Hyundai Eon 1.0 Magna+ officially goes on sale in India

Hyundai India has officially launched the 1.0 liter petrol engined variant of the Eon hatchback. The car is available only in Magna+ trim and is priced at 383,130 rupees, ex-showroom Delhi. The Eon’s 1 liter-3 cylinder Kappa petrol engine is the most advanced unit in its class.

The motor, used on the Hyundai i10 sold in Europe, comes with variable valve timing for both the intake and exhaust valves. An aluminium head and block, low friction timing chain and oil jets to cool the pistons are the other technological advancements on this motor.

The engine outputs 68 Bhp at 6,500 rpm and 95 Nm at 3,500 rpm, and is mated to a five speed manual gearbox. ARAI rates the Eon 1.0 at a fuel efficiency of 20.3 Kmpl. The new variant of the Eon has been launched in order to counter the likes of the Maruti Alto K10 and the Datsun Go, both of which featured more powerful engines than the Eon until now.

The Eon with the 1 liter engine gives Hyundai more ammunition to take on competition. Also, the new engine adds a new dimension to the Eon, making it a powerful entry level car that can hold its own among the recent upstart, the Datsun Go. The new engine is also Hyundai’s insurance policy against more powerful entry level hatchbacks.

The other engine available on the Eon is an 814 cc-3 cylinder unit that runs out of breath at three digit speeds. The 814 cc motor outputs 56 Bhp and 76 Nm. While the 814 cc engine is available in petrol and petrol-LPG dual fuel guises, the new 1 liter Kappa motor is available only with petrol power.

It remains to be seen whether Hyundai India replaces the 1.1 liter-4 cylinder iRDE petrol engine of the i10 and Santro Xing hatchbacks with the newly introduced 1 liter Kappa petrol motor. Doing so would make the i10 and Santro Xing more fuel efficient and would also ease logistical issues by having lesser number of engines across its entry level car range.