HyundaI Xcent

Born-again compact sedan promises to deliver more refinement, comfort and sophistication.

- Shapur Kotwal

When Hyundai launched the made-for-India Xcent in 2014, it started out on a good batting wicket. Based on the European i10, it came with the build quality of a European car, a host of features Indian car buyers would kill for and a wheelbase that was stretched specifically to give passengers sat in the rear more legroom. The Xcent, however, didn’t really scale the heights. Its 1.1 litre,three-cylinder diesel was a tad underpowered, the suspension was set-up so stiff it often crashed and thudded through even medium-sized potholes, and to top it all, the cabin was quite narrow on the inside.

Hyundai, however, says that with the recent facelift the Xcent has gotten rid of many of these issues and made a big stride forward in other areas. It certainly seems to have put its shoulder to the wheel. For starters, it looks quite different from the Grand i10 when viewed from the front. A conscious decision to distance itself from the hatchback and give the car an identity of its own, the new nose is bold and very in-your-face. The bonnet hasn’t been reprofiled, but the bumper, grille and chin are completely changed. The most obvious change is the chromed-over grilled, known as the ‘Cascading grille’. It’s an evolution of Hyundai’s hexagonal grille that, according to the designers in the company, has been inspired by the flow of molten metal. Alongside the grille and placed low are a pair of horizontally located fog lamps with LED surrounds. And the chin of the new Xcent also has air inlets in the bumper, to help channel air around the front wheels by using an air curtain, thus improving aero efficiency. While the new grille clearly gives the car a strong identity, it also does look a bit over the top and is half a size too big for the nose.