2020 Hyundai Verna review: the 1.0 Turbo has the right ingredients

What is it?

Who can forget about the fluidic Verna? Released in 2011 to significantly acclaim, its flowing strains, well balanced type and crisp detailing manufactured it one thing of a star. It was not accurately the best-dealing with car in its class, significantly from it, in simple fact, and the trip was positively bouncy. However, it came with a solid set of engines and was properly outfitted, so consumers lapped it up. Then in 2017, the new Verna, with its elevated excellent levels and improved driving manners, took factors a further action forward. And it didn’t hurt that Hyundai loaded it up like it was a quasi-luxurious car.

The new 2020 Hyundai Verna has been noticeably upgraded as properly. Under the hood sits a 120hp model of Hyundai’s one.-litre turbo GDI motor, and a further bit of higher-tech package here is the twin-clutch automatic gearbox. Somewhere else in the assortment you get a 115hp obviously aspirated petrol and you can find a 115hp diesel as properly, and equally can be bought with both guide or automatic gearboxes. So, you can find a Verna for almost every person.

120hp motor shared with the Hyundai Venue.

The 2020 Verna we are driving also looks comprehensively refreshed. Up front, Hyundai’s grille is now frameless and greater, the hole concerning the LED headlights and grille now deleted. The nose is sportier and will get plenty of cuts and creases, the fogs have been pushed back into the chin and you can find even a mini spoiler built-in into the nose. Need to say it performs properly. The coupé-like, arching roofline and that hint of a spoiler on the boot are carried over from the before car, and the new alloys are a good seem. The car, nevertheless, has been raised a bit, so the stance just isn’t as nice as before. All-around the back, the new squared-off exhaust strategies finished in chrome add a bit of bling way too. Not certain if the ‘scaly’ finish on the reduce section of the bumper performs properly however it is really certain to divide feeling.

The car has been raised slightly compared to the outgoing product.

What’s it like to generate?

The Verna’s one. three-cylinder petrol is so clean and properly well balanced that you are going to be challenging-pressed to inform it is really not a common in-line 4. The twin-clutch automatic gearbox, coupled with the clean motor tends to make driving in targeted traffic light-weight and simple. Trundle all around at low motor speeds, nevertheless, and the motor does feel a bit flat-footed as there is a bit of turbo lag. But all you have to do to get all around this is push down on the accelerator a bit more durable, get the gearbox to execute a speedy downshift, and then trip the wave of torque as the motor will get ideal into the powerband.

The seven-velocity dual-clutch device tends to make driving in targeted traffic simple.

What gives the Verna a sturdy midrange, in simple fact, is the 172Nm of torque, and acceleration feels really solid, especially if you preserve your foot in. People who delight in driving in a far more spirited fashion will also value the broad powerband the motor pulls challenging all the way from all around 2,000 to 6,000rpm.

Even though the twin-clutch gearbox just isn’t as speedy as the ones from VW or Skoda, and the TSI pulls more durable in the leading conclude, all the way to 6,500rpm, the Verna just isn’t way too significantly off the mark.

The Verna Turbo has a solid mid-assortment punch.

Even though we were being keen to know just how quick the car is, especially in relation to the level of competition, a rev lock when stationary prevented us from acquiring a speedy original start in our -100kph check, which, as a final result, took a alternatively calm 13.09sec. Expect it to be all around a next or so more rapidly in the authentic globe, and perhaps on par with other turbo-petrol mid-sizers outfitted with auto transmissions that are all around the corner. It just isn’t an apples to apples comparison, but, just for reference, the Swift one. TSI, with its 6-velocity guide does the  -one hundred sprint in 10.09sec. The Verna Turbo is also reasonably speedy in kickdown. 20-80kph requires seven.29sec, and forty-100kph requires 9.05sec, which translates to ample overtaking electric power.

Indeed, it will get a bit vocal when you rev it challenging, and you can find is a hint of that three-cylinder thrum at increased speeds, but come across an open up highway and Verna Turbo can unquestionably put a smile on your facial area.

What also tends to make it enjoyable to generate is that the steering has improved, and feels equally improved weighted and immediate. The new Verna now feels reasonably agile on a winding highway, it keeps factors nice and tidy, and it can even delight in a set of corners. One more modify is to the brakes Hyundai has supplied the Verna discs all spherical and it gives you plenty of self confidence. Check out to go more rapidly, nevertheless, and factors drop aside fairly rapidly. It will not feel as composed as it did before, and up the velocity further more and it soon operates out of grip.

The Verna is enjoyable to generate now way too, albeit inside limitations.

The trip, nevertheless, has improved fairly a bit. The suspension has been raised slightly and functions silently, even over undesirable patches. Indeed, there is a compact sum of up and down movement, and you can find some highway sound over certain surfaces as properly. However what is remarkable is that it efficiently manages to acquire the edge off most bumps and even feels at home tackling greater potholes now.

What’s it like inside?

Even though the 2020 Verna looks new and new on the outdoors, it is really far more common on the inside. Essential adjustments include things like a greater, free-standing eight.-inch touchscreen (now way too broad to be built-in into the dash), there are significant metallic brackets on the vents, and driving the steering wheel, a BMW-style digital instrument panel. Even though the display-based mostly dials give the cabin a modern-day feel, they are mostly attractive – there are no needles on the dials and this tends to make it exceptionally tricky to read them on the transfer. Luckily, Hyundai has presented two significant electronic readouts for velocity and motor rpm, and that’s exactly where your eyes at some point gravitate to.

The Turbo model will get an all-black cabin with pink highlights even though the conventional types get a two-tone topic.

The Verna Turbo we are driving has a sporty all-black cabin with pink accents. There’s pink on the vents, pink stitching on the steering wheel and some on the seats, and this does lend a sporty feel. The overabundance of black, nevertheless, has its downsides. For one particular, it tends to make the cabin seem smaller than it is, and then the mass of black on the dash tends to make the plastic panels seem shiny and challenging. This is not the case with the two-tone dash.

Aside from these adjustments, the cabin remains unaltered at the front. The largish, cooled front seats are equally supportive and comfy, you now get paddleshifters on this model of the Verna, and embedded in the touchscreen is Hyundai’s related BlueLink application. It permits you to connect with the car by means of an application on your cellular phone, supplying you accessibility to functions like distant start off, doorway lock/unlock, distant air-conditioning, authentic-time gas status, authentic-time spot, live tyre stress information and facts, SOS, crisis highway-aspect assistance and even cricket scores. Even though we managed to connect with the car conveniently, a hold off in the program, perhaps down to low information transfer speeds, meant functionality was fairly laggy and gradual. You also get a voice command program, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and onboard navigation as properly.

Hyundai’s Blue Hyperlink adds plenty of related car characteristics.

The backseat is continue to the Verna’s weak link. There’s considerably less legroom here than on some sub-4-metre sedans, and if you are over 6ft tall, headroom could be an situation way too. On the other hand, if the relative absence of legroom will not hassle you, or you are chauffeur-driven with the front passenger seat unoccupied, the rear seat is actually fairly comfy. The backrest is properly reclined and it provides good aspect help, respectable thigh help, and you also get stuff like a guide rear blind, a big air-con vent and a USB charging place.

The back seat is a bit of a weak link for the Verna.

Other package on this leading-of-the-line Verna SX(O) include things like a sunroof, wi-fi charging, 6 airbags, Electronic Security Management, traction handle, cruise handle, front and rear parking sensors and arms-free boot launch. The latter, as on the Elantra, requires the ideal method to get it to open up. You have to stand shut to the boot with the crucial in your pocket, and be affected individual. Sooner or later, it will pop open up.

Need to you invest in one particular?

If you are a keen driver, the 2020 Verna Turbo has plenty to offer. The 120hp petrol has masses of general performance, the twin-clutch automatic is easy and engaging and with its improved driving manners and improved brakes, the new Verna now is fairly nice to generate way too. It is also comfy to sit in, is properly built on the inside, and, considering that it is a Hyundai, will come loaded with adequate package to pamper you. Positive, it could have been sharper to generate all around corners, legroom in the rear is only ample, and at Rs 13.99 lakh, you do spend a bit of a premium. However for individuals seeking for a enjoyable and easy day-to-day driver, the Verna Turbo ticks a lot of boxes.

Also see:

2020 Hyundai Verna video clip review