RITESH MADHOK
Hyundai has been a dominant player in the compact sedan segment with the Xcent. The model was the second best selling in its class after the best seller Maruti Suzuki DZire. Now Hyundai has infused some fresh blood into this segment with the Aura which is its latest compact sedan in the class. The Korean car maker launched the Aura a few days back and recently, we were at the cleanest city of the country, Indore, to get a good feel of the latest car model from the second largest car maker in India.
Exteriors
The Hyundai Aura is based on the Grand i10 NIOS just as the Xcent was based on the Grand i10 but with a lot of changes. In terms of exteriors, the Aura has a bold styling with the large Hyundai family face with smart looking premium satin finish strip defining the grille flanked with projector type flush headlights and twin boomerang daytime running lights. The bonnet comes with strong character lines that flow back towards the windshield. The sedan bears the trademark Hyundai design language on it with flowing character lines on all body panels all around. The sides get a unique C- pillar black garnish that gives a kind of floating roof effect to the car. The Aura drives on R15 inch diamond cut dual-tone alloys sporting some trendy design.
The rear is distinctive with new design unique ‘Z’ shaped LED tail lights, rear bumper with chrome strip garnish and ‘Aura’ badging bang in the center made of chrome. The boot sil gets a neat looking chrome strip running horizontally mating with the stylish tail lamps. The rear bumper has its lower area unpainted giving a dual-tone effect along with sharp design stop reflectors nearly placed in the corners. Door handles come in chrome finish adding on to the premium appeal. Electric wing mirrors get integrated LED turn lights in them and the roof gets the body colored shark fin radio antenna adding to the exterior glamour.
Interiors
Step inside the Aura and you instantly notice the new age Hyundai design language. The all new dashboard comes with premium satin bronze design inserts that is one of the key highlight in here. The extreme corner AC vents have the turbine design while the center dash gets the 8 inch latest generation floating touch screen AVN. This ARKAMYS unit comes with Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto connectivity along with Hyundai iBlue, voice recognition, radio, bluetooth, USB and phone connectivity. Also included is the first in class wireless charging unit for smartphones.
The steering gets a three spoke design with satin inserts and MFD control buttons on it. The instrument cluster is an Ana-digi unit with the RPM meter placed on the left while the trendy designed 5.3 inch LCD speedo meter display on the right along with all the other tell tale indicators.
The driver seat comes with height adjust while both the front seats offer excellent support for the back and under thigh. The rear seats get foldable Centre arm rest, three passengers can sit here with some good comfort thanks to the flat bench design. The seating in here offers superior comfort with loads of bolstering and leg-head room. The rear passengers also get rear AC vents to add to the comfort package. The Hyundai Aura has a boot space of 402 Litres with a good loading area.
Engine, transmission, and drive
Hyundai is offering two Petrol and one Diesel engine option on the Aura mated to 5-speed manual and AMT automatic transmissions. All the three engines are BS-6 units. The 1.2L Petrol engine makes 83PS of power @ 6000rpm with 116Nm of torque @ 4000rpm. This engine comes with an option of either a 5-speed manual or a AMT transmission. There also is a CNG version of the 1.2L Petrol variant with 69PS of power @ 6000rpm and 9.7kgm of torque at 4000rpm. The enthusiasts Petrol engine option is the 1.0L KAPPA Turbo GDI unit that delivers 100PS of power @ 6000rpm and hits out 175Nm of torque between 1500-4000rpm, this engine is mated to an 5-speed manual transmission. The 1.2L EcoTorq Diesel engine makes 75PS @4000 rpm hitting out 194Nm of torque between 1750 - 2250rpm. This engine comes mated to a 5-speed manual and a AMT transmission option.
We drove all the three variants of the Aura starting with the 1.2L Eco TORQ Diesel AMT automatic. This is an all new engineered 3 cylinder BS6 unit but only on paper. On the move the engine feels very well spirited and potent. The 5-speed AMT transmission comes with a tip-tronic shift option and is very well mated to the new engine. There is loads of low end power and good mid range punch. The AMT shift lag is felt but very negligible.
After this we got our hands on the 1.2L Petrol with the manual transmission. Here the drive dynamics is good with a light clutch and super slick and positive shifts. The Aura Petrol feels very agile and peppy in city traffic and on the highway it holds its ground rather well.
The last variant we drove was the 1.0L Turbo GDI. This is the trim on the Aura lineup that will attract mostly the enthusiasts and petrol heads. The Hyundai Venue also gets this engine and here on the Aura the fun factor is immense. Clutch feel is again light and positive and the gear shifts are very precise. The power buildup is quick and once the turbo kicks in the Aura Turbo feels a different animal all together. All the petrol and diesel models of the Aura are very well engineered. The suspension setup is also good and tuned to the lighter side. The Aura gets front disc brakes and drum brakes at the rear.
Verdict
With the Xcent Hyundai made a huge impact in the compact sedan segment, now with the Aura the Korean car maker wants todominate the segment in terms of style, features and overall package. The car comes loaded to the brim, looks nice and has many engine options to choose from making it quite popular.
