New Hyundai Xcent: What does it offer?

Compact sedans have been gaining increasing popularity ever since Tata Motors pioneered the idea. Since then the market has been generously added with such subcompact cars, each better than the previous one. The present gallery of this segment has a prominent share in the market and the options to choose from are immense.

One such car in this popular segment is the Hyundai Xcent. Going back to the past, the Xcent was introduced back in 2014 and turned out to be a tough fight for the Maruti Suzuki Swift D’zire and the Honda Amaze. It not only matched these heavyweights of the auto industry but also focused on several prime factors and a couple of tricks that will leave you in amazement. Being based on the Hyundai Grand i10’s platform, the Hyundai Xcent was considered to be plush in its appearance as well as the features.

There are a wide range of features that the Hyundai Xcent has on offer, especially with its newest facelift, which is set to launch in a few days. Hence, let us delve a little deeper and find out why this car is so highly rated and why you should be interested in it.

Exteriors and looks

Aesthetically, the Hyundai Xcent is not very different from its hatchback partner, the Hyundai Grand i10, and looks like a replica from the front angle. There is a strip of chrome running along the neatly trimmed slim front grille. The main hexagonal (diamond shaped) air intake grille, however, is integrated on the front bumper with fog lamps, cladded in black, on either side. Moreover, similar to the Grand i10, there is a long piece of black cladding placed on the lower side section. The aesthetic cues post the B-pillars are where the differences start to show up as a transition from a hatch to a sedan in a well-blended manner.

Despite not being one of the most stylish subcompact sedan around, the company has done extremely well to match up the extended boot of the Xcent with the stubby nose of the Grand i10.

Interiors

Again, get inside the Hyundai Xcent and you will feel you have got into the Grand i10. The interior bits all around are quite sophisticated and are made with good quality materials. The seats are comfortable and you will love it, just like you loved the Grand i10. Apart from the front seating, the rear seat legroom is just ample even for passengers who are on the taller side. The boot space is large and can accommodate 407-litres of luggage at once.

Having said these, there are a couple of features that the Hyundai Xcent pioneered in this segment. First, the Hyundai is the first subcompact sedan to get keyless entry and a push start stop button along with an AC vent for the rear seat row. Second, with a 407-litre boot space, the Xcent had the largest boot before it was recently beaten by the Tata Tigor’s 420-litre boot. Even today, it has one of the biggest boot space, only second to the new Tata car.

Engine and transmission

The Hyundai Xcent gets the same set of engines that runs its hatchback partner. The 1.2 litre four-cylinder petrol engine is a more fun-to-drive variant and develops good power at 82 bhp and torque at 114 Nm. It comes mated to a 5-speed manual transmission gearbox which is quite a butter and smooth to use even in city traffic conditions. However, if you don’t like managing the gear manually, the petrol trims also comes with a 4-speed automatic transmission gearbox.

On the other hand, the 1.2-litre turbo diesel engine is good and refined, but is probably not as powerful as its competitors. This will clearly be evident when you are out on the highway and feel the lack of outright power.

The fuel efficiency of the Hyundai Xcent is not very attractive for the petrol trims. 19.1 kms per litre and 18.7 kms per litre is what you get out of the engine for the manual and automatic options respectively. However, the diesel engine is a little better in this department and returns with a figure of 24.2 kms per litre.

Summing up

The Hyundai Xcent was one of the best options at the time of its launch, but is slowly turning out to be a modest model with newer cars with newer technologies being introduced every now and then. However, this generously fed subcompact sedan is going to be back in competition with the upcoming facelift.

One major reason why you should consider opting for this keeping aside the power figures, is that the car leaves no reasons to complain about.