[Chetan_Rao]

Great review and terrific attention-to-detail Kanad and team!

Co-incidentally, both fellow moderator CrAzY dRiVeR and I had reference points to compare against when we drove the Aura. He's a previous-gen Xcent owner, and I drive a JTP.

All details have already been covered, so I'll just add in a few subjective observations.

Cabin and Features Impressions:

• Not a fan of Hyundai's new 'Greige' trim color, but then I don't like their Bournvita beige either, so I'll chalk it up to personal preference.
• Rear A/C vents have poor air-throw, even with blower turned up to MAX (level 8).
• Driver seat height adjustment has a good travel range. Necessary too because shorter drivers would find the vertical cluster arrangement hinders frontal visibility at lower levels.
• The wireless charging pad appears to run off a Quickharge 3.0 adapter plugged into the 12V port. Not a clean implementation.
• Steering wrap missing from the 1.0 Turbo variant is a glaring omission. Steering wheel could've been a size smaller too.
• Front bumper under-lip appears to be stiff plastic, won't survive more than a couple hits/scrapes from our mountain sized ramps/speed-bumps.
  

Driving the 1.0 T-GDi Turbo Petrol

• Punchy little motor, what a revelation!
• Power delivery takes some getting used to. I drive another maverick small turbo petrol so I had practice.
• Engine note is not sporty at all, exhaust is pretty muted too. Hyundai should do something similar to the JTP setup.
• Tall 2nd gear, goes from virtual standstill (with some clutch slipping) right upto 109 kmph at red-line.
• Brakes have a sharp grab but are not what one would call progressive. ABS isn't aggressively calibrated, I count that a positive.
• Needs better tires (wider patch and better rubber), no question.

Competition Comparison (Tigor JTP): Academic now, given JTPs are no longer on sale, but this would be relevant to someone considering a pre-worshiped one. Also not an apples-to-apples comparo, because the Aura isn't positioned as a sporty car, it's more a 'testing waters with a powerful motor in a compact family car' perspective.

• Tigor NVH better at idle and low speeds, Aura more refined on the move. Tigor is noisier, Aura vibrates a tad bit more.
• Tigor's drive modes (City + Sport) make it easier to adapt power delivery to usage scenario.
• Brake pedal feel is better on Tigor (though brakes are just adequate), actual braking is better on Aura (but not progressive).
• Engine note sportier on Tigor, Lovely exhaust too. Aura has neither.
• Tigor is punchier in 2/3 gear, Aura is more linear but oh boy does it GO!
• Tigor revs only upto 5900 RPM, Aura red-lines at 6500 and rev limiter kicks in at 6700.
• Power delivery tapers off sharper in the Aura at higher revs.
• Turbo shove evident on Tigor, relatively muted on Aura.
• Firmer suspension on Tigor, crashy on bad roads but handles confidently when driven hard. Aura is softer and more compliant, but feels nervous on hard cornering.
• Tigor has the better steering, Aura's is vague with plenty of play dead-center.
• Tigor has lesser room in the rear seat, slightly upright seat-back and fixed headrests. Aura is roomier, has better recline + under-thigh support and adjustable headrests.
• Neither car has split rear seats. Aura has better designed, more usable boot.
• Both cars have clean front design. Aura's projector headlamps & fogs + twin-element LED DRLs Vs. Tigor's projector headlamps + halogen fogs but NO DRLs.
• Tigor's black cabin with red inserts (including the wrapped steering) looks far sportier.
• Aura has the better-slotting 5-speed manual gearbox, Tigor's antiquated 5-speed is notchy.

Verdict: Aura has a terrific turbo-petrol motor, arguably best in class powertrain, when combined with that sure-slotting MT gearbox. Ride & handling, there's nothing 'unfixable' with some mods/part swaps (except maybe the steering feel). All said, it can be a lovely project car with plenty of mod potential and still stay a practical family car. Nios Turbo should be the choice for those who don't care for the compact sedan form factor.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by srvm

P.S: Official review feels incomplete without the photo of our friendly mod Aditya sitting in the rear seat to demonstrate head room availability

Wow, talk of a deja vu! Here is my post from 24 January this year from the Triber review -

Originally Posted by Reinhard

P.S. - We have become so much habitual to seeing cool mod @Aditya in the middle row for the review picture, if some review doesn't have that customary picture, we might not rate it 5 stars.

I rated the Aura 5 stars nevertheless!
Sorry

[scarlet.fever]

Wow team-bhp reviews getting better with each review rated five stars.

I am not sure whether this is correct to ask here but are we going to get review for i10 nios as well it would be interesting to see how the turbo fares in that in comparison to Aura.

[rohan_iitr]

Great review !

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Height adjustment for the driver's seat is there in the SX+ and SX(O) variants only:

Just a small correction here - as per the attached brochure, driver seat height adjustment is present in all variants, except E.

In fact, I was surprised to see the equipment levels in the S variant. It comes with most of the useful features.

Rohan

[turbowhistle]

You guys keep increasing the bar you have set for yourself in official reviews, Superb review Kanad, rated 5 stars. Though I must say we all missed Aditya with his poker face on rear seats!

I wouldn’t buy the car though, I don’t see myself living with a car looking like this. Just wondering who will be the target audience for this.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

Just a small correction here - as per the attached brochure, driver seat height adjustment is present in all variants, except E.
Rohan

Thanks Rohan, it has been corrected.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by turbowhistle

Just wondering who will be the target audience for this.

My guess is -

1. Those among us who put looks fairly low in their wish-list and pick creature comforts and gizmos over other items. Example - quite high sales figures for MG Hector that has polarizing (I had first typed questionable ) looks like the Aura.
2. Those who want these features with good plastics and good finish especially on rear seat - those who'll be using it as a chauffeured daily driver for office runs.
3. Those who want a unique peppy petrol motor on lower budget. Few options now with Tigor JTP gone. (Although these will be low numbers I'm guessing as enthusiasts don't completely discount looks!)
4. Those who want a fuel efficient diesel engine for extremely high usage pattern.

And 2 years down the line - cabbies if Uber/Ola remain in business still.

[abhi9044]

Awesome Review.

Have been reading reviews on Team Bhp since 2013 and then onwards it is my go to website for any car review. No matter how many videos are there on youtube, I only trust the review here, as no other video/thread covers the car in such a detail.

Coming to that 1.0 engine that seems to be the highlight of the package, I wonder what would it be able to do in that Nios(lesser weight) with that 118 bhp tune. By the way is that turbocharger a FGT or a VGT? Tuning forced induction engines is also a bit easier compared to NA ones, so we might be seeing great builds in the future.

The market now is going to witness a large number of turbo petrols. Nissan-Renault's 1.3l, 1.0l , Hyundai's 1.0,Tata's 1.2 and then the Mahindra's 1.2 mStallion. Guess from an engine perspective we are going to have way too many choices in future.

[JojyKerala]

Excellent review. I don't like the look of this car though a lot of people in my friends circle praises the design. I guess the looks will grow on me.

One friend will definitely buy the Aura once the lockdown is completely lifted. He says it has a revolutionary design with muscular cuts and lines. The main thing inspiring him is the "standout factor" this car gives it seems.

He currently owns an Alto 2006 model.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by scarlet.fever

I am not sure whether this is correct to ask here but are we going to get review for i10 nios as well it would be interesting to see how the turbo fares in that in comparison to Aura.

Hyundai doesn't reveal the proper weight figures, but the difference between the two should be negligible. Aura is also pretty lightweight at just 900kgs.

The difference in performance won't be drastic! The difference in looks, however, certainly is!

Originally Posted by Reinhard

My guess is -

Last year Maruti Suzuki DZire sold ~9900 diesel cars every month, which accounted for 47% of its sales. This market is left wide open now, and Hyundai being the second largest manufacturer in India - surely will be hoping to get some of their sales.

75ps/194Nm sounds modest as per current 1.5 diesel standards, but is the same as the old 1.3 DDiS in the DZire.

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Verdict: Nios Turbo should be the choice for those who don't care for the compact sedan form factor.

Nios was in radar of lot of enthusiasts until VW dropped a bomb with 1.0L TSi. The latter is old/heavy but still the better one to drive. The Polo also comes with optional AT which should be more reliable being torque converter. Ameo 1.0TSi can make things interesting.

[nuew]

I can't decide whether it is the front that looks more hideous or it’s the rear. That blacked out C-pillar takes out what's left of the side view too. Yes, looks are subjective. From where I am looking, this is probably the most overdone car in terms of design in its segment.

I guess the problem is that the Hyundai designers are trying to fit all those design elements that looks good on its bigger cars like the Sonata and the Elantra to make the compact sedan more appealing. When all of it is squeezed into a sub 4m package, it looks so disproportionate and disastrous.

While the EVs are slowly getting rid of the grill altogether, Hyundai and Audi seems to be on a race to fill the entire front fascia with a grill. While it looks decent on bigger cars, it's just horrible on these narrower smaller cars making them look like some sort of a bottom feeder fish. Hard to believe it comes from the makers of the 2020 Elantra that looks really good in flesh.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Nios was in radar of lot of enthusiasts until VW dropped a bomb with 1.0L TSi. The latter is old/heavy but still the better one to drive. The Polo also comes with optional AT which should be more reliable being torque converter. Ameo 1.0TSi can make things interesting.

Have not driven the 1.0 TSi yet so can't compare, but plenty of people who drive the 1.2 TSi complained that the rest of the car's mechanicals don't keep up with the brilliant motor. Friendly mod Suhaas has made some lovely mechanical upgrades to his ride.

I'd say that's the case with the Nios too, and lots of people will probably lean towards Hyundai for non-performance factors (A.S.S., part costs etc.). Hyundai ain't exactly cheap, but not VW league either.

I'd love a Polo TSi MT if priced reasonably, but I also think the Hyundai 1L turbo motor is very (very) good, and the Nios/Aura Turbo can be a great mod-friendly option around 10L. The lack of a rear wipe/wash on Nios Turbo is a bummer though. I can live without fancy gadgetry, but essentials like this (plus a usable dead-pedal) can be a deal-breaker for me.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by PrideRed

Ameo 1.0TSi can make things interesting.

Is the Ameo coming back?

[PrideRed]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

I'd love a Polo TSi MT if priced reasonably, but I also think the Hyundai 1L turbo motor is very (very) good, and the Nios/Aura Turbo can be a great mod-friendly option around 10L. The lack of a rear wipe/wash on Nios Turbo is a bummer though. I can live without fancy gadgetry, but essentials like this (plus a usable dead-pedal) can be a deal-breaker for me.

I am closely following the TSi thread and it got me interested despite car being vintage. I was looking at Nios earlier on and deletion of features like rear wash/wipe is a absolute no for me in a hatch. The TSi Edition(ignore the lame naming), is well kitted(is based on highline plus) and is just 20-30K more than Nios.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Is the Ameo coming back?

There is no news yet and chances are slim. However VW did invest on this project, given the availability of BS6 engine and directionless VW, I would not be surprised if they re-launch!