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Fresh two thousand seventeen Xcent: feels more finish now
Redesign of Hyundai’s compact sedan gives it more than just a fresh chin; fresh diesel engine too
It is strapped to be a long argument if we delve on the subject of the pros and cons of the sub-four-metre sedan. Sceptics have been telling that the compact sedan is a worthless sub-segment, which is unlikely to lead to any competitive advantage for India in the long term given the fact that the category doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.
But evidently buyers still want to choose from cars in this segment and there is still so much interest that car-makers are shoring up their prospects with facelifts and fresh generation models of their compact sedans.
With the debut of the fresh Maruti Suzuki Dzire just weeks away, Hyundai attempted to outrace them with the official launch of the fresh two thousand seventeen Xcent. Built from the Grand i10, the Xcent is still pretty fresh, but Hyundai has gone ahead and done a facelift on both the hatch and the sedan versions. But, unlike the minor model modification that the Grand i10 received, the Xcent gets a bit more of fresh kit and a fresh diesel heart too.
Externally, the fresh Xcent is very similar in its design. But, the one target that the redesign has managed to partly achieve is to make the compact sedan less gawky that it was before. The rear of the car is where the switches have made an influence even more, making it look less like a hatchback with a smacked on boot. The fresh combination tail-lamps with a very European flavour have contributed much to make it seem more like a sedan. The switches to the front have focused on making the Xcent present an aggressive profile. The bonnet grille and the front fender are downright fresh with fresh chrome slats, garnishes and LED daytime running lights. The bonnet panel is still very sharply sloped and so, despite the large headlamps, the front of the Xcent still looks more suitable for a hatch. But, to emphasise width, the front fender of the car now gets an air curtain feature which improves the car’s aerodynamics and it runs across the lower part of the bumper. The fresh two thousand seventeen model also gets a dual-tone rear fender with a matching feature to visually enhance the sense of width. The other addition are the fresh two-tone 15-inch alloy wheels.
Stepping into the cabin of the fresh Xcent also gives you a sense of déjà vu. The dashboard is very familiar because it is pretty much the same in terms of design. But the addition of a few fresh features boosts the appeal of this model. The most significant of these is the fresh seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone navigation, and mirror link with a choice inbetween Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. The steering wheel is the same unit, but has elegantly arranged controls for taking calls and other infotainment activations. The instrument cluster gets a blue and white illumination combo.
The seats are comfy and the upholstery is helpfully rock hard. But there is no escaping the feeling of being inwards a hatch-sized sedan’s cabin. You feel that at the rear seats even more where it is a squeeze to fit three adults. Similarly, there is no escaping the fact that there is a lot of plastic all around, including the door panels and floor console, but their fit and finish quality is very good. Rear centre armrest and the dedicated rear aircon vents will be very useful for back-benchers. The neatly fabricated gear shift stick is another highlight of the cabin.
The two thousand seventeen Xcent is suggested with both petrol and a diesel engine. The petrol engine is a carry forward, but I test drove the fresh Xcent 1.2L U2 CRDi diesel variant.
This model gets a fresh, larger 1,186 cc diesel engine compared to the outgoing model’s 1.1-litre. The switch in size of the engine may be petite and the step up in power is also only about three bhp, but the character of the car on road feels like more than just an incremental switch.
Peak power is now seventy five PS and peak torque is just over one hundred ninety Nm. Peak torque is available from as low as 1,750 rpm. The previous engine felt a little slow on the uptake and naturally felt a bit underpowered even for a car this size. But, the fresh 1.2L U2 CRDi doesn’t seem feeble or laboured at any point through the rev-band. Yes, it has a fairly narrow sweet spot with much of the torque and power being delivered within the Two,000-3,000 rpm, but you won’t need to wait for usable levels of engine response to kick in during the interval inbetween idling (900 rpm) to embark of peak torque at 1,750 rpm.
Unlike the ultra refined petrol engine, which you hardly feel pulsing in the bonnet, the fresh diesel engine is still clearly an oil burner when you listen to the familiar rattle outside the car. Inwards the cabin the noise has been very well contained, but mild stimulations do come through at the pedals and door panels.
The fresh Xcent gets an improvement in the suspension department too. Now, the car feels less jumpy and doesn’t thrash about over bad patches of road. So, should you buy one?
The Xcent diesel I test drove feels like an attractive update overall, even however individually the switches would seem less significant. It is still going to feel the fever from the fresh Maruti Suzuki Dzire, but at least the Hyundai compact sedan now has more positives batting for it. Prices for the fresh Xcent embark from ₹Five.38 lakh and range up to ₹8.41 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
