Hyundai Verna beats Honda City, Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia

The fourth-generation Hyundai Verna made its debut in March 2023 and has already established its dominance in the midsize sedan segment in India. In March 2023, the all-new Verna sold 3,755 units, making it the best-selling midsize sedan for the month. The Honda City secured the second position, with 2,693 units sold. The City had received a mild makeover before the arrival of the new Verna, which included minor design tweaks, a few new features, and a new mid-spec variant for the full-hybrid version.

The European siblings, Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia, secured the third and fourth positions, respectively. The Virtus sold 1,792 units, while the Slavia sold 1,574 units in March 2023. Both these sedans, based on the MQB A0-IN platform, come with the same set of turbocharged petrol engine options.

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All-new Hyundai Verna

The latest generation of Verna boasts a futuristic and updated design language that catches the eye. Its design features slight variations between the Turbo and Non-Turbo variants. The turbocharged petrol variants offer blacked-out alloy wheels with red brake calipers.

The car’s body features sharper edges and deep creases, making it stand out on the roads. The front of the car has a new parametric grille and a lightbar connecting both headlamps. The top-end variants also have a connected lightbar in their tail lamps.

The cabin of the Verna also features distinguishing features between the turbo and non-turbo variants. The turbocharged versions have an all-black color scheme with red highlights on the AC vents, while the naturally-aspirated variants feature a dual-tone black and beige dashboard and seats. The Verna also comes equipped with a sporty two-spoke steering wheel, a first in the segment. The dashboard’s AC vents are seamlessly integrated.

The fifth and last position was secured by the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, which was once the segment leader. However, the Ciaz has been overtaken by its refreshed competition, which boasts of larger dimensions and more premium appeal. Only 300 units of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz were sold in March 2023, indicating that Maruti Suzuki needs to bring a thoroughly updated version soon.

The heavily upgraded fourth-generation Verna has received a complete makeover inside-out, with a radical design and a modern cabin that comes with a few segment-first features, such as heated seats and a dual-functioning panel for auto AC and the audio system. Hyundai has also bid farewell to the diesel powertrain for the Verna, introducing two petrol engine options.

The volume-driver is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated petrol engine, producing 115 PS of power and 144 Nm of torque, and is available with a 6-speed manual and CV gearbox. The other engine option is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, generating 160 PS of power and 253 Nm of torque and comes with both 6-speed manual and 7-speed DCT gearbox options.

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