Need For Speed Hyundai Edition: 5 Quickest Hyundais We’ve Ever Tested

Hyundai has made a name for itself in India as one of the earliest carmakers to enter the market, and now has a portfolio that has an offering in literally every segment out there. And while it isn’t known for delivering performance thrills in India, there have still been a few Hyundais that have packed some punch over the years, and we were lucky to test them out. 

So in this story, we take a look at the five quickest Hyundais we’ve tested to date:

Hyundai Ioniq 5: 7.68s

Grabbing the pole position is the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric crossover. With 217PS and 350Nm being instantly delivered to the rear wheels, the quirky electric car took just 7.68 seconds to hit 100kmph from standstill in our tests. It’s mighty quick, despite having to haul its heavy 72.6kWh battery pack. The India-spec model isn’t even the most powerful iteration of the Ioniq 5, and yet, it is one of the quickest cars we’ve tested this side of the Rs 50 lakh mark. You can read about our first impressions in this review. 

Hyundai Verna 1.5-litre Turbo DCT: 8.49s

Hyundai rewrote the Verna’s rulebook with this generational update, which also saw a new 1.5-litre turbo petrol enter the compact sedan’s bonnet. The engine is good for 160PS and 250Nm, which is sent to the front wheels via a 6-speed MT or seven-speed DCT. With the latter, the Verna recorded the sprint from 0-100kmph in just 8.49 seconds, making it the fastest in its segment, and the second fastest Hyundai we’ve tested yet.

Hyundai Tucson 2.0-litre Diesel AT: 08.93s

The Hyundai Tucson comes in a surprising third place in our list of the quickest Hyundai cars tested. But it isn’t the current generation model; it’s the one that came out in 2016. The third generation of the Tucson came with both 2-litre petrol and diesel engines. We tested the latter, which put out 185PS and 400Nm, paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. As a result, 0-100kmph took just 8.93 seconds. You can read about our driving impressions of the 2016 Hyundai Tucson here.

Hyundai Creta 1.4-litre turbo-petrol DCT: 9.41s

Another SUV makes it to the list and this time around, it was the Hyundai Creta and its 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine. With 140PS and 242Nm on tap, paired with a snappy 7-speed DCT, it took the turbo-petrol Creta just 9.41 seconds to make the sprint from 0-100kmph. Sadly, this engine has been axed from the Creta’s powertrain lineup. But fret not, a bigger, more powerful turbo-petrol engine is due, likely for the facelifted model which will hit the Indian market in 2024. 

Hyundai Grand i10 Nios 1.0L TP MT: 9.88s

Talk about a budget pocket rocket! If it were up to us, we would straight-up bring the turbo-petrol mill back to the Grand i10 Nios. Its 100PS 1-litre three-pot motor and 5-speed manual transmission was a proper grin-inducing combination that sprinkled some fun into the sensible family hatchback aspect of the Grand i10 Nios. Despite its tendency to wheelspin off the line, it clocked 0-100kmph in 9.88 seconds, a full 3+ second quicker than the bigger NA-petrol 1.2-litre unit. Sadly, you can’t buy a new one, but you can read about our first drive impressions of it here.

Also Read: Need For Speed Maruti Edition: 5 Quickest Maruti Cars We’ve Ever Tested

Sure, these Hyundais aren’t the definition of performance vehicles and at their respective price points, you don’t really expect them to be. What they offer you is a slice of fun along with their intended purpose of being accessible and comfortable offerings for the masses. And given that Hyundai is now bringing a few N-line (i20 and Venue) models to India, we hope we get to see the new and absolutely bonkers Ioniq 5 N on our shores.

Were you surprised to see any of these models make the list or is there any other car you were expecting to be here on the list? Let us know in the comments below.