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      Hyundai Eon First Drive

      Shiva Shankar

      Shiva Shankar

      Opening

      Hyundai India has always kept its India portfolio very fresh by upgrading and launching new models very often. The Hyundai Santro was the hatchback with which Hyundai marked its debut on Indian shores. The Santro was then accompanied by other Hyundai siblings such as Getz, Sonata, Accent, Verna,Tuscon, Terracan etc. Then, Hyundai after 5 years of research introduced the new generation i-series with the i10 followed by premium hatch i20.

      The latest launch that earned lots of accolades, not just local but global ones too, was the Hyundai Verna Fluidic which incorporates the latest Fluidic design language.

      The small car scenario is very intense these days. The aggression in pricing and features these new models are equipped with is phenomenal. The only name that dominated the low priced small car segment till now was Maruti Suzuki, with its iconic 800 and the current-gen Alto. Hyundai has finally decided to change this theme with a small car, which is “budgetly” priced but has features that are offered in the upper class cars with Hyundai Eon.

      The Hyundai Eon is grabbing headlines for its looks, features and the entire package offered. We take a look at this car, which boasts of design inspiration from mid segment comfort sedan Verna Fluidic. Will it take the coveted title from the always-famous-and-trustworthy Maruti and set a new benchmark for the entire auto industry?

      Appearance Exterior

      After your first glance at the Hyundai Eon, the i-styling inspiration is evident from it. The fluidic lines run all over the body. If the question whether the Eon looks smaller than the i10 arises in your mind then the answer is YES. Indeed, the Eon does look like the younger counterpart of Hyundai i10.

      The curves find its place throughout the body. These curves start from the front fender and end up at the rear section. The shoulder lines of Hyundai Eon are wavy in nature. The main thing that catches your attention is the front headlights. They are of the clear lense type. Very nicely they just sweep to the side panel of the car. Fog lamps find its place neatly in the front bumper.

      A chunky Hyundai chrome logo sits firm at front of the radiator grille. The chrome emblem is in contrast with the 2-tone shade of the radiator grille. The bonnet and the A-pillar are designed to give a complete aerodynamic look to the car. This type of stylings is not a mundane feature in other cars of this class, for which Hyundai deserves its due credit.

      The doors, as seen from the pictures, open at a greater angle and its larger size thus helps easy get-in and move-out. This description also extends to the rear door, which makes it very easy for the passengers to move inside. However, the rear passenger windows are comparatively smaller thus giving them not complete but adequate vision.

      The rear windshield is also nicely designed which gives a good view while reversing the car. The half moon tail lamps have been camouflaged as the C-pillar thus flowing down from top. The integrated spoiler attached gives the needed sporty touch to Hyundai Eon.

      The exterior design to conclude makes the design of other cars of its class look outdated. We give the Hyundai styling department our thumbs up for the efforts taken. Hyundai has the Eon in various colour shades namely, Coral White, Sleek Silver, Dark Grey Metallic, Pristine Blue and Maharajah Red.

      To conclude, the Hyundai Eon regardless of tis fluidic design language still reminisces of the new Hyundai i10. Indeed, in a quick glance, this can create confusion to the onlookers of the Hyundai Eon being the the Hyundai i10 or vice-versa. 

      Appearance Interior

      We are all used to crawling type interiors of a small car. Hyundai Eon tries and changes that too with its spacious interiors. The fluidic lines can be seen on the dashboard design too.

      The headroom and legroom offered is appreciable. The recess between steering wheel and the knees is also very ample. The top end model comes with a tilt adjustable steering wheel. A 3-spoked steering wheel design is used.

      The instrumental cluster is simple and ergonomically designed and provides Odometer, Speedometer, temperature, fuel level indicator and an additional gear engaged display. The interior of Hyundai Eon is 2-toned. The dashboard is wide and has spacings to hold important commodities which are very easy to access. This storage comfort can also be seen in door pockets.

      Glove box also had the necessary room for holding important documents and files. The console of Hyundai Eon is centrally placed and gives that high end feel. The colour combination and the plastic quality makes you feel that Hyundai didn’t compromise on anything, even though it being a small car. The circular AC control knobs with the centrally placed power button are very tastefully designed. It has power windows and the ORVM can be internally adjusted.

      The AC vents are of standard design. The front seats have integrated headrests. The same type also can be seen in Tata Nano. The top end variant gets Driver airbag. The front seating also has lumbar support and hence gives a good driving comfort.

      The rear bucket type seats however are very similar to Hyundai Santro having just enough room to seat average sized 3 people. The legroom offered in the rear half of the car is average, so no great leg movements there.

      The boot can carry ample luggage and features the normal spare wheel and tool kit. The high end variants also offers rear foldable tray. 

      Performance Drive

      We have already mentioned the spacious interiors make travel inside the car very comfortable. The seating position gives the driver a very confident feel. The ignition gets fired up by a swift key movement. The Eon is a delight when driving out from tight parking positions. The one we drove had power steering so those sharp turns and close maneuvers were not very difficult tasks.

      The A-pillar design makes sure you get a clean and wide view of the road. The inner rear view mirror is very handy in taking the car reverse, the rear end design of C-pillar does not hamper the driving of the car in any way. The pick-up of Hyundai Eon is very good and reaching higher speeds of 80-90kmph is not stressful at all keeping in mind the small dimensions and the class of car Hyundai Eon belongs to.

      The smooth drive is complemented by a smooth 5-speed manual gear shift. Switching to different gears is an easy job. The vehicle moves ahead with a swift throttle push so no back drag there. The Mcpherson struts do a good job in the suspensions section. We didn’t experience any rough terrain to comment on the overall suspension feel of the car., however, the overall handling experience was good.

      The brakes are also very effective at stopping which adds in the safety feature of the car. Good brakes have become a necessity in today’s bumper-to-bumper traffic. The overall drive of Hyundai Eon was good and it won’t prove a regretful experience for those long journeys too. 

      Tech Specs

      Technical Specifications
       Make Hyundai
       Model Eon
      Variant Sportz
      Engine Capacity 814/3
      Power in PS 56
      Torque in NM 75
      Gears 5/M
      Length 3495
      Width 1550
      Height 1500
      Wheel base 2380
      Ground clearance 170
      Fuel tank capacity 32
      Mileage 21
      Tyres rating 155/70 R13
      Tyres type Tubeless

      Features

      Features Dlite Delite(o) Era Magna Magna(o) Sportz
      Engine Immobiliser Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Front and rear seat belts Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Cabin mirror Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      2-Tone beige and brown colour Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Single unit front seats Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Bench folding rear seat Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Floor console storage Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Cup holders  Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Dual tripmeter Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Gear shift indicator Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Tyre with rating 145/80 R12 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Air conditioning No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Tinted glass No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Body color bumper No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Metallic finish center console No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Power steering No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Central locking No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Passanger outside mirror No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Full wheel cover No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Micro antena No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Alternator management System No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Internally adjustable ORVM No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Tilt steering No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Front power windows No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Front door full arm rest No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Tyres with size 155/70 R13 No No No Yes Yes Yes
      Front and rear speaker grill No No No No Yes Yes
      Rear parcel tray No No No No Yes Yes
      Music system with 2 speakers No No No No Yes Yes
      AUX-in-port,USB port No No No No Yes Yes
      Keyless entry No No No No No Yes
      Front fog lamps No No No No No Yes
      Driver airbag No No No No No Yes
      Ex-showroom Bangalore 273599 295761 316027 341360 351494 376827
      On road Bangalore 330900 356986 380841 410659 422588 452406

      Competition All Specs

      Specifications
      Hyundai
      Eon
      Hyundai
      Santro
      Maruti Suzuki
      Alto
      Maruti Suzuki
      Astar
      Maruti Suzuki
      Estilo
      Chevrolet
      Spark
      Variant Sportz GLS Lxi Vxi Vxi 1.0 PS
      Engine Capacity in Litres 0.8 1.1 0.8 1 1 1
      Power in PS 56 63 47 67 67 63
      Torque in Nm 75 93 65 90 90 92
      Gears 5/M 5/M 5/M 5/M 5/M 5/M
      Power Steering Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Power windows Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
      Central locking Yes No No Yes Yes No
      A/C Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
      Music system Yes No No Yes Yes No
      Fog Lamps Yes No No Yes Yes No
      Rear wind shield washer No No No Yes Yes No
      Defogger No No No No No No
      ABS No No No Optional Optional No
      Air bag Single No No No No Yes
      Average fuel efficiency  21.1 16 18 18 18 17
      Ex showroom Price Bangalore 3.76 3.6 2.8 3.97 3.91 3.8

      Conclusion

      We see the Hyundai Eon competing with big names. Maruti has always enjoyed a large share of this small car segment. Maruti Alto is a trusted name so far, be it the strong dealership network or the easy maintenance. The Alto poses the major threat to Hyundai Eon and as Maruti has recently risen from the Manesar issue, it might prove a tough threat indeed.

      Hyundai Eon is powered by a 814cc engine which is capable of producing power figures in range of 56 PS and torque of 75Nm which is quite nice as it competes with many including Alto K10 with a similar power figure.(998cc , 67bhp).

      The Hyundai Eon has got all the necessary ingredients to take on its rivals head on. Priced between Rs 3.3 lakhs to Rs 4.6 lakhs, it has options that would suit all seeking a small car clubbed with higher fuel efficiency. Hyundai claims fuel efficiency for Hyundai Eon as 21 kmpl (ARAI approved). We think it’s a small car that will make a big mark and undoubtedly, it will be the most important car launch of 2011. 

      Hyundai | Hyundai Eon | Eon