The November issue of the Autocar India has featured an exhaustive Roadtest of the petrol and diesel variants of the Hyundai Verna. Autocar seem reasonable impressed, but certainly not swooned. And surprisingly, its diesel counterpart is what seems to have gotten more marks than the petrol car, 9/10 and 8/10 respectively. But Autocar seems to make one thing clear – the Verna is not the most distinguished car of its class. Read below for the details.

PROS:

1. The new Hyundai Verna’s front elevation or the nose is what well designed. The grille, the headlamps and the fog lamps give it a separate identity. Overall, the design is well-rounded and elegant.
2. The car’s height and long wheelbase gives its passengers more room and a chance to comfortably sit upright. Perhaps that is the most striking feature of the Verna’s interiors. The front passengers get oodles of legroom and the driver need not struggle to find the perfect driving position. The rear seats are also pretty neat and roomy. Perhaps the most important facet of the seating in the Verna is that it is lower than most cars, but does not make you feel like you’re sitting on the floor. Pretty interesting touch, that. The colour scheme used for the Verna is decent enough, but that’s about it.
3. The all new chassis fitted into the Verna gives the car a very tough and powerful feel. The suspension too, does its job well and no vibrations filter through to the passengers. The Verna’s petrol version is extremely refined and noiseless. Its diesel counterpart is very powerful, and is comparatively better for people with love for speed.
4. As for the ride and handling, the Verna is light and impressive and especially so in city traffic. All thanks to the no-effort steering wheel. Even the low-speed ride is the best in the class, with nothing but a few bumps making their way into the cabin.
5. The fuel economy isn’t exceptional or phenomenal for the Verna, but it manages a decent enough 12.6 kpl in the city and a 16.8 kpl on the highway.

CONS:

1. The design of the car is not very extraordinary or epoch-making. Especially, the rear of the car is very bland and unimpressive. The interiors also follow suit and don’t stand out in any way. Hyundai could have certainly done better with the design.
2. There aren’t many cubbyholes to hold stuff. This is especially annoying, since the dashboard is hardly of any use. It is also necessary to mention that the boot space is surprisingly inadequate.
3. The gearbox isn’t upto the mark. Apart from the fact that the lever is a tad difficult to move, the shift action also feels imprecise.
4. Despite the statistics and technology Hyundai hurls at your face, there is nothing exemplary about the Verna petrol’s performance.