Hyundai Exter Redefines Safety Standards With Six Airbags

hyundai exter suv

Hyundai Exter will be launched in India in early July and it will be powered by a 1.2L NA petrol engine

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) will introduce the Exter micro SUV in the domestic early next month. It has already been confirmed by the South Korean auto major while its exterior along with powertrain options, safety features list and variant details have already been out giving us an early hint of what to expect from the five-seater.

The Hyundai Exter is underpinned by the same architecture as the Grand i10 Nios and Aura and it will use a familiar engine lineup: a 1.2L NA petrol developing around 84 PS maximum power and 113 Nm of peak torque as in the i10, Aura, i20 and Venue. The powertrain will be linked with a five-speed manual transmission as standard or a five-speed AMT.

The factory-fitted CNG version will also be available, mated to a five-speed MT only. With such familiarities, it is no secret that the Hyundai Exter will be heavily localised. But, it will be sold with six airbags as a standard fitment, making it the most affordable passenger car to do so and thus do not expect too aggressive a starting price.

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The Exter will compete directly against Tata Punch, which has a Global NCAP safety rating of five stars and arguably, it is one of its biggest selling factors. Offering six airbags as standard could be one of the key aspects of the Hyundai Exter in its defence but we do expect the base price to be slightly higher than that of the Punch at around Rs. 6.5 lakh (ex-showroom).

The sub-4m SUV will be retailed in an expansive range comprising variants such as EX, S, SX, SX(O) and SX(O) Connect. A bundle of 26 safety features will be available in all trims except for the base E and S. Some of the highlights are ESC, VSM, HAC, three-point seatbelts and seatbelt reminder on all seats, TPMS, first-in-segment burglar alarm and dashcam with dual cameras, reverse parking camera and much more.

hyundai exter rear

In a typical Hyundai fashion, the cabin will be loaded with features such as a touchscreen infotainment system with in-car connectivity features, a semi-digital instrument cluster, steering wheel with mounted controls, automatic climate control, ISOFIX child seat anchorages, headlamp escort function, automatic headlamps, rear defogger, etc.

The micro SUV segment has untapped potential and observing the monumental success of the Tata Punch since its market debut in late 2021, Hyundai is fancying a large pie with the Exter. Looking at the paper, it does have the bells and whistles!