South Korean car maker Hyundai, claimed to be world’s fastest growing automaker and fourth largest car manufacturer across the globe, has introduced its eight car and fourth hatchback-Hyundai EON in India. Within no time after its incorporation in 1996 in India Hyundai Motor India became the country’s second largest car manufacturer and it offers seven cars in India including three hatchbacks, three sedans and one SUV. The eight addition of a hatchback was earlier known as Hyundai HA and Hyundai 800 in car market. However the company started publicizing the name-EON soon after that. Hyundai EON is blowing trumpet left, right and centre with this three letter name which actually means ‘long period of time’. According to Hyundai ‘India is ON’ now with the advent of this bug-eyed hatchback.
Produced at Hyundai’s Chennai plant, the EON car has been conceived, designed and developed over four years, keeping the Indian consumer’s preferences in mind and is not a hurried result. Chennai-based Hyundai’s research and development team in Hyderabad worked in tandem with Hyundai’s R&D engineers in Korea to develop the Eon exclusively for the market in India. The new Hyundai small car is sure to stir competition in the under Rs 3 lakh price range as it is accorded with a starting price of Rs 2.69 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). It yells to be a close rival of cars from top player Maruti India and homegrown Tata Motors. It will be the arch enemy of Maruti’s bestselling car ‘Maruti Alto’ and will no doubt sit over Tata Nano. Although the car is launched the actual sales and acute competition will be visible after a few months only when the car will be perfectly perceived by the Indian audience. Being priced affordably, it will also prove to be an excellent option of people’s hatchback Maruti 800 which is thinking of a re-launch.
A hatchback by body built-up, EON is the lowest priced car by Hyundai in India running on and on and on at 21.1 kmpl mileage. It is powered by 814cc engine. The mighty petrol engine is packed in all 6 variants released at the time of launch and will manage to deliver maximum power of 56 bhp at 5,500 rpm which is quite enough to power a small hatch. What’s more interesting is that Hyundai Motors India unveiled 3 more new variants of Hyundai Eon, namely D-Lite plus, Era plus and Eon Magna plus in 2012. These variants are priced more than the corresponding variants but with more features on board. All these three variants are offered to the consumers in LPG options too. The company took a wise decision by launching LPG variants for the consumers as the fuel prices are amplifying with a super speed, which is preventing the people from buying petrol vehicles. These 3 variants are priced intelligently that it won’t burn a hole in your pocket. At this point of time, Hyundai Motors India tagged along with the policy of ‘Go Green’ and designed its LPG variants as a part of Hyundai’s Blue Drive range that is in the company of factory fitted individual 32 litre of petrol and 34 litres of LPG tanks, which make sure safety to the consumers together with a 2 year warranty.
Hyundai EON inherits its looks from Hyundai i10 but it is relatively smaller. At the same time it has some things in common to Hyundai Santro also. The new Hyundai car is much inspired by the company’s new Fluidic design platform also used in other cars of Hyundai. The front of Hyundai’s small car EON, similar to Hyundai Verna Fluidic, is much satisfactory with hexagonal grille and sweeping headlamps slanting towards back, while it has a side similar to Hyundai i10. It would seem to be too much of boasting but the wheel arches and shoulder line parallels Mercedes CLS Class in appearance. It shows-off an exclusive curvy rear with half-moonlike tail-lights to lure youngsters. The design revolution continues in the roomy interiors also, where there is a comfortable seating option for four persons.
In order to keep pricing in control, not plethora of features are given on EON but the list is certainly not condemnable. The higher end variants Magna and Sportz house advanced features such as power steering and power windows that can be operated with the touch of a button. Safety features including Anti-lock Braking System, EBD etc are missing from Hyundai EON although driver side airbag on EON Sportz ensures that EON is the safest car in its class. Amongst the new pricey variants of Hyundai Eon, the new D-Lite Plus model comes with powerful air conditioning system and power steering, which provides a terrific ride to the owner. On the other hand, Hyundai Eon Era Plus features central locking system, power windows while Hyundai Eon Magna Plus has 2-Din audio system with USB support that would make the ride much more entertaining and fun.
Following its low price, Hyundai has cut some features but surely stands on pedestal in front of Maruti 800 and Tata Nano who can be treated as mere audience in front of EON. The unique digital gear shift indicator helps attain maximum optimum gear usage and best possible fuel efficiency. Alternate Management System allows control of power supply to a battery depending on the load and thus reduces fuel consumption and improves entire performance. Now, what else an Indian buyer wants.
Hyundai EON Sportz
There are some buyers who cannot just be satisfied without a keyless entry and consider safety to be on priority. For such customers, Hyundai EON Sportz is the suitable choice. This is the high end variant with all the features offered in other models along with front fog, lamps, driver side airbag, keyless entry, body color outside mirror and door handles, metallic finish 3 spoke steering wheel unlike other variants which have 2 spoke steering. It also adorns metallic finished inside door handles which enhance the sporty style on EON.
Introduction
When Hyundai first launched the Santro, it re-wrote the rules of the small car segment in India. Here was a small car that had enough performance and practicality without sacrificing on space and efficiency – it changed the way we Indians looked at small cars. Needless to say, the Santro became a huge hit and was the backbone of Hyundai in India. It made everything that Hyundai stands for today. Though the Santro is still going strong, today the buyer's tastes have changed. Now it was time for Hyundai to do a successor to the Santro- a modern hatchback that answers all the needs of the Indian small car buyer. The competition was growing over the years with the Spark and the Nano but along with them Hyundai had one car in its sights- the Alto. The Alto has been the king in its segment for a long time and Hyundai wanted a slice of the action too. The result is the Eon. The much hyped and anticipated car has been in the market since September 2011 but isn’t doing ‘hot’ numbers yet – it was only the 12th largest selling model in India for Jan 2012 for example. So, what exactly does the Eon deliver and where does it lack? Somnath Chatterjee has the answer!
Hyundai Eon Sportz Interiors and cabin
Get inside and Hyundai seems to have worked on the 'feel-good' factor here also. The interior is cheerful and airy and pretty well made. What I liked was the use of nice materials and plastic quality was good as well. There is nothing here that is crude and feels built to a price. Hyundai have used beige in the cabin that brings in the luxury factor automatically as well. The design of the dashboard is curvy and the layout is simple. The steering wheel is not too big or small and feels good to hold. The instrument panel is a very simple three dial affair. What we didn't like on the Eon were some of the shiny bits on the centre console like the buttons for the CD player and FM. Storage is well looked after in the Eon with plenty of spaces to store your knick knacks. In terms of equipment, the Eon has a CD MP3 audio system plus Aux-in-port and USB. Now these features are mostly seen on more expensive cars and here it is a welcome touch. These features worked well when we used them, the music system was average though. Other features include ilt steering, gear shift indicator and front power windows.
Space on the Eon is average. The headroom is good but legroom is again on the average side. In the back three would be a squeeze. The seats themselves are good on the comfort factor but some more legroom would be appreciated. The rear seats don't have the kind of legroom that the even the Tata Nano offers and the narrowness of the cabin makes it even more apparent. In terms of space the Eon is near the Alto and behind the likes of the Nano. No problems on the issue of getting in and out, it’s easy and elderly people in your family would have no problems whatsoever. Boot space at 215 litres is decent.
Hyundai Eon Sportz Engine and performance
Powering the Eon is an 814 cc petrol engine. It has three cylinders/9 valves and makes 56 PS. Now 56 PS on paper does feel less as compared to say the Alto K10 and indeed, we weren't expecting the Eon to be quick at all. But in the city, the performance of the engine is adequate and you do not feel it is underpowered. In traffic you have to keep in the right gear to extract the full performance and if you do that there won't be many issues about driving the Eon in the city. But if you apply more speed, things go a bit downward in the Eon. The engine feels strained and noisy which is characteristic of a three cylinder. The stability at high speeds is good but it’s a car that does not like high speeds. The 0-100 is about 19 seconds which is average at best. The braking performance is good with disc at front and drum at the back
The Eon has a 5-speed manual gearbox and we felt the shift action could have been better. The throws are light but the gearshift feels rubbery and is not as smooth as the i10 or even the Santro! Then there are the noticeable vibrations coming from the gearbox.
These days when fuel prices are going up every now and then, fuel economy is of paramount importance and crucially the Eon delivers regarding this aspect. The Eon has a fuel economy of 21.1 kmpl, as certified by ARAI. In the city if you keep it in the right gear and drive sedately the Eon will deliver fuel economy in the region of 17-18kmpl easily.
The performance of the Eon is acceptable since it has a three cylinder engine and you cannot expect more from that. However a bigger engine in the future would be a great addition.
Hyundai Eon Sportz Suspension
The Eon is primarily designed as a city slicker and it works wonders in the city. The clutch is easy to use and you have good visibility all around the car. Thanks to its compact dimensions, it’s very easy to park and you can squeeze the Eon into gaps, which is very handy these days! The steering of the Eon is light and does not require much effort thus improving its city car credentials even more. However the steering is a bit too light for our liking and could have been a little more direct. That leads to the handling, which again thanks to its relatively small wheelbase, makes for quick getting in and out of the traffic and there are no major amounts of body-roll present.
The suspension in the Eon comprises of a Torsion Beam Axle with Coil spring at the rear and a McPherson Strut with Coil spring and anti-roll bar at the front and a Gas type shock absorber. After driving it in the city and going over some rough and even doing some mini off-roading, we have to say that the Eon rides very well. The suspension does a good job of filtering out many of the potholes despite the car having puny tyres!
Refinement on the Eon is average at best as there is some noise getting in the cabin. As you drive there is a fair amount of road noise that filters through. The braking performance is good with disc at front and drum at the back and there is no sense of panic in the Eon on hard braking again despite having small tyres.
Final Verdict
After driving the Hyundai Eon we are definitely impressed. Hyundai have managed to do what they originally planned with the Eon. The Eon shows that budget small cars need not to be just cheap and economical, they can be stylish also. The Eon is definitely the best looking car in its class beating the Nano, Spark and the Alto in this department. However the Eon is not perfect – for example, the interiors are really very roomy – the half priced Nano is more spacious. The engine loses steam with a full load of passengers with the air-con working. The gear-shift quality is something we didn’t expect from a Hyundai! That said, the interior design and quality is miles ahead of the competition.
But with the pricing, Hyundai seems to have got it absolutely right. In our opinion the best bet is the Eon D-Lite+ variant at Rs 2.98 lakh ex-showroom as it has got most of the basic features like air-conditioning, power steering, gift shift indicator and body coloured bumpers.
Hyundai is also offering an LPG variant at an extra cost of Rs 27,000 – now this is a good thing. And unlike the rivals, this one comes with enough safety options too!
As we said, no car is perfect, even the Eon isn’t. However, it plays most key roles very well – looks, quality, economy and the price tag. As for the sales figures, let’s just give this little angle from Hyundai some more time to gel into the market and we are sure the sales charts will soon be on fire!
