South Korean automaker, Hyundai has received an overwhelming response for its premium hatchback - the Elite i20. The company managed to grab 56,000 pre-orders for the hatchback within 4 months of its launch. Hyundai is now aiming to capitalize on the growing popularity for Elite i20 brand by launching a crossover based on the hatchback. The car has already started testing on Indian roads, and is expected to be rolled out by the second quarter of 2015.
The company has made quite of a lot of changes to the hatchback to give it a crossover like appeal. The vehicle gets lots of body cladding that add some sporty characteristics to it. It features sporty looking bumpers and roof rails. Moreover, the company has raised the ground clearance of the car, which makes easier to drive it through rugged Indian roads. The hatchback also gets new braking mechanism.
It will compete against the likes of Fiat Avventura, Toyota Etios Cross and Volkswagen Cross Polo. The Elite i20-based crossover would share its engine lineup with the hatchback sibling. The gasoline version is likely to be the 1.2-litre four cylinder unit producing 82bhp of power and 115Nm of torque. The oil burner is the 1.4-litre four-cylinder CRDi motor that develops 89bhp and 220Nm of torque. While the petrol engine is coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox, the diesel motor would be mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.
