[Omkar]

If you’ve been following the News regularly, you know that the BS6 phase 2 RDE (Real Driving Emission) norms have come into effect and manufacturers have said their last goodbyes to diesel engines. At least in the C2 sedan segment where all the cars are now powered by petrol engines. The new Hyundai Verna (read the full review here), is offered with two petrol engine options – A naturally aspirated and a turbocharged version. You can also choose between a 6-speed manual transmission and a CVT or a DCT. The chart below should give you a better idea.

So if you were in the market for the new Hyundai Verna, which engine and gearbox combination would you pick & why?


The 158 BHP, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine is the one that has most enthusiasts excited. It’s a punchy motor that delivers fast performance. The comfort-oriented dynamics of the car don't allow you to extract the maximum performance from the engine. It’s available with a 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. You can read our drive report of the DCT in detail here.


The 113 BHP, 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine is tuned for comfort. This engine makes a lot of sense for someone who’s going to be driving primarily in the city in a sedate manner. It is available with the option of a 6-speed manual transmission and a CVT automatic.

[GTO]

This is a simple poll for me.

- I always go for the biggest, most powerful engine available. Hence, the Verna 1.5L turbo-petrol for me.

- Am totally off MTs (with rare exceptions), hence the DCT would be my pick.

Voting for the 1.5L turbo-petrol with dual-clutch AT .

That being said, I am a bit disappointed that Hyundai isn't offering their workhorse 1.5L diesel in the Verna. It's a beautiful motor = good driveability & FE. In fact, paired to the torque-converter AT, I would say it's a better city drive than the 1.5L turbo DCT as the Diesel AT has linear power delivery and smoother behaviour in bumper-to-bumper traffic conditions (or very low revs).

Also, the 1.5L NA engine with a CVT box is a good option for sedate drivers & regular commuters.

[wheelnpaddock]

I believe cars in this category (workhorse + city
drives + long distances) need reliability as a primary criteria.

The experiences on this forum do not vouch for the reliability of the DCT. While I would love to drive the DCT, getting stuck on a highway with a failed gearbox is not a good situation to be in.

I would opt for the 1.5 turbo with the manual which would give 98% of the fun with 10X reliability - absolutely no breakdowns on account of the gearbox ever.

If its a keeper, manual is the way to go.

[Shreyans_Jain]

The 1.6 turbo DCT gets the vote if the usage case has a lot of highway driving. I will be wary of DCT’s long term reliability under heavy urban use.

For 90% of users, the 1.5 NA with the CVT is good enough. More refined, more reliable and adequately powerful too.

[Col Mehta]

Definitely the 1.5 NA plus IVT. The same combo in Creta is adequately powered, supremely refined, reliable and comes with 100% peace of mind. In fact this combo with paddle shifters has surprised us in many instances and performed beyond our expectations. I’m sure Verna will be pretty much the same.

The 1.6 turbo with DCT will be less reliable and more expensive to maintain in the long run. Of course it’s going to be a lot of fun on open roads, but just not for me with all the possible headaches of DCT in the future.

No manuals for us anymore, otherwise 1.6 turbo manual would have been the first choice.

[07CR]

If you have two cars at home, one with a reliable engine gearbox combo, the other can be a Verna DCT.

Otherwise, a fully loaded Verna IVT can be a good one too (I prefer it's interiors to the DCT's dark one's.) If only hyundai offered the EPB with Auto hold for the SX(O) IVT.

[ron178]

I'm a sedate driver, an FE hog, love the Verna's dual tone interior option, and have had a bad experience with DCTs. The 1.5L CVT could not have been a more clear choice.

[DCEite]

Its very obvious (and Hyundai knows it) - that the most desirable combo is 1.5 Turbo + DCT.

The engine is not only much more quicker in both outright and in-gear accelaration than the 1.5 NA, but its more fuel efficient as well. And then you have the DCT which is anyday superior over a CVT (IVT), specially from an enthusiast's point of view.

And Hyundai knows it, mass market cars which are fun to drive as well, sell more in AT formats than manuals, given the target audience today is not only looking for fun, but comfort as well.

The 1.5 L NA, while not a bad engine per se, has fierce competition from the Honda City CVT, and an enthusiast would any day pick the Japanease I-VTEC CVT/MT, over the Korean one.

[CentreOfGravity]

If for some reason I had to buy the Verna, my pick would be the 1.5 turbo + MT. Otherwise, a Virtus GT would be chilling in my garage. Too bad there is no 1.5 TSI + MT in the Virtus

[FAIAAA]

Voted for 1.5 Turbo petrol + DCT combo

My daily drive now is a 1.5 NA IVTEC + CVT BRV which has done 70k kms. Having driven it across the country, mountains/ steep slopes, 1000 kms in a day trips etc, I can vouch for its reliability and smoothness. It's good upto speeds of 80-100 kmph.
However the one thing it's not is fun to drive esp. when you want to close the gap, make overtakes at high speeds.

Having owned turbos in the past ( 320d , E200) and more recently, extensively test driven turbo petrols ( 1/1.5 TSI from VAG & 1.5 Turbo from Hyundai), I will definitely add the 1.5 turbo with DCT to my garage soon. Yes, I am aware of the DCT issues but 1) it will be my second car 2) used mostly on highways ( BRV will continue to be the beate car) 3) will be careful to follow the usual tips - no aggressive launches, keep in neutral when standstill, usual manual mode in creeping traffic etc.

As mentioned in the Verna vs Slavia / Virtus et al thread, DCT is a calculated risk I'd rather take with Hyundai than VAG for factors such as ASS, network, general reliability and response etc.

[kpkeerthi]

1.5 NA iVT is hassle-free, reliable and drives smooth in city conditions where the car gets driven most the time and is also adequate on the highways.

[amit73]

Voted for CVT just to avoid unreliable DCT. Unfortunately, this also means NA engine. Go for turbo if manual is acceptable. I have totally lost interest in manual variants and would recommend buying automatic only.

[fhdowntheline]

I would like to make a related point that is probably not discussed much. Let me use the new Verna engine choices as the example for this. The way our urban infrastructure , particularly some of the Metro+ tier 2 urban clusters are evolving, there is a high chance that most of those who choose the 1.5 NA will use the car on highway stretches occasionally. Case in point, Mumbai- Pune- Nasik cluster, NCR+ various towns in western UP, Uttarakhand, Haryana and even Rajasthan, BLR- Mysuru etc. So practically speaking , there may not be much of a case for the cars to be strictly urban commuters unless they are small hatchbacks. So the capabilities of the engines must be reviewed by customers from that perspective. As others also mentioned, having used the Honda 1.5 NA in CVT guise , you do feel the need for that additonal punch for effortless overtaking. The Verna 1.5 iVT may do the job, but if you invest about 15- 16+ lac in a car, ypu better get the best tech. So buying a fully loaded 1.5 IVT is not vfm in my view.

[Tapish]

I have the previous generation (gosh it feels bad to write the previous generation after just 2 years) with the 1.5 NA CVT. I would say that over the past 20k km across the country in the Verna, I have never found it lacking and would choose it eyes closed. My car is majorly driven either on highways or in bumper-to-bumper traffic of New Delhi/ Gurgaon and the CVT works brilliantly at both use cases.

Also, it is the only car in my garage right now, so I don't have the luxury of one of my cars cooling its heels in the service station which unfortunately seems a given with most VAG group cars or dual-clutch DCTs. Hence my answer may be biased from that standpoint. If you have multiple cars/ if you don't mind 3-4 days of workshop visits in a year, maybe the DCT will work out well too.

[shancz]

1.5 Turbo MT for me.

1.5 Turbo is the biggest USP for me in the Verna and I still enjoy a well shifting MT so maybe a last "pure" choice.
The DCT is also an option if others would drive it too but with the "DSG fund" attached.