2016 Hyundai Elite i20 launched in India at starting price of Rs. 5.36 lakh; gets new projector lamps and LED DRLs
The South Korean auto maker has revealed images of the 2016 Hyundai Elite i20 premium hatchback with minor updates to challenge the now-segment-topping Maruti Suzuki Baleno. This model can be seen in the flesh at Hyundai’s stall in the Auto Expo 2016 spread across twelve zones alongside its hot-hatch i20 N performance sibling.
The Hyundai Elite i20 has received updates one and half year since it was first introduced into the Indian market space with huge success. The largest exporter of passenger cars in the country has certainly lost out its customers to the recently launched Maruti Baleno which reportedly garnered over 70,000 bookings. It took the limelight off the Elite i20 by managing to register sales of over 9,000 units in November and 10,500 units in December 2015.
Although the Elite i20 has steady sales numbers, averaging 10,000 units in the whole of 2015, Hyundai felt the need to come on terms with its fierce rival with the 2016 model year revisions already found in the i20 Active crossover. The Hyundai Elite i20 will now have projector headlamps with cornering lights and LED Daytime Running Lights offered as standard on the Asta (O) top-of-the-line grade.
The added features on the top-end trim include a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, AUX and USB connectivity, a standard Audio Visual Navigation (AVN) system whilst the lower-end variants continue to feature an LCD infotainment screen. To improve the safety quotient, the i20 will come available with dual airbags as standard across all variants beginning with the Era trim to the Asta (o).
However, Hyundai is yet to offer an automatic transmission on the Elite i20 which had surely harmed its sales partially. With the production of the updated model began in the third week of January, customers have been reportedly informed of the deliveries within a month of their bookings.
Mechanically, no modifications have been intended as the Elite i20 continues to be powered by 1.2-litre Kappa dual VVT quad-pot petrol engine pumping out 83 PS of maximum power output at 6,000 rpm and 115 Nm of peak torque coupled with a five-speed manual transmission. The 1.4-litre U2 CRDi DOHC four-cylinder engine capable of producing 90 PS at 4,000 rpm and 220 Nm of peak torque between 1,500 and 2,750 rpm.
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