Hyundai's answer to the Maruti Dzire and Honda Amaze is finally here, and we've just gotten behind the wheel. Here's our first impressions.
The 1.2-litre Kappa2 petrol engine is much peppier. The 81.8bhp high-tech motor features variable valve timing (VTVT) and a drive-by-wire throttle. When you drive it first, you are convinced the engine makes more power. Tap on the throttle and the motor will make the car leap forward smartly. Throttle responses are crisp and lightening quick, and you do tend to enjoy this when you are in the mood for it. Hyundai is offering this engine with a four-speed automatic as well. Like the Grand i10 though, the Xcent feels easy to drive, with light controls and a slick gearshift.
The suspension layout of the Xcent is unchanged over the Grand i10 and that means independent MacPherson struts up front and non-independent torsion beam axle at the rear. Hyundai has tweaked the suspension settings to arrive at a more sedan friendly ride, but as the road we drove (the airport road at Hyderabad) was brilliantly smooth, we’ll reserve our judgement for later.
The other stand-out bit of the Xcent are its features. There are three variants - base, S and SX. The base variant gets central locking, a cooled glovebox, AC, power steering, front power windows and an engine immobilizer. On the outside it gets, body colored bumpers and wheel covers.
The Xcent S variant comes equipped with goodies like fog lamps, body-coloured door mirrors and outside door handles, turn indicators on the wing mirrors, along with electrically adjustable and folding wing mirrors. It gets an integrated music system with radio, CD, MP3, aux-in, USB and Bluetooth compatibility. The music system also offers a 1 GB internal memory. On the inside, it gets chrome finish on the gear knob, steering-mounted controls, rear AC vents, front and rear power windows, adjustable driver's seat and tilt steering. It even gets a rear defogger and rear parking sensors.