2011 Hyundai Verna: First Drive in Dubai!

Flashback to nine months ago and Hyundai had semi-surprised us all by a sudden announcement that they were launching a new Verna in June 2010. Many of us debated on whether it was going to be the all-new Verna based on the concept they had shown-off in Shanghai earlier that year, but it wasn’t. The car they launched then was the snazzy made-over old Verna and rechristened the Verna Transform. The Verna Transform had improved styling and certain cues that really made the heart skip a beat and turned out much more appealing in the flesh than in pictures, but was the same old Verna under the skin. Well, the all-new Verna is finally almost here and we got a chance to drive it in Dubai – and this time, it is the one we’ve all been waiting for – the one that boasts Hyundai’s new design philosophy and one that the Korean manufacturer hopes will take the likes of the Honda City, Ford Fiesta and the Volkswagen Vento head-on! Of course, the one we drove in Dubai was a left hand drive version and was only one of the available variants that should be making it to India, but nonetheless it gave a bit of an indication of what we’re in for when the new car is launched here as soon as May 2011, hopefully.

The Indian market got a taste of Hyundai’s new design direction which will be making its way to all of Hyundai’s products at a steady pace with the new i10 last year. The Verna benefits from this as well and on the new car we see a fresh new body to go with a refreshingly new car. Up front, you just can’t miss the hexagonal treatment given that brings the front grille and the lower air dam into unison. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – this new visual path that Hyundai has embarked on gives its cars a sort of mean character and the Verna is no different. With flowing headlights set into recesses that start on either side of the grille, and some really masculine creases on the bonnet, the Verna looks the part. The vertical fog lamps (which get recesses of their own) perfectly compliment the overall styling of the car and don’t look like after thoughts as they do on other cars – especially with the chrome ‘sting’ protruding inwards from the lower part. Making the side profile more interesting is a crease that runs all the way from the top of the fog lamps in the front to the tail lamps at the back and the very tasteful undercut on the lower portion of the doors. In fact, the silhouette of the Verna takes a very coupe-like stance making the car look extremely sporty as well and also sets it apart from the rest of the competition at the same time. Of course, it helps that the Verna was designed from the ground up to be a sedan and not a hatchback-turned-three box! The rear comes out as strikingly similar to the old Honda City but gels extremely well with the Verna’s rising shoulder line unlike the older Honda’s wedge-with-a-boot design.

On the inside, the Verna lets go of its staid and boring interior in favour of a more futuristic, but simple design – highlighted by some very thoughtful blue backlighting. Materials used are awesome and even the seat fabric and trims all around seem very up-market in look and feel. The version we drove in Dubai came with a whole lot of aluminum-finish inserts around the music system, gear shifter and on the steering wheel, but for the India-specific car, Hyundai is bringing in wooden trim as well. Now that may or may not suit everyone’s taste – we like it quite like the way it was in Dubai, but that just marks the beginning of a whole lot of country-specific add-ons that will make it here. To begin with, and adding on to the wood grain finish on the inside will be a cluster ioniser for the air conditioning, dual horns, a storage box in the rear seat armrest that can obviously be folded away, twin circular tipped mufflers for the exhaust, turn indicators on the electrically folding rear view mirrors, remote control for the music system and increased doses of chrome – starting with the air-con vents! Apart from all that there will also be steering mounted controls for the audio, AUX and USB ports, a rear view camera as well as push button ignition on the top variant. Considering what the competition has on offer you can’t rule out the possibility of Bluetooth connectivity in there either. So gadgets will abound when the new Verna goes on sale and coupled with an interior that was spacious and comfortable, Hyundai has made a car that few will want to step out of. The Koreans seem to have gotten the ergonomics spot-on with great driving posture and for once we see a central arm rest that doesn’t get in the way of shifting gears!

Click over to Page 2 to read about the new Verna's exciting engine and gearbox options!

THE 2011 HYUNDAI VERNA

Talking about shifting gears, the Hyundai Verna will be coming in with an onslaught of engine options – both in petrol and diesel burning form. The gasoline engine lineup kicks off with a 1.4 litre unit making 107 PS – already 4 PS up on the older 1.6 litre engine. And then there’s the 1.6 litre engine making 123 PS for those looking for some quick getaways from traffic lights. Both 1.4 and 1.6 litre engines employ Hyundai’s CVVT technology – variable valve timing, for the uninitiated – and manage 135 Nm and 155 Nm respectively. Both engines will come mated to either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed auto ’box. The only model on offer for us to drive in Dubai was the 1.6 litre car with the automatic transmission and quite frankly, the engine seemed sprightly enough but the four-cog transmission was just robbing the engine away of performance to the point of being criminal! And that is probably going to be the weak link in the Verna’s chain – in this day and age 4-speed automatics have no place, especially on a car of this size – Hyundai should seriously consider getting in a 5-speed auto ’box which will not only do justice to the engine’s performance figures but also get improved fuel efficiency. The manual transmission versions should be much better though and we’ll have to wait till we get to drive the car in India to see how those work. Moving on to the Verna’s diesel options – there are two engines on offer. A 1.4 litre oil burner puts out 90 PS and 220.5 Nm while the 1.6 diesel powerplant manages 128 PS and 260 Nm! Both these engines will also come mated to the 5-speed manual transmission while the 4-speed automatic transmission is reserved for the bigger 1.6 litre diesel engine. With diesel engines gaining more popularity the world over it seems like the best combination (at least in theory) for the Verna is going to be the 1.6 diesel with the 5-speed manual gearbox. As far as vibrations and diesel chatter are concerned we’ll have to wait till about the end of April to find out.

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On Dubai’s butter-smooth causeways the Verna seemed like a plush ride, but that isn’t really an indication of how good or bad the suspension is, especially when the only undulations you encounter out there are extremely well-engineered speed breakers and rumble strips. She seemed to handle decently well though but we did notice a bit of uneasiness in the car’s poise at high speeds with the front feeling like it was floating around a bit and the steering refusing to give much feedback. This could again be the effect of very strong winds on the Emirates’ open highways. To really understand how the new Verna will fare in Indian conditions, we’d best not leave it to assumption and simply wait till we drive the car on our very unforgiving terrain! But if you look at the overall package including the car’s design and gadgets list, Hyundai seems to have done a good job with the new Verna – especially in the ergonomics department. Expect the car to be priced slightly higher than the current Verna on sale in India, but if the new Accent (as it will be known in other markets) is the car the Koreans aim to take on the Germans and Japanese with, they sure are on the right track! Watch this space for the India drive around the end of April and a complete road test to follow soon after that.

THE 2011 HYUNDAI VERNA