The exterior sports a new, refreshed look. Compare it to the old versions of the car and you’ll see Hyundai has come a pretty long way with this one. A huge grille up front, sleek side profile, diamond cut alloy wheels, updated rear profile with LED tail lamps and updates to the tech have made this car a feature rich option for the masses that prefer an attractive sedan.
 

Speaking of the interiors, the changes are subtle yet quite significant. Beige and Black interiors while all Black with red stitching for the Turbo variant make small changes look like they

make a big difference. A new Infotainment System with Arkamys Premium Sound, rear USB charger, wireless phone charger, a new digital TFT cluster are some of the features that caught our eye. 

 

Priced from Rs 9.3 lakh to Rs 15.09 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), Hyundai India has ensured the new Verna feels more value for money and with four variants,  Hyundai offers quite a few options- the S, S+, SX, and SX(O). Below is an in- detail break- up of them.

Verna Facelift 2020 Petrol

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Petrol 6-MT S - Rs 9.30 lakh

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Petrol 6-MT SX - Rs 10.70 lakh

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Petrol iVT SX - Rs 11.95 lakh

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Petrol 6-MT SX(O) - Rs 12.59 lakh

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Petrol iVT SX(O) - Rs 13.84 lakh

Verna Facelift 2020 1.0L Turbo GDi Petrol 7-DCT SX(O) - Rs 13.99 lakh

 

Verna Facelift 2020  Diesel

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Diesel 6-MT S+ - Rs 10.65 lakh

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Diesel 6-MT SX - Rs 12.05 lakh
Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Diesel 6-AT SX - Rs 13.20 lakh

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Diesel 6-MT SX(O) - Rs 13.94 lakh

Verna Facelift 2020 1.5L Diesel 6-AT SX(O) - Rs 15.09 lakh

 

Not only in terms of variants, the face lifted Verna comes with two petrol and one diesel engine option. The 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four cylinder petrol  engine churns out 115PS and 144 Nm of torque, a 1.5-litre diesel that churns out 115PS of power and 250Nm of Torque and lastly, a 1.0-litre three cylinder turbo-petrol GDI engine that delivers 120PS of power and 172Nm of torque. The 1.5-litre petrol engine is offered with the choice of a 6-speed manual transmission or a CVT while the 1.5-litre diesel gets a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed automatic option. The turbo-petrol engine meanwhile comes with a 7-speed DCT option only.

 

Speaking of refreshed updates- Hyundai offers the new 2020 Verna with BlueLink connected car technology that keeps one connected with the car through a smartphone. While it continues to feature ventilated front seats and wireless charging. Hands-free boot opening, a sunroof, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), front parking sensors, safety features such as ABS with EBD, hill start assist, curtain air bags rear parking sensors, and speed alert warning are a part of the package spread across different variants.

 

Cars like Skoda Rapid, Honda City, VW Vento, Toyota Yaris and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz do add to the competition for the Hyundai Verna Facelift 2020. Question is, will be successful in fighting them, or not?

The Kia Sonet compact SUV was launched in India on 18th of September with prices revealed for all variants except for the 7DCT turbo petrol and 6AT turbo diesel top-end GTX+ variants. This here is a quick walkthrough on the highlights of this new Compact SUV in town.

Exterior: 

The new Kia Sonet, though being based on the Hyundai Venue, doesn't look anything like it. The Sonet has its own unique design with the Tiger Nose grille at the front with a knurled Chrome finish and aggressive bumper design. The new Sonet features full LED Headlamps with Heartbeat LED DRLs. The Tail

lamps too receive these Heartbeat LED elements. The top trim levels will receive funky looking 16” Crystal cut alloy wheels whereas the entry-level variants receive 15 inch Steel rims. The Sonet is claimed to provide ground clearance of 205mm.

Interior:

The new Kia Sonet interior features a funky design layout with improved quality. The GT line features an all-black cabin while the Tech line variants get a dual-tone theme. Space is exactly similar to the Hyundai Venue while also providing an ample number of features.

The HTX Variant onwards receives an Electric sunroof, Auto headlamps, Auto wipers, Cruise control, Auto climate control and a digital instrument cluster. Leather upholstery is available only on the HTX+ & the GTX+. There's also a 10.4” touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto, Apple Car-play & Navigation on the top-spec variants. This touchscreen is available with 7 Bose speakers including subwoofer and Sound mood lighting. Connected car features & telematics control unit is available through Kia’s UVO to connect app featuring Remote Engine Start/Stop. The HTK, HTK+, HTX variants receive an 8” touchscreen system.

Practicality:

The Kia Sonet offers segment-best 392L boot space complementing all the storage options in the cabin. All variants get flat-folding rear seats despite not offering split-folding options.

Safety:

The new Kia Sonet provides Dual airbags with ABS and EBD as standard across all variants. Only the top-spec GTX+ receive Side & curtain airbags, Vehicle stability management, Electronic Stability Control, Hill hold control and Tyre pressure monitoring system.

Powertrains:

The new Kia Sonet carries forward the same BS6 compliant engines from the Hyundai Venue. The entry-level HTE, HTK and HTK+ variants will receive the 1.2l 4 cyl petrol engine producing 83PS power through a 5 speed Manual gearbox while the higher HTK+, HTX, HTX+ and GTX+ variants get the 1L 3 cyl turbo petrol engine producing 120PS power through a 6-speed iMT gearbox. A 7-speed DCT is available only on the HTK+ & GTX+ variants. The 1.5L 4 cyl turbo diesel engine will be available in two states of tunes. The 6-speed manual gearbox equipped variants will get 100PS Max Power whereas the 6-speed torque converter Automatic equipped HTK+ & GTX+ variants will get higher 115PS Max Power.

Price:

Prices for the different variants are as follows (All prices ex-showroom):

1.2 Petrol 5 Speed MT:

• Kia Sonet HTE : Rs.6.71L
• Kia Sonet HTK : Rs.7.59L
• Kia Sonet HTK+ : Rs.8.45L

1.0 TGDI 6 Speed iMT:

• Kia Sonet HTK+ : Rs.9.49L
• Kia Sonet HTX : Rs.9.99L
• Kia Sonet HTX+ : Rs.11.65L
• Kia Sonet GTX+ : Rs.11.99L

1.0 TGDI 7 Speed DCT:

• Kia Sonet HTK+ : Rs.10.49L
• Kia Sonet GTX+ : Rs.12.89L

1.5 CRDi 6 Speed MT:

• Kia Sonet HTE : Rs.8.05L
• Kia Sonet HTK : Rs.8.99L
• Kia Sonet HTK+ : Rs.9.49L
• Kia Sonet HTX : Rs.9.99L
• Kia Sonet HTX+ : Rs.11.65L
• Kia Sonet GTX+ : Rs.11.99L

1.5 CRDi 6 Speed AT:

• Kia Sonet HTK+ : Rs.10.39L
• Kia Sonet GTX+ : Rs.12.89L

This Kia Sonet competes against the likes of the Hyundai Venue, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, Ford Ecosport and Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza. 

Tata Tiago was first launched in 2016. Since then it has been one of key models in transforming Tata motors images in the market. The BS6 facelift model was launched earlier this year and almost immediately established itself as a favourite entry-level hatchback in India. However, the Tiago had a service schedule of every 6 months or 7500kms; whichever comes earlier. But now, Tata motors extended the service interval of the Tiago to one year or 15,000kms.

As a result of this, all BS6 Tiago owners can get their cars serviced once a year instead of every six months as before.

However, it should be noted that the revised service schedule is applicable for the BS6 Tata Tiago only and doesn’t apply for the pre facelifted models.

Warranty:

The facelifted BS6 Tiago has a standard warranty of 2 years/ 75,000 km, whichever is earlier. An extended warranty is available which is valid upto either 3 years/ 75,000 km or 4years/ 1 L km or 5 years/ 1.25 L km.

The popular Tata Tiago entry level hatchback comes with only a BS6-compliant 1.2L Revotron 3cylinder petrol engine which produces 86PS of max power and 113Nm of peak torque through either a 5-speed manual or AMT gearbox. 

The BS6 Tiago is priced from ?4.7L to ?6.74L (ex-showroom) and competes against the likes of Maruti Wagon R, Hyundai Grand i10 Nios and others in the entry-level hatchback segment.