Hyundai Casper will go on sale in Korea this month with two petrol engine options and is expected to be launched in India next year
Hyundai has released official exterior images of the Casper micro SUV ahead of its launch this month in its home market of South Korea. It will be slotted in the affordable space as an urban mini by being a compact car. The codename AX1 carries the production name Casper as it is meant to be one of the skateboarding tricks or it could simply be named after a city in the city of Wyoming, United States.
Talking about the technical aspects, the Hyundai Casper has an overall length of 3,595 mm, a width of 1,595 mm and stands 1,575 mm tall with a wheelbase length of 2,400 mm. In Korea, the micro SUV will be offered in two petrol engine choices: one is a 1.0-litre naturally-aspirated motor and the other is the turbocharged version of the same mill.
The former produces a maximum power output of 76 PS and presumably, it will be retailed in the low-spec variants while the turbo version is good enough to generate 100 PS. A five-speed manual transmission will be standard while a four-speed torque converter automatic unit will be available with the more powerful engine.
Hyundai is expected to bring in the Casper as early as next year to India and it will be interesting to see if it will carry the same name or not. When it arrives, the micro SUV will compete against Mahindra KUV NXT and Maruti Suzuki Ignis but its biggest rival will be the upcoming Tata Punch heading to showrooms this festive season.
The Hyundai Casper does have a youthful presence judging by the pictures and has a rather unique front fascia with an eccentric grille and round-shaped projector headlamps with integrated circular LED Daytime Running Lights. It also boasts a clamshell-shaped bonnet, a busy bumper section, sharp upper LED lighting elements for turn indication, and a wide central air inlet.
Other design highlights are squared-off wheel arches, alloy wheels with oval-shaped design, sturdy roof rails, contrast exterior shades, pillar-mounted rear door handles, and a modern LED tail lamp setup with bumper-mounted lighting elements and reflector. The features list comprises a free-standing touchscreen infotainment system, sunroof, adjustable headrests, steering wheel with mounted controls and so on.
