Designed to pose some serious competition to the Toyota Etios Cross, Fiat Aventura, Volkswagen Polo Cross and the upcoming Maruti S-Cross, the i20 Active is the upgraded cross version of one of the most successful cars of the year 2014, the Elite i20.
The new model gets upgraded on the design and styling elements to such a great extent that the new model would definitely be a sure-shot hit in the automobile market. The manufacturer seems to have done quite a good amount of research on the automobile interests of the Indian society, the results of which can be perfectly seen on this car.
Engine and Performance
The mechanical side of the car doesn't feature any significant changes and seems to have borrowed on ideas from its predecessor. The new Hyundai i20 Active is powered by a 1.2 litre Kappa engine that produces a maximum power output of 83 PS and 220 Nm of peak torque on the petrol variant. The car also gets a diesel variant which features the 1.4 litre CRDi unit which is capable of churning out a maximum power of 90 PS and a peak torque of 220 Nm. The petrol engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission while the diesel engine comes paired along with a 6-speed manual gearbox.
In terms of suspension, the height of the coil spring has been increased with a low-velocity control valve being fitted on to the rear side, which together helps in re-calibrating the suspension rates in order to accommodate the increased height of the car. The brake system on the new Hyundai i20 Active remains unchanged as in the Elite i20 and continues to offer the same front disc brakes with ABS and EBD, along with the dual airbags as the safety measure to cope up in case of accidents and crashes.
With new features and tweaks being added, the weight of the car has risen on the levels of up to 15 kg which has worked on in bringing about a significant drop in terms of the fuel efficiency of the car. As per the ARAI figures, the petrol variant of the new model is expected to return around 17.19 kmpl while the Hyundai i20 Active's diesel variant should be returning about 21.19 kmpl in terms of fuel efficiency.
Design and Styling
The manufacturer has claimed that the car has been designed with the youngsters targeted as they are that class in the society leading an “active” lifestyle. The car also seems to have aptly adapted that name – the Hyundai i20 Active, for the “active” ones of the lot.
The car looks very much like its older sibling, the Hyundai i20, but its has got some new sporty tweaks on the exteriors which would obviously be the appealing factor for the youngsters. The front fascia features a new design for the bumper with the headlights getting a tiny styling upgrade with new fog lamps along with a skid plate and LED day-time running lights, projector headlights and cornering lights.
Moving on to the sides, the car sports the 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels along with black-body cladding, silver-finished roof-rails, new fuel-filler cap and chrome door handles. The raw and masculine look of the car is very evident from this angle of view. But though it gets that sporty look, the new model seems to have lost all that beauty and classy elegance that the regular variant wore all along. However, on the aesthetic side, the car would get a negative point due to the gap between the wheel arch and the wheel, that makes you wonder if the manufacturer fitted the wrong tyres of smaller size for the i20 Active.
Towards the rear side, the new Hyundai i20 Active gets a new bumper with a brand new design for the reflectors, an integrated spoiler and skid plate. Moreover, it is here that the car adorns its “Active” badge. Manufacturers have also mentioned at the launch that the i20 Active would not get the usual suffixes as had been the case of the rest of the cars in the series, but instead its variants would be known as “Base”, “S” and “SX”, as in the case of the Xcent and Verna. The car also seems to have been given a rise in its height as the car now looks a bit taller with more amount of ground clearance (a rise by 20 mm; now 190 mm) than its regular variant. The rest of the dimensions of the car stand at 3995 mm in the case of the length of the car, 1760 mm on the width, and 1555 mm in height with the roof rails included.
On the interior section of the car, most features on the cabin remain unchanged and follow on from the Elite i20. The only significant alterations include the aluminium pedals, which seem like an addition to remind the passengers that they are currently traveling in a car that has got a sporty look. Other variations in the interior design and styling elements include two colour options for the interior – Aqua Blue and Black, with a contrasting colour insert in between. For those variants sporting a lighter exterior shade, like Silver, the i20 Active would get a dual tone black and blue interior, with aqua blue inserts for door trims, dashboard and seats. While on those models featuring darker exterior shades such as Red or Brown, the interiors come in a dual tone black and orange interior with Tangerine Orange inserts for the dashboard, door trims and seats.
Colours and Prices
The new Hyundai i20 Active would be available in the following colour schemes such as Earth Brown, Retro Shine, Polar White, Sleek Silver, Red Passion and Phantom Black. The estimated price range of the Hyundai i20 Active stands at Rs 6.2 lakhs to Rs 9 lakhs. The exact ex-showroom prices of the variants of the Hyundai i20 Active have been listed below:
- Hyundai i20 Active 1.2 – Rs 6.38 lakhs
- Hyundai i20 Active 1.2 S – Rs 7.09 lakhs
- Hyundai i20 Active 1.4 – Rs 7.63 lakhs
- Hyundai i20 Active 1.4 S – Rs 8.34 lakhs
- Hyundai i20 Active 1.4 SX – Rs 8.89 lakhs
Best Diesel Cars Under 10 Lakh in India