New Hyundai Verna vs rivals: Specifications comparison

We do an on-paper comparison of the Hyundai Verna with the Honda City, Maruti Ciaz and Volkswagen Vento.

Published On Aug 22, 2017 03:00:00 PM

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New Hyundai Verna vs rivals: Specifications comparison

Hyundai has brought its all-new Verna to India at a starting price of Rs 7.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The new Verna will replace the previous-gen car (Codename: RB) that was launched in India way back in 2011. As the upcoming 2017 Verna goes up against the Maruti Ciaz, Honda City and Volkswagen Vento in the mid-size sedan segment, we’ve done an on-paper comparison of these cars.

Design
The new Verna looks similar to the outgoing model but has fresh styling that can be seen in the new grille, larger headlamps, chrome-lined fog lamp housings, slimmer tail-lamps and new 16-inch alloy wheels. Compared to the older model, the Hyundai Verna is slightly longer and wider, while retaining the same overall height. The new car is one of the widest of the mid-size sedans and sports the largest rear headroom, though its boot is also the smallest amongst its rivals.

While The Honda City has the largest boot space, along with the Ciaz, it is also the tallest out of the lot, it is short on rear headroom when compared to the Verna. The City also has the smallest fuel tank.

The Ciaz is the longest and widest car here, along with possessing the longest wheelbase and largest boot space. However, the Maruti loses out in terms of fuel tank capacity and rear headroom.

VW’s Vento scores high in fuel tank capacity, but misses out in terms of wheelbase, which is the smallest in this comparison. Its marginally smaller size when compared to its rivals may prove useful when parking or in traffic.

Dimensions
	Hyundai Verna	Honda City	Maruti Ciaz	Volkswagen Vento
Length	4440mm	4440mm	4490mm	4390mm
Width	1729mm	1695mm	1730mm	1699mm
Height	1475mm	1495mm	1485mm	1467mm
Wheelbase	2600mm	2600mm	2650mm	2553mm
Boot space	480 litres	510 litres	510 litres	494 litres
Fuel tank capacity	45 litres	40 litres	43 litres	55 litres
Rear headroom	948mm	930mm	914mm	920mm

Interiors
Like all Hyundai cars, the Verna gets a lot of equipment such as a new 7.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and voice commands, steering-mounted audio controls, rear air con vents, cooled and ventilated front seats (a segment-first), a sunroof, cruise control and rear parking sensors. In terms of safety equipment, the Hyundai comes with six airbags in the top-spec variants. This level of goodies brings it on par with its rivals.

The Honda City comes with a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with MirrorLink support for smartphone connectivity, in-built navigation, voice commands and steering-mounted audio controls. The automatic variants of the City also get paddle shifters. Along with the sunroof, the equipment list for the Verna and the City are nearly the same, barring the cooled front seats. Even in the safety department, both sedans get six airbags for the top-spec trims.

The Maruti Ciaz also comes with a similarly long equipment list as its rivals, though the top-of-the-line Alpha variant also gets the SmartPlay infotainment system with Apple CarPlay. On the safety front, the Ciaz only offers two airbags even on top-spec trims.

Volkswagen’s Vento also offers a comprehensive list of features, from the rear air con vents to the steering-mounted audio controls for the touchscreen infotainment system that accepts voice commands and offers MirrorLink smartphone connectivity. Like the Ciaz, even top-spec Vento variants miss out on a few airbags, getting only dual front ones.

Engines and performance
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. While the diesel engine retains the six-speed manual ‘box, the five-speed manual will not be offered with the petrol engine and has been replaced with a new six-speed manual. Both engines will get the option of a six-speed automatic transmission as well. Both engines are the most powerful in their class.

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. While the petrol engine gets the option of a five-speed manual or a CVT gearbox, the diesel motor is paired to a six-speed manual.

Maruti’s Ciaz is also offered with a petrol and a diesel engine. The 1.4-litre petrol mill powers the front wheels with 92.5hp and 130Nm of torque via a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission. The 1.3-litre Fiat-sourced diesel engine, which is mated to a five-speed manual, produces 90hp and 200Nm of torque. The Maruti is definitely down on power when compared to its competition, but boasts the best claimed fuel efficiency in its class. The Ciaz also offers a segment-first mild-hybrid setup for its diesel engine.

Volkswagen’s Vento gets three engine options – a 105hp 1.6-litre petrol, a 105hp 1.2-litre turbo-petrol and a 110hp 1.5-litre diesel. The 1.6-litre petrol is exclusively mated to a five-speed manual while the 1.2-litre turbocharged engine only gets the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The diesel motor is offered with a five-speed manual and a DSG automatic transmission. The Vento’s claimed fuel efficiency figures are the lowest in this comparison.

Powertrain
	Hyundai Verna (P)	Hyundai Verna (D)	Honda City (P)	Honda City (D)	Maruti Ciaz (P)	Maruti Ciaz (D)	VW Vento (P)	VW Vento (P)	VW Vento (D)
Type	Naturally aspirated petrol	Turbocharged diesel	Naturally aspirated petrol	Turbocharged diesel	Naturally aspirated petrol	Turbocharged diesel	Naturally aspirated petrol	Turbocharged petrol	Turbocharged diesel
Displacement	1.6-litre	1.6-litre	1.5-litre	1.5-litre	1.4-litre	1.3-litre	1.6-litre	1.2-litre	1.5-litre
Max power	123hp	128hp	119hp	100hp	92.5hp	90hp	105hp	105hp	110hp
Max torque	151Nm	260Nm	145Nm	200Nm	130Nm	200Nm	153Nm	175Nm	250Nm
Transmission	6-speed MT/6-speed AT	6-speed MT/6-speed AT	5-speed MT/CVT	6-speed MT	5-speed MT/4-speed AT	5-speed MT	5-speed MT	7-speed DCT	5-speed MT/7-speed DCT
Fuel efficiency (claimed)	17.7kpl (15.92kpl AT)	24.75kpl (21.02kpl AT)	17.4kpl (18 kpl AT)	25.6kpl	20.7kpl (19.1kpl AT)	28.09kpl	16.09kpl	18.19kpl	22.27kpl (22.15kpl AT)

Pricing
Prices for the new Verna start at Rs 7.99 lakh and go up to Rs 12.62 lakh for the top-spec automatic-diesel. Interestingly, the price of the previous-gen base 1.6 petrol was Rs 81,000 more while the new top-of the-line diesel-automatic costs the same as the last-gen top-spec model.The Honda City is priced from Rs 8.46 lakh to Rs 13.43 lakh, the Maruti Ciaz from Rs 7.66 lakh to Rs 11.44 lakh for the mild hybrid, and Volkswagen’s Vento costs Rs 8.05 lakh to Rs 13.78 lakh for the 1.5-litre Highline Plus diesel automatic (all prices ex-showroom, Delhi).

On paper, Hyundai’s new mid-size sedan shakes up the status quo in the segment. However, a proper road test will be required to make an informed decision.

Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi and Mumbai)
	Verna 1.6 (P) MT	Verna 1.6 (P) AT	Verna 1.6 (D) MT	Verna 1.6 (D) AT
E	Rs 7.99 lakh	-	Rs 9.20 lakh	-
EX	Rs 9.06 lakh	Rs 10.22 lakh	Rs 9.99 lakh	Rs 11.40 lakh
SX	Rs 9.50 lakh	-	Rs 11.12 lakh	Rs 12.62 lakh
SX (O)	Rs 11.09 lakh	Rs 12.24 lakh	Rs 12.39 lakh	-

Price comparison (Petrol)
Petrol model	Price range (ex-showroom, Delhi)
Hyundai Verna	Rs 7.99 - 12.24 lakh
Maruti Ciaz	Rs 7.66 - 10.42 lakh
Honda City	Rs 8.46 - 13.38 lakh
Skoda Rapid	Rs 8.20 - 11.46 lakh
Volkswagen Vento	Rs 8.05 - 11.38 lakh

Price comparison (Diesel)
Diesel model	Price range (ex-showroom, Delhi)
Hyundai Verna	Rs 9.20 - Rs 12.62 lakh
Maruti Ciaz	Rs 9.43 - 11.55 lakh
Honda City	Rs 10.69 - 13.44 lakh
Skoda Rapid	Rs 9.58 - 13.06 lakh
Volkswagen Vento	Rs 9.52 - 13.78 lakh