Hyundai i10 to be available only with 1.1 litre petrol engine

This was a move that we all expected and it’s apparently happened. After the launch of the Hyundai Grand i10, Hyundai has discontinued the 1.2 litre variants of the Hyundai i10, so as to make some space in the market for the Grand i10 petrol, whose pricing was otherwise not justified, when you could get a car with a similar spec engine cheaper.

During the launch of the Hyundai Grand i10 in New Delhi, CarToq had checked with Hyundai officials about this possibility, but they were non-committal as to whether they would discontinue the Hyundai i10 1.2 Kappa variant or not. They did say that the Hyundai i10 would continue to sell though, without getting into variant specifics. Also see: Hyundai i10 road test and review 

Now Overdrive reports that Hyundai has stopped selling the 1.2 Kappa engine variants (which include the Magna, Sportz and Asta variants) in India. This means that even the Hyundai i10 automatic would be discontinued as that gearbox was available only with the 1.2 Kappa engine. This also means that the Hyundai Grand i10 will now be available with an automatic option as Hyundai had said during the launch that it would follow soon.

The Hyundai i10 will now come only with the older iRDE 1.1 litre four-cylinder petrol engine that it also shares with the smaller and cheaper Hyundai Santro. This engine is an evolution of the ZipPlus engine of the Hyundai Santro introduced in 2002, replacing the earlier 998 cc engine that the first generation Santro had. Hyundai does not have any plans of fitting the 1.1 litre three-cylinder diesel in the regular i10 as of now. Also read: Hyundai Grand i10 variants and features

The Hyundai i10 will now only come in three variant options – the Era, Dlite and Magna, although Hyundai may soon introduce one more variant above the Magna with some safety options to take on the Maruti Wagon-R VXI safety option pack variant and Maruti StingRay at a competitive price point.

Buyers who were eyeing the top-end i10 variants will now be forced to consider the Hyundai Grand i10 if they want a more powerful engine. Also see: Hyundai Grand i10 vs all its rivals