Turn Up The Chrome

Hyundai gives the slow-selling Xcent a nip-and-tuck, along with an enhanced diesel engine, to increase its appeal. But, in a segment dominated by the Maruti DZire, can the revised Xcent finally shakeup the playing field?

- Ishan Raghava

Over the last decade, Hyundai has improved its product range by leaps and bounds. They’ve learnt what the Indian customer looks for, and, in the past five years or so, they’ve delivered a string of successful products back-to-back. So when Hyundai launched the successor to the i10 hatchback – the Grand i10 – it was immediately accepted by Indian customers for its quality levels, appealing design, excellent NVH, and sorted suspension. Now, four years after its launch, the Grand i10 still remains one of the best-selling cars in the Indian market.

And, along with most other mass-market manufacturers, Hyundai also decided to jump onto the sub-4m bandwagon with a sedan version of the Grand i10 – the Xcent, making its market entry in 2014. Unfortunately, despite being a very competent product, the Xcent couldn’t break the shackle hold that the Swift Dzire had – and continues to have – over that segment. So, with a mid-life facelift, Hyundai has given it some fairly extensive visual changes and also slotted in an enhanced diesel engine to entice customers.