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The reason for this excitement was the design of the car, which everyone liked. Hyundai have worked hard on the design and this has resulted in positive results for the company as the sales of the new Verna are quite promising.

Most of us liked the Verna very much, but there is one issue we would like to point out – its handling. Within the city, the Verna handles well thanks to its soft suspension and light steering. On the highway, however, this soft set-up and light steering make the ride bouncy, hampering the ride quality.

Apart from highway handling, there is hardly anything that bothers us.
On the other hand, the best part of the Verna is the exterior and interior design. The exterior looks quite amazing and the interior complements it perfectly well. The neatly laid out dashboard is very modern and the meter console is simply gorgeous. The key-less entry feature adds a dash of luxury to this whole equation.

The new Hyundai Verna has become a good colleague of all of us as most of us drive it around town and even take it out on shoots.

A Smart Drive
Our long-term association with the Hyundai Eon begins on a friendly note

Towards the end of each year we usher in the festivities with our jury drive for the Car India and Bike India Awards. This year was special for there were quite a few cars and their variants that the jury had to drive one after the other. This meant that the CI team had to drive all the contending vehicles to the scenic hill town of Mahabaleshwar and our friendly little car, the Hyundai Eon, acted as the official people's carrier.

Its compact size and good fuel economy make it a perfect car to be taken around town for last-minute errands. Moreover, the small Hyundai is the cheapest car in India that offers essential safety feature such as a driver-side airbag and impact protection such as a square-shaped radiator support panel, reinforced floor panel and door side-impact beams.

However, the 814-cc motor lacks punch and one hits a flat spot while accelerating from very low engine speeds, to counter which one has to rev up the engine a bit to keep the momentum going. This is not very encouraging while driving on steep roads as the puny motor feels strained.  But it gains composure once on the move. Of course, negotiating through city traffic is not an issue. On open roads the car is at ease at 80 km/h and is not very fidgety until 120 km/h.

Busy markets, tight parking spots and open highways, the Eon took on all these and more with panache. That's a good beginning to a long-term relationship.