EXCLUSIVE: 2020 Hyundai Verna To Come With 1.5-litre BS6 Engines

• The 1.5-litre engines are likely to be the same ones that power the Kia Seltos.
• The 1.6-litre CRDI, VTVT and 1.4-litre CRDI motors won’t be upgraded to meet BS6 norms.
• The facelifted Hyundai Verna is expected to be launched by mid-2020.

Hyundai India is set to reveal the facelifted Verna at Auto Expo 2020, featuring cosmetic updates, new features and BS6 compliant engines. With just a few weeks left for its debut, our sources have now revealed various details about the Verna’s BS6 engines.

The facelifted Hyundai Verna will utilise engines similar to those that power the Kia Seltos. This means the facelifted Verna could be powered by Kia’s 1.5-litre CRDI diesel and VTVT petrol engines. Currently, both engines develop 115PS of power, which is a tad less than what the soon to be discontinued 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engines produce. We expect the upcoming Verna to have similar power figures to that of the Seltos. Here’s a detailed comparison of how the existing 1.5-litre units stack up against the 1.6-litre motors:

The new 1.5-litre CRDI diesel engine is 13PS and 10Nm less powerful than the 1.6-litre unit. On the other hand, the 1.5-litre petrol motor is 8PS and 7Nm less powerful than the bigger engine. Despite the difference, the 1.5-litre CRDI motor felt peppy during our first drive in the Kia Seltos. Read our first drive review of the Kia Seltos right here. 

Just like the Seltos, we expect the diesel and petrol variant to come with a torque converter and CVT, respectively. Both engines will most likely utilise a 6-speed manual gearbox as standard. 

The Verna’s base-spec 1.4-litre CRDI diesel engine won’t be upgraded to BS6 norms. It is likely to be replaced by a detuned version of the Kia Seltos’ 1.5-litre CRDI motor. 

The 2020 Hyundai Verna will most likely launch in India by mid-2020. Expect it to cost more than the current model, which starts from Rs 8.18 lakh (ex-showroom). When launched, the Hyundai Verna facelift will rival the Honda City, Toyota Yaris, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Skoda Rapid TSI and the Volkswagen Vento. Currently, only the Honda City petrol meets the upcoming BS6 emission norms while Toyota has revealed the BS6 Yaris’ pricing. Meanwhile, Maruti, Skoda and Volkswagen will discontinue diesel variants powered by the brands’ respective 1.5-litre engines.