2023 all-new Hyundai Verna vs Honda City Facelift vs Volkswagen Virtus: Battle of C-Segment sedans

The all-new Hyundai Verna has finally made its debut in the Indian market. The new Verna has already taken the internet by storm with its radical design both inside and out, and several segment-first and segment-best features. With the arrival of the new Verna, the competition in the midsize sedan segment has once again intensified, which is currently dominated by new-generation offerings like the Honda City and Volkswagen Virtus.

The midsize sedan segment was witnessing a heavily reduced demand due to more people buying compact SUVs than ever before. However, with the arrival of the Volkswagen Virtus in 2022 and the facelifted Honda City a few weeks ago, the sedan segment has once again come into action mode. With the Verna, the competition has only gotten better.

Also read: All-new Hyundai Verna spotted testing; Will launch in India as well

Which looks better?

In terms of looks, the all-new Hyundai Verna is extremely radical in its approach and breaks a few norms in the design aspect. The aggressive and very futuristic-looking front fascia, and the rear profile with an LED connecting bar between LED tail lamps, are heavily dramatic against the subtle designs of the Honda City and Volkswagen Virtus, which have cleaner and simpler lines in comparison.

In the top-spec SX(O) version, the new Hyundai Verna gets a horizontally-stretched bar at the front and rear, in addition to 16-inch machined alloy wheels, and all-LED headlamps and tail lamps. In comparison, the top-spec Honda City ZX and Volkswagen Virtus Topline also come with all-LED illumination at the front and rear and machined alloy wheels. However, the Virtus Topline is the only one to get halogen fog lamps instead of LED ones.

Which gets better features?

With this all-new generation model, the new Hyundai Verna SX(O) now gets a more futuristic-looking cabin compared to the subtler-looking layouts of the cabin of the City ZX and Virtus Topline. The Verna gets a fully-digital instrument console and a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system housed in a single horizontal cockpit. In contrast, the City gets a more conventional-looking 8-inch touchscreen and simpler-looking dials in the full-TFT instrument console. The Virtus Topline’s 7-inch TFT instrument console and 10.1-inch touchscreen also look cool and futuristic in their appearance.

The new Verna SX(O) also gets a few segment-first features like heated front seats, dual-functioning touch-controlled panels for auto AC and infotainment, and an electronic parking brake. The 7-speaker BOSE audio system and a suite of voice commands are the segment-best features of the Verna SX(O). The City ZX is the only car here to miss out on ventilated front seats but it gets a wireless phone charger and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

All three cars here get a push start-stop button, auto AC, leather upholstery, cruise control, rear AC vents, sunroof, tilt and telescopic multi-functional steering, six airbags, hill start assist, and ESC. In terms of features too, the Verna SX(O) is the only car here to get front parking sensors, while the Virtus is the only car which misses out on ADAS.

Active Safety

Apart from a slew of passive safety measures, Honda City and Hyundai Verna get ADAS as well. Hyundai uses a radar and camera module for the ADAS while Honda uses a high resolution camera based ADAS. While both the cars offer similar features with ADAS, the Honda City offers high beam assist as a unique feature. The high beam assist automatically switches the headlamp to low beam when it detects a vehicle in the opposite lane.

The Hyundai Verna, on the other hand, offers additional features like safe exit, which will warn the driver 0f any incoming vehicles when the passenger is about to open the door, rear cross traffic alert, which is useful while reversing the car the car from a parking spot. The Hyundai Verna offers a total of 17 ADAS based features.

Engine comparison

All three cars here are available as petrol-only cars, with the Virtus being the only one to miss out on a naturally-aspirated petrol engine and a CVT gearbox option. The 1.5-litre 115 PS engine of Verna SX(O) and 1.5-litre 121 PS engine of City ZX are offered with 6-speed manual and CVT gearbox options. However, the Virtus is available with a 1.0-litre 115 PS turbo-petrol engine with a 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic transmission.

Moving on to engine options, the Honda City ZX is the only car in this comparison to offer a petrol-hybrid option, which combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine, a battery, and an electric motor to achieve the best fuel efficiency in its class. In contrast, the Hyundai Verna and Volkswagen Virtus are available with performance-oriented turbo-petrol engines. The Verna SX(O) Turbo features a 1.5-litre 160 PS turbo-petrol engine with a 6-speed manual and 7-speed DCT, while the Virtus GT is equipped with a 1.5-litre 150 PS turbo-petrol engine paired with a 7-speed DCT.

Conclusion

While looks are subjective, the Honda City remains the elegant one in the segment. The aggressively designed Hyundai Verna will surely turn a lot of heads on the roads though. The Virtus remains classy but with high-ground clearance. Even the cabin of the Hyundai Verna is most futuristic and comes with dual screens. The Honda City carries forward the classic design with a few premium touches. The dashboard of the Virtus looks youthful but not as futuristic as the Verna.

The 2023 all-new Hyundai Verna also leads in terms of features and standard safety equipment that includes six airbags. None of these cars has been tested by Global NCAP yet. Lastly, the Hyundai Verna turbo is immensely quick.

The Hyundai Verna wins when we do a comparison on paper amongst these three cars. It gets more features, space, and power and looks outstanding. We will soon drive the car and will tell you how it drives as well.

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