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Hyundai’s Maruti S-Presso rival spied again

Hyundai is working on a new micro-SUV that will be rivalling the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso. Recently, the new small SUV from Hyundai was spied being tested with camouflage. Internally being called the AX1, will be the first micro-SUV from the Korean manufacturer. This time the side profile of the AX1 has been caught on camera. This has helped in providing us with some new details about the upcoming micro-SUV. The AX1 has been spied earlier also and you can read more about it by clicking here.

Everyone nowadays wants an SUV but not everyone can afford it. Maruti Suzuki was the first manufacturer to exploit this segment by launching a small budget hatchback that looked like a SUV. The S-Presso benefitted from its design that was inspired by SUVs and ultimately it sold well. Tata also realized this and showcased the HBX Concept at the Auto Expo 2020. It is also a hatchback that is designed to mimic a SUV. Tata has said that the HBX Concept was 80 percent close to the production-spec HBX. Now, Hyundai is also planning to launch a new micro-SUV while they did not showcase any concept, there are spy shots floating around the internet about the new SUV.

From the video, we can see that the AX1 has been spied on international roads once again. We get a good look at the side profile of the new SUV. We can see the new alloy wheel design, boxy and tall stance, squared-off wheel arches and roof rails. The door handles for the rear door have been placed between the rear quarter window and C-pillar. The tall boy design of the AX1 will provide enough headroom for the occupants. However, due to this, the roof tapers off quite steeply. The side profile of the vehicle does resemble Maruti Suzuki’s Ignis which is also now being marketed as a “Compact Urban-SUV”. From the previous spy shots, we know that the design elements will be borrowed from the Hyundai Venue. So, there are split headlamps where the LED Daytime Running Lamp is positioned above and the halogen headlamp is positioned below in the bumpers. The wheels have been placed at the further ends of the bodyworks due to which the overhangs of the AX1 are short. This helps in increasing the wheelbase and liberating more legroom for the occupants. There is plenty of ground clearance, which will help in tackling our bad Indian roads. Also, the tall driving position will help in increasing the visibility all around.

Hyundai’s Maruti S-Presso rival spied again

Powering the Hyundai AX1 could be the 1.1-litre petrol engine that will be borrowed from the Santro. The engine produces 69 PS of max power and 99 Nm of peak torque. It will be offered with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 5-speed AMT. On the higher variants, we can get the 1.2-litre petrol engine which is doing duty on a lot of Hyundai vehicles. The engine produces 83 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 113 Nm. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 5-speed AMT. It will be rivalling the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso and the production version of the Tata HBX.