635mm | 1595mm |
| Wheelbase | 2400mm | 2450mm | 2435mm |
*Dimensions could change once launched in India.
Before we dive into the comparison, there are a few things worth noting. Firstly, the dimensions of the Casper are for the South-Korea spec model and could change when launched in India. Secondly, the dimensions of the Tata Punch have not yet been revealed officially, so we have used the dimensions of the HBX concept on which it is based.
With that out of the way, what becomes evidently clear when viewing the table above, is that the Hyundai Casper is smallest of the three models. When compared to the largest of these offering – the Tata Punch, the Casper is 245mm shorter in length, width is 227mm less and height is 60mm less. It also has a wheelbase that is 50mm shorter. The Maruti Ignis on the other hand is almost a halfway point between the Punch and Casper in the context of its dimension.
Hyundai Casper vs rivals: engines
| Powertrains | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyundai Casper* | Tata Punch# | Maruti Suzuki Ignis | |
| Engine | 1.0-litre 3 cyl NA petrol/ 1.0-litre, 3 cyl turbo-petrol | 1.2-litre 3 cyl NA petrol / 1.2-litre, 3 cyl turbo-petrol | 1.2-litre, 4 cyl NA petrol |
| Power | 76hp/ 100hp | 86hp/ 110hp | 83hp |
| Torque | NA/ 172Nm | 113Nm/ 140Nm | 113Nm |
| Gearbox | 5-speed MT/ 5-speed AT | 5-speed MT/ 5-speed AMT | 5-speed MT/ 5-speed AMT |
*Engines from international model. #Expected engine range
As with the dimensions, it needs to be pointed out that the engine options for the Casper are for the international model and could change once brought to India. Even the powertrain options for the Tata Punch have not been officially confirmed, and these power outputs could vary on the final product.
Keeping this in mind, we can see that it is the Tata Punch that will offer the most powerful engines in the segment. Its naturally aspirated (NA) 1.2-litre, three-cylinder engine has 3hp more than the 1.2-litre, four-cylinder in the Ignis and 10hp more than the 1.0-litre NA engine in the Casper.
Even when we look at the turbocharged units, the Casper makes 100hp from its 1.0-litre turbo-petrol, which can’t match the Punch’s 110hp, 1.2-litre turbo-petrol. However, Hyundai’s turbo-petrol does have the advantage when looking at torque output, which at 172Nm is 32Nm higher than the Punch’s torque figures.
We will have to wait and see how the Casper and the Punch perform out on our roads, as the power output figures only tell half the story. Tuning of the engines and weight of the SUVs will also have a big impact on how they perform.
Hyundai Casper vs rivals: positioning and pricing
Both the Hyundai Casper and the Tata Punch are expected to be priced quite aggressively and are likely to have pricing similar to the Maruti Ignis, which ranges from Rs 4.95-7.37 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). However, this also means that the higher trim variants of both micro-SUVs will likely overlap with the lower trims of their larger siblings – the Venue and Nexon. They will also compete with other compact SUVs like the Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger – that are priced extremely competitively.
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