Refreshed Hyundai i20 Active Launched In India

If you are one of the few waiting for the Hyundai i20 Active facelift, it's your lucky day… well, sort of. Hyundai has silently revised the i20 Active in India with fair reasons for being silent about it. From the outside, there is not a single change, apart from the new dual-tone paint jobs. It retains the same face as the current i20 Active and does not even get the new cascading grille from its facelifted twin. But inside, it gets the refreshed centre console of the Elite i20 facelift. Even the prices remain the same - from Rs 6.99 lakh to Rs 10 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the diesel dual-tone.

The European-spec facelift car also gets a ‘butt lift’ like the Elite. It gets the tailgate-mounted licence plate, a new rear bumper and LED tail lights. Not to forget, the new alloy wheels, which continue to be 16-inchers.

But here in the Indian market, Hyundai is not even offering the new alloy wheels! What we get instead is just a black cladding strip underlining the boot. The Euro-spec car also gets a mechanical update in the form of a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox, but that too is limited to the 1.0-litre engine and will not come to India.

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Inside, all the changes remain same as the Elite i20 facelift. There is a slight change in the centre console buttons but the cabin is still all-black and carries forward features like the 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink support, and 6 airbags for safety. It retains its dual-tone elements on the AC vents and gear lever from the older car.

In terms of engines, the refreshed i20 Active comes with the same options as the Elite - a 1.2-litre petrol (83PS/114Nm with a 5-speed manual gearbox) and a 1.4-litre diesel (90PS/220Nm with a 6-speed manual gearbox). A petrol-automatic will be added to the range only after the Elite i20 gets one.

Apparently, it was too much work to give the Active a proper facelift. We don't even get the updates the Euro-spec car gets. And with cars like the Honda WR-V and the new Ford Freestyle coming in, we are not sure whether this strategy will work in Hyundai's favour. But all hope is not lost. Hyundai might launch the facelift-based car once the stocks of the pre-facelift model are cleared. Till then, we suggest you wait a little more.