Hyundai Aura: What’s the Most Value for Money Variant?

Hyundai Aura is a subcompact sedan produced by the South Korean automaker, Hyundai. Launched in 2020, the Aura is an upgraded version of the previous Hyundai Xcent model. It is based on the third generation Hyundai i10 (Hyundai Grand i10 Nios in India), and was designed primarily for the Indian market. Here’s a look at Hyundai Aura’s variants; in particular, its most value for money variant.

Hyundai Aura: Top Competitors

The top rivals of the Hyundai Aura are the Tata Tigor, Honda Amaze, and the Maruti Suzuki Dzire.

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Hyundai Aura Variants

The Hyundai Aura comes in 7 variants, which are listed below along with their prices (ex-showroom, Delhi):

Variant	Price
Aura E	Rs 6.33 lakhs
Aura S	Rs 7.18 lakhs
Aura SX	Rs 7.95 lakhs
Aura S CNG	Rs 8.13 lakhs
Aura SX Option	Rs 8.61 lakhs
Aura SX Plus AMT	Rs 8.75 lakhs
Aura SX CNG	Rs 8.90 lakhs

Hyundai Aura: Quick Review

Design and features: The Hyundai Aura got a facelift in 2023, with some distinctive changes to its appearance. It now has a slim front grille with inverted trapezoidal air dam design. On both sides of the air dam are inverted L-shaped LED DRLs and functional vertical air vents.

The side profile of the Aura is accentuated by sharp character lines, while the blacked-out B-pillar gives it a floating roof effect. The car’s boot-mounted rear spoiler with an integrated tail lamp has made a comeback after being discontinued in 2021.

The Aura comes with an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Bluetooth connectivity. The Aura also has climate control with rear AC vents, footwell lighting, push-button start, keyless entry, reversing camera, and wireless charging.

Engine and performance: The Hyundai Aura comes with two engine options: the 1.2 Kappa Dual VTVT petrol engine, which produces 81.8 BHP of power and 113 Nm of torque, and the 1.2 Bi-Fuel (petrol and CNG) engine, which produces 67.72 BHP of power and 95.2 Nm of torque. The engine is mated to either a 5-speed manual or automated manual transmission (AMT).

The engine feels smooth and refined, and responds well to part-throttle inputs. The power delivery is linear, and it offers adequate acceleration for city driving and occasional highway runs. The 5-speed manual gearbox is slick, and the 5-speed AMT also feels refined.

Ride and handling: The Hyundai Aura has McPherson strut suspension with coil springs at the front and a coupled torsion beam at the rear. Its low-speed ride is compliant, and small bumps are easily absorbed. The car feels comfortable on the expressway and the rear end doesn’t bounce excessively. On the highway, the Aura handles imperfect roads well.

The electric power steering is light at parking speeds as well as city speeds and performs just fine on the highway. The brakes perform as expected but the pedal travel before the brakes bite is slightly long.

Comfort and space: The front seats of the Aura are well-cushioned and offer good support. There is ample legroom and headroom for tall passengers. The driver’s seat is height-adjustable, and the steering wheel is tilt-adjustable.

The rear seats of the Aura are spacious with enough legroom and headroom. The rear seats also come with a centre armrest and adjustable headrests. The Aura comes with automatic climate control with rear AC vents.

The Aura also has good storage space, including a 402-litre boot. There are also several storage spaces in the cabin, including a glovebox, door pockets, and cup holders.

Safety: The Hyundai Aura has several safety features, including Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), dual airbags, rear parking sensors and camera, speed sensing auto door locks, and ISOFIX child seat anchors.

Mileage: The Hyundai Aura has an overall mileage range of 20.1 km/l to 28 km/l, depending upon the variant.

Concluding remarks: The Hyundai Aura offers a host of features and capabilities that make it an attractive choice in its segment. It boasts a stylish design, a range of efficient and reliable engines, comfortable interiors, and a range of safety and convenience features.

Hyundai Aura: Most Value for Money Variant

The most value for money (VFM) variant of the Hyundai Aura is the Aura SX, which is priced at Rs 7.95 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Most VFM Variant in Comparison with Base Variant

The base variant of the Hyundai Aura is the Aura E, priced at Rs 6.33 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). The VFM variant of the Aura has some additional features as compared to the base variant. These include a tilt steering column, rear parking camera, cruise control, steering mounted controls, automatic ORVM (the base variant has manual ORVM), hill hold assist, and DRLs as driver assistance features.

Among convenience features, the VFM variant has rear AC vents, USB ports, keyless entry, push button start, and power windows at the back.

Besides these, the VFM variant has 15-inch alloy wheels as compared to 14-inch steel wheels in the base variant. Moreover, in terms of gadgets, the VFM variant has an 8-inch LCD touchscreen, navigation support, voice activated controls, Bluetooth connectivity (Android Auto, Apple CarPlay), and OEM audio system with 4 speakers.

Most VFM Variant in Comparison with Top-end Variant

The top-end variant of the Hyundai Aura is the Aura SX CNG, which is priced at Rs 8.9 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). The top-end variant has climate control as an extra convenience feature over the VFM variant. The rest of the features remain the same as the VFM variant.

Also, it does not have alloy wheels, which the VFM variant has.

However, since its engine is CNG based, the top-end variant offers better mileage than the petrol variants.

Key Take-outs from the Comparative Analysis of Base, VFM, and Top-end Variants Above

The base variant only has basic features on offer, whereas the most value for money variant, the Aura SX, comes with additional features. As for the top-end variant, its features are almost the same as in the VFM variant.

To conclude, the Hyundai Aura SX is your best bet if you are looking for the most value for money among the Aura’s variants.

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