2015 Hyundai Verna facelift review, test drive

What is it?

This is the Hyundai Verna for 2015. Before you wonder, it’s not an all-new model but a significantly updated version of the existing car. As part of the update, the ‘Verna 4S’, as Hyundai calls it, gets revised styling, a little more equipment and tweaks to the suspension.

The most visible change to the car, of course, is the new nose. The older Verna’s swept-back headlamps have made way for a more angular pair and the ridged bonnet now flows into a larger grille that has a hint of the old Toyota Corolla in it. The bumper is quite different too with reworked fog lamp housings. At the rear, streaks on the tail-lights give it a faux LED effect and the exhaust is now hidden from view to give the tail a cleaner look. While these changes do help freshen the look and link the Verna to newer Hyundais such as the Santa Fe and i20, the car doesn’t quite make the same lasting impression it did back in 2011.

In the cabin, there’s not much evidence to suggest this is the updated car. The two-tone dashboard carries on unchanged and you still get the same high level of fit and finish. However, the blue backlighting on the audio player has begun to look a bit dated – something newer competitors’ colour screens only highlight. Still, the audio player does gets a useful update with the inclusion of 1GB onboard memory to store songs. Also new is the reach adjust function for the steering wheel and what Hyundai calls the 'Ergo Lever' that is located on the inside edge of the front passenger seat. Basically, it allows the rear passenger to move the front passenger seat forward to free up legroom and is a handy feature first offered on the Volkswagen Vento. Rear seat passengers also get a revised armrest with twin cupholders and a seat with a longer base. Correspondingly, thigh support is better but you still sit lower than you’d like and the upswept windows continue to hamper the view out.

Engine and gearbox options remain the same as before, so you can choose between a 105bhp, 1.4-litre petrol engine (with a five-speed manual), a 121bhp, 1.6 petrol (with a five-speed manual or four-speed auto), a 89bhp, 1.4 diesel (with a six-speed manual) and lastly, a 126bhp, 1.6 diesel (with a six-speed manual or four-speed automatic). The diesel engines get a mild update of their own with a new, low friction coating on their pistons to improve refinement, emissions and efficiency. As per ARAI-tested figures, the 1.4 diesel’s fuel economy is up 1.3kpl (to 24.8kpl) and the 1.6’s has improved to 23.9kpl.

But what should be of more interest to potential buyers are the changes that have been made to the rear suspension. There are new coil springs (there to make the ride flatter), a low velocity valve on the dampers (there to smoothen rebound) and new bump stops (there to minimise the ‘thud’ on full compression that Vernas have been notorious for). These changes are there to build on the suspension tweaks the Verna got in mid-2013. An interesting point to note is manual Vernas no longer get rear disc brakes but ABS has been made standard across the range.