Smart, Good-looking New Verna

With its snazzy new styling and range of three engines — including an exciting new turbo-petrol version — the Verna makes a stronger case for itself than ever before

- Somnath Chatterjee

We wouldn’t quite say it’s a duckling-to swan transformation, but compared to the first-generation Verna that was launched in India way back in 2006, the new one that was launched earlier this year is, styling wise, in a different league altogether. With its sharp, edgy design, LED headlamps and taillamps, large, dark front grille, twin-tip exhaust and 16-inch alloy wheels, the new Verna looks pretty good. Hyundai has never stopped improving this car, and in all the areas that matter — choice of engines, ride and handling, equipment levels — the new Verna is quite capable of taking the competition head-on. Does it have what it takes to win, though? We find out.

With the new Verna, Hyundai has scrapped the 1.6-litre petrol and 1.6-litre/1.4-litre diesel engines that were available earlier. Out with the old, in with the new; the Verna now comes with three all-new engine options. First up is a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol that produces 114 horsepower and 144Nm of torque. This is available with a choice of a 6-speed manual, and a continuously variable automatic. Next up is a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder common-rail turbodiesel, which produces 114bhp and 250Nm of torque, and you can have this with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic. And finally, there’s the most interesting unit of the bunch — a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbocharged petrol, which produces 120 horsepower and 172Nm of torque, and is exclusively available with a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic, with paddle shifters.