I purchased the top variant of the Hyundai Xcent petrol, the SX(O), after looking at various other cars. I wanted a petrol sedan having the full array of safety & other features within max Rs.7.5 lacs on road price and all things considered, in my opinion this is the best car available within this price point.(The on road price in Guwahati worked out to Rs.7.35 lacs).
Externally, the Xcent may not be a great looker but the design is contemporary & despite being a compact sedan, the car is well proportioned. The roof line flows seamlessly into the C-pillar & the Trunk which is not seen in most compact sedans! The front & side profiles are clean & fuss free. Some may find the rear design(as I do), particularly the layout of the rear lamp clusters, rather plain though.
The Hyundai Xcent may be a compact sedan but headroom & legroom are surprisingly ample. The Cabin gives a sense of space.The gap between the floor and the front seats is also substantial which enables the rear passengers to sit comfortably with the feet extended below the front seats if required. However, the width of the car is a little less than the competition but still, three adults can sit comfortably as long as they are on the slimmer side!The car has adjustable headrests for two rear passengers & one fixed headrest for the middle passenger. However, there are only fixed head rests on the front seats which is disappointing. The driver’s seat is height adjustable. The fit & finish is good & the interiors exude a premium feel. The two tone beige & black coloured Dashboard with its well laid out instrumentation panels looks nice & modern. Build quality appears to be good and the doors close with a nice "thuck".
The rear seats are inclined at a comfortable angle. The front seats though could have had better lumbar support. A long legged person might find the under the thigh support a little less than adequate.The rear seat has a center armrest which doubles as a storage space for glasses & small knick knacks. There are map pockets and space for water bottles on all four doors. The Glove Box is well sized & has a rather nice feature: An AC vent inside if you wish to keep cool your chocolates or soft drink pack! There is an AC vent for rear passengers as well & though the blower is weak, it does help on a hot summer day. The fully automatic Climate control is quite effective. The car has both front & rear cabin lamps.
The Hyundai SX(O) comes laden with features. It has auto-foldable ORVM’s( with integrated turn indicators) which also fold in or out as & when one locks or unlocks the car. It has Smart Key feature with push button enabling one to start /stop the engine with a mere touch. There is a button on both the front door handles which one can press to lock or unlock the doors rather than use the Smart Key directly. Ditto for opening the trunk as well. This is rather convenient as one does not need to take out the Smart Key from one’s pocket at any time at all! Incidentally, the trunk has generous space(407 L). The car has power windows both front & rear and central locking but surprisingly does not have speed sensing auto lock. So the driver must remember to engage central locking before speeding away! There are two charging points, one up front and one for rear passengers.
The Hyundai SX(O) has a 2 DIN integrated Audio system(Radio+CD+ MP 3) with 4 speakers and decent sound quality & is equipped with Bluetooth, USB & Aux-in ports & 1 GB internal memory. Another nice touch is that the USB port, AUX -In & the front charging point are all housed inside a covered cubicle built into the bottom of the dashboard, just in front of the Gear Box mount. The steering wheel comes leather wrapped with multiple controls mounted on it: for Audio, Bluetooth & the Multi Information Display(MID). However, the audio controls are so placed that one can inadvertently press the Mode button when sharply turning the steering wheel! The MID has dual trip meters, elapsed time & average speed indicators and a gear shift guide indicator but not average/real time fuel consumption indicators which one does miss. The steering is tilt adjustable.
The gear lever is mounted flush onto the bottom of the dashboard and looks premium with a chrome finish knob & leather skirting. Gear shift is sleek . The clutch is light enough.
For safety, the SX(O) has ABS and dual air bags for front passenger & driver. There is a rear camera with the display mounted onto the rear view mirror. There are rear parking sensors and rear defogger as well. The rear mirror is electro-chromic which automatically senses & reduces glare from head lamps of cars trailing behind, - very convenient.
The Hyundai SX(O) is equipped with 15” diamond cut alloy wheels which together with the chrome coated outside door handles, again impart a premium look to the car. Tyre size is 175/60 R15.
Unlike other cars, the Xcent does not have a badge at the rear to identify petrol variant from a diesel one. Only identification is a VTVT badge below the driver side ORVM. Also, though the SX(O) is the top variant of the Xcent, it does not carry a separate SX(O) badge to identify it but only the SX badge! Which I found a little strange!
Another odity< - the fuel tank lid does not have a fuel type logo(petrol, diesel) inscribed inside which can lead to serious trouble at the petrol pump if you are not keeping a close eye!
The 1.2L VTVT Kappa engine generates max 83PS power @6000RPM & 11.6kg torque @4000RPM.The car runs well on congested city roads and on the highway as well. I have recently done a 250KM run in the hills, travelling to Shillong & Cherrapunjee / Sohra. The drive was comfortable. However, I am yet to drive the car at triple digit speeds & so am not in a position to comment on its high speed manners. The suspension is good & takes on small bumps & potholes with poise. Engine noise is minimum and outside wind & noise is well kept out of the cabin but like many other India made cars, Tyre noise creeps in quite prominently. The brakes are effective but after a cold start the brakes engage far too sharply. One has to get used to this idiosyncrasy & apply the brakes accordingly! Hyundai needs to address this issue as more than being merely annoying, there is the fear of a mishap due to an abrupt stop on the road.
The rated fuel consumption is 19.1 KM and according to various reviews I have read, under normal urban driving conditions it should give 11-13 KM. However, so far I am getting only 8.5 KM inside the city, albeit in frequent stop & start traffic. Will have to observe closely going forward. Hopefully mileage will improve as the engine gets run in.(Have done 1300 KM so far).
I purchased the car from Mukesh Hyundai at Guwahati. The buying experience was satisfactory & fairly hassle free. The car is not available off the shelf & I had to wait little more than 3 weeks to get delivery. The only free accessories the Dealer provided were the foot mats(not too good) & mud guards.
PS. 28/08/14: Recently took the Car for the 1st free service having run up 1300 KM. Mukesh Hyundai’s Workshop works 7 days a week & it was very convenient to have the service scheduled on a Sunday! The service was hassle free but Mukesh Hyundai will do well to upgrade the infrastructure. Given their sales volume, they appear to have a space constraint issue. Raised the issue of excessive fuel consumption & was assured after the check-up that the Engine readings were good & mileage should gradually improve after the servicing.
Immediately thereafter the car was on a 650 KM run on the highway( with the AC on for most part) & on return, the mileage was found( by top-up method) to be 15.8 KM per litre which is encouraging. Will see next if the in city mileage is now improved.
PS. 11/09/14 In city FE(with AC on for most part) continues to be low at 8.6 KM( again measured through the top-up method)! Will be keeping a close watch on this in the weeks ahead. I suspect the stop & go traffic conditions are not helping(average speed from one top-up to the next as per the MID is generally not above 15km)
15/10/14: Average FE in city with AC on for most part is now 9km per litre.