Hyundai being the second largest automaker in the Indian market has presence in almost every big volume capable segments. The South Korean auto major has a range of popular and attractive cars in its portfolio and one of them is the Xcent compact sedan, which is positioned against the tough rivals like Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire, Honda Amaze, Ford Aspire, etc.
With the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire all set to come in a new avatar, the Korean brand has given the Xcent a mid-life facelift. Launched in March 2014, the Hyundai Xcent is based on the popular and sporty looking hatchback Grand i10. Interestingly, Hyundai launched the refreshed Grand i10 in February this year and the 2017 Hyundai Xcent borrows some design cues from its sibling, but the distinctiveness is very much visible.
Compared to the old Hyundai Xcent, the facelifted model comes much more attractive looking, with its newly adopted styling at exterior and inside the cabin along with the new features. Apart from that, Hyundai if offering a new diesel engine with the 2017 Xcent, which certainly enhances its appeal further. Now, as the new Xcent replaced its predecessor, here we take a look at the differences and similarities between the two models:
Speaking about the design, the new model appears with a revised front grille sporting slightly different shape along with chrome garnished horizontal slats. The sleek chrome trim connecting the headlamps is gone in the new model, and with this, the nose section looks extended to almost the middle of the front fascia. The front grille looks sharper than the old model. The Hyundai logo is positioned lower than before.
The sharp headlamps look identical to the old model, while the front bumper appears very different with revised air intake, new design fog lamps and the LED daytime running lights positioned at the fog lamp housing. Instead of the round shaped fog lamps in the old mode, the facelifted Xcent gets horizontally positioned slanted looking fog lamps and they are complemented by the inverted L shaped LED daytime running lights. The lower bumper gets a wide black insert.
The rear profile of the car on the other hand gets some changes. The taillight appears different and wider and they come with split look sporting combination lights. There is a sleek horizontal chrome bar running between the taillights and the rear bumper too looks revised with the wide horizontal black insert. Apart from these, the sharp fin antenna on roof and high mounted LED stop lamps enhance the visual appeal further.
Overall, in comparison with the old Xcent, the facelifted model doesn’t actually sport heavy changes. Only the front fascia has been updated significantly along with the wheel curtain and shark fin at the roof. But the other little tweaks at the rear profile make it a complete attractive package than the pre-facelift Xcent.
| Old Hyundai Xcent Turning Radius | New Hyundai Xcent Turning Radius |
| 4.7-meter | 4.7-meter |
The fuel tank capacity of the facelifted Hyundai Xcent is 43-litres, same as the old model, while the boot space capacity on offer with this model is 407-litre. The old model too offered same generous amount of space. Both the new and old Xcent compact sedan have the same turning radius of 4.7-meter. The ground clearance of the facelifted Xcent remains unchanged as well at 165 mm.
| Old Hyundai Xcent | New Hyundai Xcent |
| Length – 3,995 mm | 3,995 mm |
| Width – 1,660 mm | 1,660 mm |
| Height – 1,520 mm | 1,520 mm |
| Wheelbase – 2,425 mm | 2,425 mm |
| Boot Space – 407-litres | 407-litres |
| Fuel Tank Capacity – 43-litres | 43-litres |
| Ground Clearance – 165 mm | 165 mm |
The overall design inside the cabin looks same as the old model with the dual-tone dashboard and dual-tone interior theme. The plastic quality has been improved, while the seat materials too come of improved quality. It also comes with rear AC vents, cooled glove box, cleverly positioned bottle and cup holders, rear armrest with bottle and cup holder, etc. In terms of space and comfort too, the all-new 2017 Hyundai Xcent is same as the old model, as no dimensional changes have been made in the facelifted model.
The car comes with Alternator Management System, which offers better optimization of battery performance and this comes as standard in the new Xcent. So, the new model appears almost same as the old model in terms of interior design and features, but the new 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system really enhances the upmarket appeal of the vehicle. The boot storage comes with a lamp providing illumination every time the boot lid is opened.
On the powertrain front, the South Korean auto major has introduced a new 1.2-litre U2 CRDi diesel engine replacing the old model’s 1.1-litre CRDi unit. The new engine is bigger and better than the old model’s diesel unit. This engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox and it churns out 75 PS of peak power at 4,000 rpm and 190 Nm of peak torque between 1,750 rpm and 2,250 rpm.
| Old Hyundai Xcent Engine | New Hyundai Xcent Engine |
| 1.2-litre Petrol 1.1-litre Diesel | 1.2-litre Petrol 1.2-litre Diesel |
| Old Hyundai Xcent Transmission | New Hyundai Xcent Transmission |
| 5-speed MT 4-speed AT (Petrol only) | 5-speed MT 4-speed AT (Petrol only) |
The old model’s 1.1-litre U2 CRDi diesel engine was also mated to a 5-speed manual transmission and it was capable of churning out 71 PS of peak power at 4,000 rpm and 180 Nm of peak torque between 1,750 rpm and 2,500 rpm. Therefore the Xcent facelift diesel model kicks out 4 PS extra power and 10 Nm of extra torque than the old diesel model. Speaking about fuel efficiency, the old diesel Xcent was capable of returning 24.40 kmpl of fuel efficiency, while the facelifted model delivers 25.40 kmpl, marking a marginal improvement.
| Old Hyundai Xcent Maximum Power | New Hyundai Xcent Maximum Power |
| Petrol – 83 PS @ 6,000 rpm | 83 PS @ 6,000 rpm |
| Diesel – 71 PS @ 4,000 rpm | 75 PS @ 4,000 rpm |
| Old Hyundai Xcent Maximum Torque | New Hyundai Xcent Maximum Torque |
| Petrol – 114 Nm @ 4,000 rpm | 114 Nm @ 4,000 rpm |
| Diesel – 180 Nm @ 1,750 rpm – 2,500 rpm | 190 Nm @ 1,750 rpm – 2,250 rpm |
On the petrol front, the 1.2-litre Kappa dual VTVT engine under the hood of the Hyundai Xcent is capable of pumping out 83 PS of peak power at 6,000 rpm and 114 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. This same engine was available with the old Xcent too and it does duty in the Grand i10 as well. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, while a 4-speed automatic gearbox is also available with the petrol model.
| Old Hyundai Xcent Fuel Efficiency | New Hyundai Xcent Fuel Efficiency |
| 19.16 kmpl (Petrol MT) 17.36 kmpl (Petrol AT) 24.40 kmpl (Diesel MT) | 20.14 kmpl (Petrol MT) 17.36 kmpl (Petrol AT) 25.40 kmpl (Diesel MT) |
On the fuel efficiency front, the Hyundai Xcent petrol model delivers 20.14 kmpl and 17.36 kmpl of fuel efficiency for the petrol manual and petrol automatic variants respectively. Overall, the new diesel engine with more power, more torque and more fuel efficiency surely makes the facelifted Hyundai Xcent appealing along with the petrol engine.
The Hyundai Xcent offers several safety features like dual front airbags as standard, ABS, rear defogger, engine start/stop, steering adaptive guidelines with rear parking sensors and rear view parking camera display. Also, it gets a rigid steel structure ensuring better protection for the occupants. So far, on the safety front, the new model carries all the safety features from the old model with the only addition of the rear camera view with guidelines.
Interestingly, pricing of the new Hyundai Xcent is almost similar to the old model. The new model is priced between Rs. 5.38 lakh and Rs. 8.41 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). The old model was priced between Rs. 5.44 lakh and Rs. 8.12 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Price of the top-end grade has been increased by Rs. 29,000 due to the introduction of new features, while the new base model is available at Rs. 6,000 cheaper price. Interestingly, Hyundai has introduced three lower new grades to the new Xcent, which are the E, E Plus and S.
| Old Hyundai Xcent Price | New Hyundai Xcent Price |
| Rs. 5.44 lakh – 8.12 lakh | Rs. 5.38 lakh – Rs. 8.41 lakh |
* All prices, ex-showroom, New Delhi.
The powertrain update also is a crucial one to make the diesel variant of the Xcent more appealing to the customers. With better power and torque output along with improved fuel efficiency, the new engine is truly Hyundai’s trick to make Xcent a one step better performer. The Korean auto major has updated the safety measure too, which could play a crucial role for the buyers to choose this model over rivals but we wish ABS had been offered from base variant as in the older model.
The pricing is attractive but Hyundai has cut some features and added some along the variant package to keep it less expensive as well as feature packed at the top-end. Along with introducing new entry variants, Hyundai has lowered the pricing of the base grades making it more value for money proposition. Even the top-end model too has received little hike and considering the new features introduced, that seems fairly justified.
