CHAK DE VERNA (Verna XI). Review on Hyundai Verna

I bought Verna XI few months back and done close to 7, 000km. So far experience has been very good. Since I drive 1, 300km max pm diesel was out. As per calculations available one should do atleast 2, 000km pm with Diesel to breakeven in 4-5 yrs. Generally resale of diesel is poor. I considered Petrol Verna, SX4 and CITY while buying and test drove these twice over a span of 2 months with different dealers in Delhi. Before I say more let me say these are my views and could differ from person to person, no car is perfect, buy the car which meets most of your requirement. My requirement was a well performing, smooth, spacious, safe, low maintenance, peace of mind, high quality family car used for mostly City running. I wanted to buy a vehicle which looks like a car not some sort of cross-over, SUV, MUV etc. Honda – is a good car but few things like under power (sometimes require switching off a/c with full load during initial pick-up), low ground clearance, fragile body, not VFM, present model will be phased out in 4-5 months resale will drop, high cost of maintenance etc. Plus being 1km better mileage to Verna, brand value etc. SX4 – it is a compromise car just becoz it is MUL product cheaper maintenance, more features (alloy wheels, airbags etc.), big bulky car which Indians may be like, good GC. MUL has been able to position SX4 for its features as it lacks performance and driving pleasure since ZXI constitutes 75% of sale. Negatives – noisy engine/gearbox, poor quality, a/c not great, back seat comfort missing, noisy cabin (road noise transmitted), blind spots, big from outside-small from inside, poor interiors, less mileage (10-11), sluggish engine and pick-up. The test cars I drove were very bouncy and felt body roll while zipping through traffic at high speed. More of a chauffer driven car since it lacks refinement. MUL products are like Microsoft, buy after 2 yrs once they remove most bugs (sorry Bill). My budget was for XI or SX4 VXI not ZXI or XXI. So I had to choose between a car which is sold in 100 plus countries (Verna) or brand which is popular only in India but lacks performance. It all came down to 3 main plus of SX4 – GC, since I drive in South Delhi/Noida (NCR), roads are nice and so far my previous cars which had similar or lower GC to Verna I never faced problem.

Bigger boot – not required for city driving with 1 or 2 trips in a yr to nearby places, Verna boot is big enough, unless I want to start a taxi service. In fact people are complaining of parking problem with SX4 in crowded places, bulky size makes it more prone to dents in city bumper to bumper traffic. Features like alloy wheels, airbags, ABS not required if u do city driving like me. Anyone doing highway these features required which XXI has. If you do lotsav driving & want to spend money buy alloy wheels for 10k that’s the only major thing lacking when compared to SX4 ZXI. But I dropped the SX4 features from my list for the shear driving pleasure, performance, high quality and reliability one gets from Verna. Ask anyone who has driven both Wagon-R and Santro (someone like me) in terms of driving experience, although on paper MUL claims Wagon-R to be better – same goes for SX4 v/s Verna. Technically Verna far better to SX4. Then I found in recent months SX4 sales have been dropping. That’s where I stopped and finalized VERNA.

That much for comparison now back to my VERNA. Hyundai has been successful in creating the quietest engine (VTVT) and cabin I have come across in India, it is even quieter than Honda City. Getting in/out is very easy for a six plus footer like me. It is important to check tyre pressure regularly for smoother ride, suspension good, bit soft though. Initial pick-up, acceleration, manoverability through traffic (sometimes I like to ZIP), road grip, performance, gear changing smoothness etc. is fantastic. A/C is a ‘Chiller’ never used more than 2 in peak summers. Rear seat is very comfortable for 3 adults. Plenty of rear and front leg room even when I slide the driver seat back. Interiors are nice could have been better. I love the looks of Verna, smart, sporty and very professional (no nonsense looks). Requires less gear changing ie: in 3rd gear I can do 25-65km range without car stalling or pressing clutch. While cruising in 5th 1500-2000 rpm is maintained. Reversing lock is a good feature, it took me 3-4 days to get a hang of it. Car is getting smoother, silent and lighter as I put more miles. Mileage I was getting close to 12.6 w/o a/c then dropped below 12 with a/c but then improved gradually around 12.4 after first service and 3, 000km onwards. Don’t expect more than 12-13kmpl from a 1600cc car. Want mileage buy ALTO. I have driven briefly at 120km/hr and car performs very well, handles potholes and bumps very nicely. Car is practically loaded only money I had to spend was on Sony XPLOD and seat covers. After sale service we all know Hyundai is more professional and better than MUL, although MUL has wider coverage.

Lastly, I have been reading reviews on different sites on Verna by so claimed professional critics & test drivers, I had the said flaw list in front of me while doing test drive and on all counts they were proved wrong. Actually there is no professional training in India to be a test driver they have all become by default. Reviews need to be updated regularly as manufacturers keep on making improvements and Hyundai is very pro-active in this regard who react fast to meet customer satisfaction unlike MUL which is a typical public sector company, slow response time.

If you have any specific questions I will be glad to answer, here I go again in my Verna……ZZOOOOOOMM….see ya later alligator……..