Hyundai Xcent gets a BIG safety boost: Honda Amaze effect?

Hyundai India has just given the Xcent compact sedan a big safety boost by making twin airbags and ABS standard across all variants of the car. This move puts the Hyundai Xcent at par with the likes of other top-selling compact sedans such as the Maruti Dzire and Honda Amaze, both of which offer these safety features as standard across all variants. The addition of these features also results in the prices of the car going up. The Hyundai Xcent now starts at Rs. 5.5 lakhs for the base petrol model, going up to Rs. 7.69 lakhs for the top-end model. Similarly, the diesel variants begin at Rs. 6.42 lakhs, and go up to Rs. 8.61 lakhs.

Hyundai has also discontinued the E+ variants on the Xcent, and the car is now offered with E, S, Sx and Sx Option, across both petrol and diesel engine options. The Xcent is a sub-4 meter compact sedan based on the Hyundai Grand i10 hatchback. It’s popular both among private car buyers and cab operators. The Xcent shares its engines and manual gearboxes with the Grand i10. The petrol engine is a 1.2 litre VTVT engine with 82 Bhp-114 Nm. The diesel engine is a 1.2 litre 3-cylinder turbocharged diesel motor with 70 Bhp-170 Nm outputs. Both engines are offered with 5 speed manual gearboxes as standard.

Until the arrival of the all-new Honda Amaze, the Hyundai Xcent was firmly entrenched in the number 2 position in sales, behind the segment-leading Maruti Dzire. The new Amaze has changed this order, pushing the Xcent to the third place. This seems to have prompted Hyundai to go in for a variant rejig, in order to make the Xcent more appealing to buyers. The car is due for an all-new model in a couple of years, which is expected to add an AMT option. Key strengths of the current Xcent include high reliability, affordable maintenance costs, good fuel efficiency and spacious interiors, replete with rear AC vents.

Via MyCarHelpline