[KryptonMonkey]

Got home my new Hyundai Verna 1.5 Turbo SX(O) DCT in Atlas White. Here are my initial experiences with it.



Odometer reading at the time of writing: 25XX km.

TL;DR:
I purchased the Hyundai Verna 1.5 Turbo DCT over the rival sedans VW Virtus and Honda City for its sophistication in terms of driving experience, performance, interior design & quality, thoughtful features, and user experience.

Since a list of the general Pros and Cons is covered in the Team-BHP official review (2023 Hyundai Verna Review), I will focus more on my likes, dislikes, and biases below.

Likes:

• Space, ambience, and refinement: The cabin is spacious with superb refinement (low NVH) and a lovely ambience with a youthful vibe. There is no sense of claustrophobia in the mostly black cabin and an ample feeling of airiness. The cavernous boot swallows luggage like nobody’s business.
• Powerful, yet smooth driving experience The power on tap can induce both calmness and greed - so choose wisely!
• Front parking sensors - Super handy for confidently manoeuvering the car in tight spaces.
• Adaptive guidelines on the reverse camera make parking less stressful, especially for novices.
• Useful ADAS features such as the accurate Blind-spot warning on the ORVMs, Safe Exit Warning (SEW), Rear cross-traffic collision warning & assist (RCCW/A) and High-beam Assist (HBA).
• ADAS features with memory - Most ADAS features have a memory that retains the last setting.
• Supremely ergonomic cabin and controls layout (with a couple of small misses). Just get in and drive off without a fuss.
• Physical knobs for AC temperature and blower control.
• Front ventilated and heated seats - both modes are very effective and useful.
• The deliciously crisp touchscreen infotainment system is a delight to look at, very smooth to operate, and offers great readability at all times.
• The integrated manual rear sun curtain
• The general lack of chrome and usage of what Hyundai calls Black Chrome and Satin Chrome.
• The comprehensive safety package with the reassurance of a good crash test rating from GNCAP.

Dislikes:

• The absolute dislikes:
  • The manual driver seat height adjustment.This seat should’ve been fully electrically adjustable. The Virtus steals the show here with both front seats getting 8-way electronic adjustment.
  • The driver-side door request sensor needs to be pressed to operate it. The Honda implementation of the door request sensor is leagues ahead in usability. Also, the request sensor is only on the driver side, not on the passenger side.
• The occasional mood-killers:
  • Lack of wireless Android Auto/Apple Carplay.
  • The USB port for the Android Auto/Apple Carplay does not support fast charging.
  • Ergonomics fail: The driver-side window controls are placed slightly further ahead than required, resulting in accidental operation of the switches for the rear windows.
  • Ergonomics fail: Some AC and infotainment controls are touch-enabled in the Switchable-type infotainment and climate controller.
  • The rear middle-seat passenger gets no headrest and the 3-point seat belt can get a bit uncomfortable around the neck due to the way it is implemented.
  • The lack of simple, proper trip meters (Trip A, Trip B) that are easy to configure. The current implementation is completely counterintuitive.
  • Lack of glove box lighting. For a car known as a tubelight-on-wheels, the makers missed putting a small bulb in the glove box. I’d have preferred glove box illumination over the ventilated glove box.
  • Flawed implementation of the rear seat belt reminders.
• The misses:
  • A front camera to complement the front parking sensors
  • Foldable rear seats
  • Sun curtains (at least for the rear windows)
  • One-touch up/down for all the passenger windows

Criteria, needs, and wants:

• I had cut my teeth in the humble 800cc Alto (MT). So literally anything in the market right now would be an upgrade over it. Over the past few years, my highway usage has increased, so power and safety were top priorities, along with a modicum of comfort for city usage. Since I prefer keeping cars for long, I had a slight inclination for space as well, given that cabin and boot real estate is not something you can add on later.
• Only petrol engines would be considered.
  • Limited usage = diesels were out of the question.
  • The City Hybrid has a compromised boot and hence was eliminated from contention.
  • Electric Vehicles (EVs) were not considered due to the lack of charging infrastructure at my residence.
• I wanted a 1.5-liter engine at a minimum. Coming from an 800cc engine, the power from a 1.5-liter engine would truly feel like an upgrade. I didn’t want to have an itch to get something more powerful within a few years again. Hence all cars with naturally aspirated engines below 1.5-liter capacity were eliminated.
• I had decided not to buy a car with a “small” turbo engine. If I were going to be taking all kinds of precautions and headaches associated with maintaining a turbo petrol engine, I'd rather go the whole distance and do that with a bigger turbo engine. Hence all 1-litre class turbo engine cars were ruled out in a single sweep.
• Only Automatic Transmissions (CVT/DCT/TC) would be considered.
  As much as I have enjoyed driving manual transmission cars, it is time to move on to ATs. Most people in my circle now drive only ATs and are uncomfortable driving an MT. Buying an AT eliminates the prospect of my family members being uncomfortable with the basic handling of my car or sharing driving duties on long journeys.
• A reasonably good crash safety rating - minimum 4 stars, while being mindful of the general nuances and idiosyncrasies associated with crash tests.
• The above criteria meant that hatchbacks were eliminated and I was only left with sedans and compact (4m+) SUVs as options.
  • I don’t know if it’s due to the years of driving a low-slung hatchback or my inherent bias towards sedans but I didn’t feel excited about driving soft-roader SUVs. I test-drove three, gave up, and went back to sedans. They didn’t feel special enough to drive. I always felt a bit jittery about blind spots, especially around the front left side when I drove the SUVs. I guess I’ll just put it down to my lack of time and experience with raised SUV-type vehicles in general and low-slung cars being my comfort zone. I’ll still jot down my perspectives on test-driving three C-SUVs.
  • In the 4m+ sedan segment, by the end of 2024, no serious facelifts/generations were around the corner. I had waited long enough to realize that VW/Skoda wouldn’t replace those horrendous touch AC controls. The next-gen Honda City is expected only in 2027 and Hyundai has also shown no signs of putting out a facelift of the Verna or bringing in an N-line. Maruti has given up on the Ciaz as well. Hence it was as good a time as any to take the plunge for one of the sedans.
• Top-end variants only, to avoid buyer’s remorse and aftermarket fitments.
• I generally prefer cars in single-tone shades. Hence no dual-tone variants would be considered.
• Budget: 20-25 lakhs

Cars considered

The main contenders:

Honda City ZX CVT (1.5 NA)

• Likes
  • The steering, ride, and handling experience is lovely. This car is FUN around the Ghats. The car wraps itself around you and doesn’t make you feel like you’re driving a large car.
  • Pleasant, sedate driving experience. The suspension goes about its job silently and competently.
  • Good quality, ergonomic, fuss-free interiors that give a built-to-last vibe.
  • The unobtrusive ADAS experience is good for what it offers.
  • Sweet physical controls for the HVAC.
  • Chiller AC. Ventilated seats won’t be missed in this car.
  • Known reliability. No need to elaborate on this aspect.
• Dislikes
  • The interiors are nice, but the game has moved on, with the competition making this car look a bit jaded.
  • The co-driver footwell has a steep slope, making it a bit uncomfortable.
  • The infotainment system that has been crying out for an upgrade.
  • The NVH levels need to be improved.
  • Lack of useful features like the EPB, Auto Hold, and front parking sensors in the petrol CVT variant. The non-adjustable armrest for the driver is another sore point.
• Other notes from my test drive:
  • This was my benchmark car. If you blindly picked this car from the sedan segment and never bothered about the competition or social media hype, you could be living in bliss. The competition has moved the game forward though. It’s not that this car is bad. It’s just that the competition has raised the bar in various aspects and Honda doesn’t even seem to be playing catch-up with the City languishing without the upgrades it desperately needs.
  • Don’t let anyone put ideas into your head like the skinny tires lack grip or that you need an all-four disc brake setup to have the best braking experience. This car holds up very well in the driving experience department.
  • What it lacks is a punchy and exciting engine-gearbox combo like the competition has that the current commuter CVT isn’t able to match, despite the potent iVTEC engine. Honda needs to bring back some excitement to driving the Honda City again, especially in the automatic variant.
  • Lastly, I can switch off sensors/settings, etc. and bring the Verna down to the City’s level but I can’t up the City to Verna’s level. This thought made me eventually move on to the Hyundai Verna.

Volkswagen Virtus GT Plus (1.5 TSI EVO DSG)

• Likes
  • Looks! Enough said.
  • The engine and gearbox combo. The acceleration felt wilder compared to the linear acceleration of the Verna.
  • The fully powered electric seats for both the driver and co-driver are a great experience.
  • Split-foldable rear seats. Great for trips to IKEA!
• Strong Dislikes
  • Left-hand-drive (LHD) wiper and headlight stalk configuration. Why are VW/Skoda so arrogant in this aspect?
  • Ergonomic and usability irritants such as the misplaced start/stop button on the center console and illogically placed seat ventilation buttons (both on the driver’s side.
  • The touch-based HVAC controls. Just terrible and an absolute deal-breaker for folks like me who fiddle with HVAC controls on the go.
  • The top-end variant didn’t give me a value/premium-for-the-price feeling.
  • The rear camera feed is small with no adaptive guidelines!
• Minor Dislikes
  • The rear seatback angle was too vertical for my taste. The seat hump in the middle of the backseat is too pronounced making it a 4-seater at best.
  • The seat ventilation and window operations are too noisy to lend to a pleasant cabin experience.
  • The digital instrument cluster is not fully utilized. The blanks are an eyesore. In my book, it’s one of the worst instrument clusters I’ve ever seen.
  • Blank/dummy buttons.
• Other notes from my test drive:
  • The driving “feel” didn’t quite match the hype around this car. The steering felt way better on the Honda City. Maybe the ground clearance of the Virtus also played its part in not giving me a great feeling while driving it around, even with the seat set to the lowest height. The driving experience was good, but not mind-blowing great. So overall, it didn’t feel like it was miles ahead in terms of driving experience compared to the Verna.
  • Short test drives don’t do justice to this machine. Please ensure you get reasonably long test drives of this car.
  • I had concerns about the sensitivity to fuel quality (RON95 fuels being a must etc.), and the general niggles around “simple” things such as the window winding operations.
  • As a package, it fell short for me. Sad, because I was silently rooting for this car, despite its touch-AC controls. Yes, I really do hate touch-AC controls.

Hyundai Verna SX(O) IVT (1.5 NA)

• It is a variant worthy of consideration in the Verna line-up.
• CVT vs IVT: While the City CVT seems to have the more eager driving experience in terms of engine response and handling, the Verna IVT gives a significantly better experience as an overall package due to its better NVH levels and luxurious interiors. Quite frankly, the Verna IVT makes a very strong case against the City CVT now and you’ll need very strong reasons to reject the Verna IVT over the City CVT given the depth of features on offer and the gorgeous interiors at a similar price.
• More points on this variant will follow below.

Hyundai Verna SX(O) DCT (1.5 Turbo)

• A lot will obviously be said about this!
  
  

Briefly considered:

• Honda Elevate ZX CVT - test drive notes
  • First impressions: I sat in the driver’s seat and got thrown off by the huge bonnet that stretched ahead of me! I lowered the seat to the lowest setting and yet the bonnet was visible. Throughout the drive, I was vaguely conscious about the bonnet being visible all the time. The drive was fine, almost car-like except for the always-visible bonnet.
  • The Elevate has a better touchscreen, better “colored” interiors (tan seats, door elbow pads, etc.), better ground clearance compared to the City, and nearly all the features of the City. The Elevate ticks all the right boxes and yet, somehow the City just feels luxuriously plush and elegant in experience - both in terms of interiors and driving feel.
  • The Elevate is the practical person’s City who wants a no-nonsense fill it, shut it, forget-it car that can be driven without concerns about underbody scrapes. It just didn’t click for me though.
• Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder (Hybrid) - test drive notes:
  • Felt a bit boring to drive.
  • Didn’t enjoy the SUV high-riding experience. It felt like I was driving a house around. Hence rejected.
  • The interiors on the test drive car hadn’t aged well, which put me off further.
• Volkswagen Taigun 1.5 DSG - test drive notes
  • This car felt more like a (raised) hatchback than an SUV. From my perspective, this is a good thing. It gives you the confidence to dart through traffic safely.
  • Random thought: I feel the Taigun could be an excellent S-Cross replacement.
  • The dislikes are mostly the same that I’ve already covered for the Virtus above.
  • I enjoyed it the most amongst the three SUVs that I tried.
  • However, why anyone would choose it over the Virtus is beyond me unless the compactness is a hard requirement. All you get is 1cm extra ground clearance at the expense of about 30cm of decreased length. The Virtus is the better car of the two in terms of design, interior quality, and space.

The Ciaz wasn’t considered because it’s not a genuine contender and I didn’t bother to go for a test drive. The Honda City was the car to beat.

The Slavia was eliminated from contention because I liked the looks of the Virtus more. With both cars being on the same platform, I saved myself the trouble of test-driving the Slavia.

The world suddenly changed on October 3rd, 2023. The GNCAP crash test ratings suddenly brought the Verna into consideration. The Verna wasn’t in contention earlier because of my negative perceptions of Hyundai and Kia’s safety record in India due to poor results in crash tests of their other products, especially those of the Seltos and Creta. The fact that they had compromised on safety in their costlier made-for-India models made me lose faith in these brands. While the Verna’s performance wasn’t top of the class, it was reassuring enough for me to consider it.

Why the Verna DCT won at the expense of the IVT?

• In the city, the linear power delivery, the lack of turbo lag, and the suspension tuning make the Turbo DCT an easy recommendation over the IVT if fuel efficiency is not a deal breaker.
• The access to the Turbo DCT in terms of cost is also pretty close compared to the IVT (about 1.4-1.5 lakhs on the road).
• This made the jump to the Turbo variant seem to be a great value move considering the performance available on tap, in addition to some useful extra features such as Adaptive Cruise Control, rear disc brakes, Electronic Parking Brake (EPB), and Auto-Hold.
• I had apprehensions about the elegant white interiors of the IVT being tougher to maintain in the long run.
  
  Auto-Hold + EPB = What makes an automatic fully automatic
  
  

I’ll compare the Verna against the significant competitors (VW Virtus and Honda City) as I delve into the various aspects and features of the car.

Complete booking & delivery experience with the dealership

• After all the test drives were concluded, I was convinced that the Verna Turbo DCT was the model to go for. However, a new annoyance emerged in the form of Hyundai’s “refresh” of the Verna.
  Link to Team-BHP article (Hyundai Verna launched with new rear spoiler & colour option)
  This refresh had a factory-fitted rear spoiler and I hated it. All dealerships in Bangalore confirmed that any new model would come with the spoiler and there was no option to get the original spoiler-free model apart from the existing stock.
• I wanted to get the Verna in the Typhoon Silver color, but it turns out that Hyundai had discontinued that as well. So I decided to go with the Atlas White color.
• Only two Bangalore dealerships had the pre-refresh model in stock in Atlas White: Advaith Hyundai and Pavan Hyundai. I proceeded to negotiate with each of them.
• Advaith Hyundai:
  My experience with them for the test drives was very good. However, they were adamant about not allowing third-party PDI (such as Zekardo) and also kept insisting on going with insurance from the Hyundai Assurance Program. These made me uncomfortable.
• Pavan Hyundai, Electronics City:
  My initial interaction with them was only over the phone, given that this dealership was a good 31km away from my residence. My call to the dealership was somehow routed to a Team Lead, Mr. Prince. The interaction with him was very straightforward. He proactively welcomed my request for the Zekardo PDI as well as my conditions such as obtaining my own insurance. What followed was a blur of events that led to me getting the delivery of my car within 5 days of the initial phone call! Mr. Prince and Mr. Kiran (Sales consultant) pulled out all the stops to make the deal happen quickly. Thanks to them and their team, I was able to take the new car on my vacation. A timeline summary:
  • Initial call: Sunday evening
  • Follow-up discussions: Monday
  • Booking: Tuesday, with email & WhatsApp confirmations
  • PDI at the dealership showroom: Wednesday.
    • I opted for Zekardo given my work schedule. I was present for the PDI as well, although I couldn’t get as involved as much as I would’ve liked to.
    • The experience with Zekardo was very good. It was a relief once the Zekardo engineer gave the green light for the deal after a thorough inspection.
    • Interestingly this was the first time that I set foot in the showroom and met the sales team!
  • Registration: Thursday, after I released the payments.
  • Delivery: Friday!

Extended warranties & service packages

• Opted for Hyundai’s extended warranty until the 7th year or 1 lakh kilometers, whichever comes earlier.
• I haven’t opted for any service packages such as Shield of Trust.

Exterior styling & design

• When I first saw the photos and videos online, I was shocked by the front looks that seemed awkward with that “tubelight” spanning the front.
• The car exemplifies the phrase “Love it or hate it but you simply can’t ignore it”.
• In the flesh, the car looks really good. The “tubelight” (position light) has grown on me!
  • In daylight, the position light is subdued in the white car. The DRLs look sharp.
  • At night, it makes heads turn. The position light gives a solid road presence to the seemingly compact front.
• I’ve realized that you have to get the camera angle absolutely right when photographing it from the front, lest it look awkward in photos.
• The side profile takes the cake though. It is fantastic, especially in white with the black alloys. The fastback silhouette looks lovely when stationary as well as in motion as the car glides past you.
• The satin chrome door handles are chunky and good to hold.
• Chrome has been kept to a minimum which lends it an air of sophistication.
• The tail lights are really well done, especially the crushed glass effect. I often admire them on other Vernas that I spot on the road!
• This car grabs too much attention for my comfort, but I’m learning to live with it.

Overall build quality, fit & finish, paint quality and panel gaps

• The car feels solid and has been put together very well. The shut lines are tight.
• The doors are hefty and the hood is so surprisingly heavy that I can complete my arm workout by just lifting it a few times.
• The paint quality of the Virtus felt best to the naked eye. Hyundai and Honda sure have some catching up to do in this department.

Interior design & quality (plastics, upholstery, fit & finish etc.)

• Two-spoke steering wheel: I graduated to the Verna from my Alto which too had a two-spoke steering wheel. So the two-spoke design doesn’t bother me at all. The commonly reported issue of being unable to figure out if the steering wheel is the right side up puzzles me. At least the Verna’s steering has thumb contours to indicate that by feel. The Alto didn’t even have that!
• The touchscreen infotainment system elevates the premium feel of the cabin with its sheer smoothness, usability and readability. The choice of colors, fonts, and graphics gels well with the overall ambience of the car. Here’s a shot of a screen where you can see these in action.
  
  
  
• Experience with the Verna IVT’s white interiors
  • The IVT’s white interiors ooze elegance and class. If you didn’t know any better, you would easily think that the IVT, and not the DCT, was the top variant!
  • The IVT feels more spacious and luxurious than the DCT due to the white interiors.
  • The ambient lighting complements the white interiors better.
  • The main concern would be the maintenance of the IVT’s interiors. The test drive and display vehicles had quite a few of the white touchpoints soiled due to frequent human interaction.
  • The interiors of the City pales in comparison to this rendition of the Verna IVT. The Verna IVT feels modern, fresh, soothing, and lounge-like compared to the rather avuncular design choices in the City. Mind you, the City’s quality levels are decent. It just doesn’t have the youthful vibe that the Verna brings to the cabin.
• Experience with the Verna DCT’s black interiors
  • The mostly black interiors lend themselves to the sporty aspirations of the DCT variant.
  • The seats with the red piping and the steering wheel with the red stitching look great.
  • The Verna DCT’s dark interiors felt better than the black interiors of the Virtus in terms of providing a sense of space.
  • One of the test drive vehicles had 34k KM on the odometer. In this car, the upholstery seemed to be in great shape which helped to instill some confidence about its longevity.
  • Contrary to expectations, the black interiors don’t feel claustrophobia-inducing at all. The generous glass area and the ivory roof liner seem to contribute to this feeling. This was a comforting factor in choosing the Turbo DCT since the IVT’s white interiors were too endearing.

Interior space & comfort

• The front seats of the Verna hugged me the best of all the 3 sedans tested. The seat bolstering is excellent.
• On the co-driver side, the footwell slopes gently in the Verna compared to the Honda City where the slope is steeper, making it more comfortable for the co-driver in the Verna.
• I have sat in the back seat of the Verna but haven’t been driven around in it yet. So this portion of the review of the backseat experience will be purely from my sitting in a stationary car experience. I rarely use the back seat, and the car will usually see two occupants at most. Thus, the backseat wasn’t a deciding factor in the purchase.
• The Verna’s backseat felt the best compared to the Honda City and VW Virtus in terms of seating comfort. It’s wide, supportive, gets a lot of leg room, and has a very comfortable recline angle.
• Based on my experience of sitting in the middle of the backseat of all three cars, my rating would be: Verna > City >> Virtus. The Virtus’s backseat is realistically a 2-seater as the seat hump is too pronounced in it.
• The rear middle-seat passenger in the Verna surprisingly gets no headrest and the 3-point seat belt can get a bit uncomfortable around the neck due to the manner it is implemented.
• The interior storage spaces are well thought out and present in abundance.
  • The front doors accommodate two 1-liter bottles each, while the rear doors accommodate a single 1-liter bottle each.
    
  • A decently-sized removable basket under the armrest is present. This is useful for removing and cleaning it separately.
  • The retractable cupholder is great to use with bottles that have a wider base. The open cubbyhole in front of it can hold a standard 500ml mineral water bottle comfortably.
    

Wheels & tyres

• The stock tyres are Apollo Alnac 4G 205/55 R16 shod on Black alloys.
  No plans to swap out the stock tyres currently.
• The spare tyre is a Ceat Securadrive 185/65 R15 shod on a Steel wheel.

Driving position, ergonomics, controls & MID

• I found it easy to get into a good driving position with the height-adjustable partially-powered driver’s seat and steering with tilt and reach adjust.
• The ergonomics of the car are spot-on for the most part except the issues that I’ve mentioned in the “Dislikes” section. This makes it a very fuss-free experience for someone new to the car. You intuitively find all the controls where you expect them to be.
• Since the car is mostly driven by me, the seat is always set to the lowest height setting. So the manual height adjustment lever doesn’t bother me as much as it should. However, on the few occasions that I have had to use it, I have always silently cursed Hyundai for not providing a fully electric experience here.
• The instrument cluster is crisp, uncluttered and easy to read and parse on the go.
  

Visibility & size of mirrors

• All-around visibility is great in the Verna. The low-set dash offsets the fact that one can’t see the bonnet. The ORVMs are the right size and give a good view of all the action.
• There’s enough glass area to do shoulder checks for blind spots comfortably.
• Here, a special mention is needed of Honda’s placement of the ORVMs in the City, Elevate, and now in the new Amaze. Honda has placed the ORVMs on the door, eliminating the blind spot at the usual point where the A-pillar and ORVMs are integrated.

Air conditioner cooling & effectiveness

• December isn't the best time in Bangalore to test the effectiveness of AC cooling. However, the AC kept us cool and comfortable on highway drives toward the southwestern coast, which was much hotter during the day.
• The seat cooling function works pretty effectively, complementing the AC, and is a great comfort factor. The best part about it is that it's not noisy, unlike the seat ventilation in the Virtus.
• I've used the seat heating functionality on some cold nights and that is very soothing! I believe this will be very useful in Northern India during winters.

Audio system & sound quality

• The Bose audio system is crisp, but doesn't seem to produce thumping bass. Out of the box, it is great for playing soothing music.
• I'm yet to find a “punchy” setup using the equalizer settings.
• My current setup has the bass maxed out at 10, with treble at 10 and mid at 1.

Safety & related equipment

• The Verna is loaded with all the safety equipment that one usually expects these days (6 airbags, ESP, etc.). I want to draw attention to the features/equipment that have made a tangible difference to my quality of life behind the wheel.
• The rear seat belt reminder implementation is flawed. It doesn’t chime when a passenger is seated without belting up. It chimes only if the rear seat passenger removes the seat belt when the car is in motion. I assume this is because there are no weight sensors in the rear seat.
  • My tactic is to point to the reminder lights shown in the dashboard to get the rear passengers to belt up. Later if they try to unbuckle themselves, the chimes kick in and prompt them to buckle up again!
• Electrochromic Inside Rear View Mirror (IRVM): This is a boon at night given the penchant for Indian drivers to be absolutely nonchalant about using high beams and overly bright aftermarket headlights by default even in city conditions.
• The following ADAS functions in particular:
  • Blind Spot Collision Warning (BSCW)
  • High Beam Assist (HBA)
  • Safe Exit Warning (SEW)
  • Rear Cross-traffic Collision Warning & Assist (RCCW/A)

The ADAS Experience

• I had decided to keep an open mind about ADAS as both the Honda City and Hyundai Verna come with ADAS on their top variants.
• I ensured that almost all the ADAS functions were switched ON during each test drive.
  • Why almost? That is because all the Honda and Hyundai dealerships that I visited were wary to the point of paranoia of the Forward Collison-Avoidance Assist system during test drives. I did test it out briefly during my final test drive of the Verna after I somehow convinced the sales associate.
• The Verna’s Hyundai SmartSense Level 2 ADAS system is quite extensive, given that it has both camera and radar-based inputs. My initial impression is that this ADAS system is well-calibrated for most Indian road conditions, but should be used with full application of mind by the driver. For me, ADAS is a tool that augments all the precautions I would usually take, keeps me honest, and gives me an opportunity to course-correct if needed.
• If you drive carefully enough that a “Warning” doesn’t have to turn into an “Assist”, you would generally find that ADAS doesn’t kick in as a “surprise” as most people claim it does. This means taking your foot off the accelerator pedal and/or dabbing the brakes to let the ADAS system know that you’re in control during the warning phase.
• I made a conscious decision to keep ALL the ADAS functions ON, right out of the showroom on delivery day given that my test drive experiences were positive. My logic is that I will only switch off functions that turn out to be too bothersome or dangerous.
  • To date, I have only switched off the Lane Safety function because it nudges me into a lane in urban conditions, where sticking to a lane isn’t always possible (for various reasons that I won’t delve into here).

My favorite ADAS features:

• Blind Spot Collision Warning (BSCW)
  • This is by far my favorite ADAS feature. The little warning triangle that lights up in either ORVM is a boon, especially in urban conditions. If you have the indicator on, you get warning beeps as well from the indicated direction. Even otherwise, each time you glance at the mirrors, the illuminated warning triangle reminds you to be cautious instantly.
  • On highways, lane changes become safer as you have the system backing you up, alerting you and helping you make better decisions. It is a conservative system, so you can definitely ignore it when you deem it safe enough. However, because you need to make that decision of ignoring the warning consciously, you get into a pattern of at least doing a quick risk assessment before making the lane change.
• Rear cross-traffic collision warning & assist (RCCW/A)
  • This is one of the more aggressive Assist systems in the ADAS suite. I still keep it on because I’d rather suffer some annoyance and embarrassment than suffer a collision with impatient road users who won’t indulge in some courtesy for a vehicle backing into traffic.
    • I sometimes turn it off when I have a human assisting me while backing into traffic out of a parking lot.
    • When I’m alone I feel better leaving it on.
    • One of the rare ADAS settings that doesn’t have a memory function. Each time you restart the car, the RCCW/A is set to ON.

A few words about the Honda ADAS experience.

• The Honda Sensing ADAS system in the City is quite competent in the feature set that it offers. My experience with this is limited to the 40-50km worth of test drive. The interventions are gentle and the warnings were not intrusive.
• It seems that out of the box, the Honda ADAS is more like a silent guardian compared to the Hyundai ADAS system which chimes in quite prominently.
• The Verna offers more fine-tuning and customization options for enabling/disabling assists and the loudness and intrusiveness of warning chimes.
  
  Here is a comparison table that I drew up when comparing the two vehicles:
  
  

Switchable-type infotainment and climate controller:

• The good:
  • The luxury of two physical knobs !
  • I mostly keep this controller in climate control mode. This is because most of the important audio controls are present on the steering wheel, or on the touch-screen infotainment system.
    • This frees up the knobs to be mapped to the blower and AC temperature controls. For me, this is useful as I tend to keep playing with the blower speed and temperature on drives based on my needs.
• The bad:
  • The AC on/off switch is a touch button.
    Instead of the Auto AC button, the AC on/off switch should have been the physical button OR the temperature control knob should have had an On/Off toggle mode (for example when pressing the knob).
  • The co-driver will have to stretch and exercise quite a bit to get to the audio controls (and vice versa) depending on what mode the driver has selected. In my case, the co-driver usually is left hunting for the audio volume control knob to reduce the volume when I'm focused on the road.
  
  
  There is an option to swap the knob function in the Infotainment mode:
  
  

Fuel efficiency: City and Highway

• It's still early days but here's my experience so far:
  • City: 7-8 KMPL on average in poor traffic conditions (bumper-to-bumper crawls) and 10-12 KMPL if there is reasonably flowing traffic, such as on weekend mornings.
  • Highway: 16-18 KMPL, when driven sanely, especially using Cruise Control.
• The fuel efficiency decreases drastically to the 7-8kmpl levels due to the idle time spent in heavy traffic stretches.

[KryptonMonkey]

The driving experience

• This car is such an effortless cruiser on highways. Even when not using cruise control, there’s a serene feeling behind the wheel as the car glides past the scenery.
• Well-controlled NVH levels make driving in traffic a Zen-like experience. In the city, the Verna is at home filtering through traffic. The engine and gearbox combination works effortlessly and overall it’s a very smooth experience. The front parking sensors make navigating tight spaces a stress-free experience.
  • To summarize: Comfortable driver’s seat + good music + Auto-Hold = Bliss
  • A nifty tip: The front parking sensors stop beeping when the gear selector is in Neutral. In bumper-to-bumper traffic, if you get too close to vehicles or some bikers squeeze in between the safe space you’ve generously left on the road, the front parking sensors obviously start beeping continuously. In such situations, shift to Neutral and enjoy the peace. There is no need to switch off the front parking sensors ever.
• The steering wheel is nice and chunky to hold, the thumb contours are snug. Very light and easy to use while parking and around the city. It does feel a bit disconnected (compared to the City) but it’s pretty consistent in terms of the amount of turn you need to go around corners accurately at speed. Driving around the Ghats spiritedly isn’t a problem. I enjoy the way it rotates precisely and flat around corners.
• The suspension is not as stiff as that of the Virtus but it’s not soft either. It seems to have a healthy balance to straddle the performance on offer with the comfort the occupants desire. The rear end feels a tad loose, but it's something one can live with.
• Grip levels are good with the fat tires and the suspension keeping things planted.
• The speed masking capability of this car is something I’ve had to get used to. Due to the power available, its linearity in delivery, and lack of turbo lag, the Verna picks up speed casually but quickly, and before you know it, the 80kmph warning chimes come on. 120kmph feels like a breeze in this car and makes you wish we had better road infrastructure and a well-behaved citizenry to enjoy the higher speeds this car could comfortably attain.
• The Auto Hold feature is a boon in stop-and-go traffic. The creep function is what you would sacrifice with this mode on though. However, a gentle dab on the accelerator pedal is all that’s required to get going again smoothly.
  • With Auto Hold set to OFF, the car behaves much smoother in slow-moving traffic. The experience is comparable to driving the IVT in traffic. This is a trade-off that I resort to only occasionally, with Auto Hold = ON being preferred 99% of the time.
• The DCT gearbox occasionally gets reluctant to shift to D1 in slow-moving traffic, leading to a slight judder/jerkiness. This situation is easily remedied with the paddle shifter.
• Braking = Predictable, progressive:
  • I was slightly apprehensive that the four-disc brake setup might be too grabby for my taste. Hence I was pleasantly surprised during the test drives by how natural the brakes felt to use on the Turbo variant. The brakes are very predictable and progressive, and have the bite when you need it the most.
  • Comparison with the Verna 1.5 NA IVT: The IVT comes with a front disc and rear drum brake setup. The IVT’s brakes felt slightly wooden and less progressive at the initial bite compared to those of the Turbo DCT during test drives. I took two test drives of the IVT with different dealerships to confirm this.
• Ground clearance = Adequate
  • So far, the ground clearance has proven adequate and has given no cause for concern when driven with reasonable care. I drove it through the bad patches of the Shirady Ghats without any issues. I’ll continue to monitor this closely.
  • With 5 adults aboard but no luggage, I did a short trip (~50km) in Kerala and there was no instance of underbody scraping. I suspect the slightly stiffer suspension prevents sag when loaded, but only time and experience with very bad conditions will tell the true story.

Some other likes

• The horn: It’s LOUD and one needs to be responsible while using it. It’s very useful to draw attention in case you get into blind spots of larger vehicles that tend to overlook sedans and hatchbacks or wake up distracted drivers/riders.
• Highline Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS): I was sitting on the fence with this one as I wasn’t sure how accurate the pressure monitoring would be. However, I recently suffered a puncture and the TPMS warning kicked in at around 28 PSI for the rear right tyre. I did some checks against a couple of inflators, including the one at the tyre shop that fixed the puncture and the TPMS results seem to tally against the inflators’ pressure gauges. It is now my routine to switch to the TPMS readout during the first cold start of the day and check on the tyre pressures.
• There are no dummy/blank buttons. So you don't get the feeling that you've been shortchanged or driving a poverty spec car.
• Illuminated switches all around, including the window switches. Functional and classy.
• Cornering lamps are useful.
• The integrated rear sun curtain hasn’t caused visibility issues when looking through the IRVM. Hence I’ll leave it on permanently.

Accessories

I got the following Hyundai accessories as part of the deal.

• Dual layer mat: Looks good, gets the job done and gels well with the interiors.
• 3D boot mat: This makes the boot easier to use with some degree of nonchalance. Easy to clean and protects the boot floor.
• Magnetic Sun shades - Row A + B: Fits well, stays on firmly with the magnets and helps to keep the interiors cool. Doesn’t impair visibility when looking out from the car.
  
  The fit and finish of the accessories in general seem to be of good quality. I highly recommend opting for these at a minimum.
  
  
  

Some things I want to experiment with:

• The Eco mode, especially for city drives. I need to figure out the delta between this and the Normal mode in terms of performance and fuel efficiency.
• The Sport mode, on the highways. For fun, and nothing else.
• Let the Idle Stop and Go (ISG) do its job and see if it makes a difference in fuel efficiency. The driving experience with it ON isn't great, so I'll need to make a conscious effort with this experiment.
• Valet mode

First service experience at 1500km

• A straightforward, hassle-free experience.
• Fully replaced the engine oil and filter at my request and cost.
• Timely updates from the service team via WhatsApp with photos and videos of the jobs being done.

Dashcam installation and Ceramic Coating at Krithi Car Care

• Dashcam installed: 70mai A810 dual-channel dashcam
  • The installation job was neat and clean.
  • No hardwiring done for now to avoid warranty issues.
• Got the ceramic coating done in the hope of having a slightly easier time maintaining the car cleanly.
  • Early impressions after a month are positive. The coating works as expected with the lovely water beading happening as advertised.
  • Cleaning the car is indeed easier for now.
  • The good folks at Krithi Car Care were kind enough to share some photos and a video after the process.
    

    https://youtu.be/-kQCjNUE2Dc?si=uDDsIc4wOKLAvd9C

  

Parting thoughts:

• The sedan segment in India has limited but excellent, safe, good-to-drive products. You really won’t go wrong no matter what you pick between the City, Slavia, Virtus, and Verna. Each of them will bring a smile to your face in a different manner. You just need to pick your different.
• Sedans are offering excellent value for money in the Indian market at present. Let go of irrational fears of ground clearance issues and you will realize that you’ve unlocked some great options in the 10-25L segment.
• I’m glad that I test-drove each car under consideration in all the engine/gearbox variants I seriously considered. The shortest test drives were about 7-8km long and the longer ones were at least 40km per session.
  • The Verna has to be seen in the flesh before forming a firm opinion on its looks. Don’t get caught up in the “German engineering” hype machine and become dismissive of its driving dynamics.
  • The Virtus (and Slavia) has to be driven and experienced properly in both urban and highway conditions to assess if you like the trade-offs it brings.
  • Test-drive the Honda City CVT on highway-type roads to decide if the rubber-band effect is controlled enough for your taste, as well as the NVH levels. In urban conditions, it’s a breeze to drive this car, so the real value of the test drive will be in faster conditions.
    • This applies to the Verna IVT as well.

Overall, the Hyundai Verna has turned out to be a great package for my needs and wants at the time of purchase. It seems to have the good bits of the Honda City and the VW Virtus plus a little extra in terms of features. Only time will tell how it ages as well as the quirks that surface. That’s what I hope to trace through this thread.

Thank you for reading!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[shankar.balan]

A very comprehensive review.
In my view you have made a very good choice.
I test drove this car at the dealer nearby more than a year ago. And yes this 1.5 litre Turbocharged Hyundai Verna is an excellent vehicle. All that you’ve said about its linear power delivery and overall fit and finish and handling, holds true. It is a very worthy car.
And I think you are one of the ‘sensible’ folks who opted for this vehicle.
All the best and Happy Driving!

[Sudarshan42]

Excellent review, probably better than even the official ones by most websites. You've addressed my questions so well without ever knowing what they were!

I'm on the fence about the IVT and DCT myself, with the long-term reliability of the DCT being a factor. The lighter interiors on the IVT, with the lower price is pitted against the power of the turbo and the better braking setup. I also fail to understand why the Verna sells less than a tenth of the Creta, when you get everything for 2-3 lakhs less (apart from one size larger wheels and panoramic sunroof, the latter is a dubious feature in Indian conditions anyway). We truly do live in SUV country, and gems like this will soon fade out.

[carhead]

Thanks for the excellent review.

Seek your opinion. For a sedate driver how much of a performance difference would there be in DCT vs IVT

[NTO]

Great comprehensive review of a car that in my opinion offers the best value for money, not only in its segment but, also in a few segments above and below. Despite having a Virtus GT in the Garage, I felt Verna to be a great package and picked up one for myself, in the SX DCT guise. I will share my review very shortly. Just crossed the first 1000 km.

[avdhesh15]

@KryptonMonkey, great review! Am going to be shopping in the 20-25 lac segment this year, and hence bookmarked your thread. Please continue updating the thread every now and then.

[KryptonMonkey]

Originally Posted by Sudarshan42

I also fail to understand why the Verna sells less than a tenth of the Creta, when you get everything for 2-3 lakhs less (apart from one size larger wheels and panoramic sunroof, the latter is a dubious feature in Indian conditions anyway). We truly do live in SUV country, and gems like this will soon fade out.

From my dealership visit experiences, I can tell you that it was very sad to see the stepmotherly treatment for the Verna in almost all the showrooms that I visited. All of them have given prominence to the (pseudo?) SUVs and even hatchbacks on the shop floor. Only one had a Verna for display in an obscure corner of the floor. Just imagine an Exter getting a prime spot over such a car in their lineup.

Throughout my engagement with all the dealers, they all tried to upsell the Creta to me, trying to instill the fear of the "ground clearance issue" with the Verna. I had a tough time understanding why they would deliberately downplay the only 5-star GNCAP-rated car in their line-up. Maybe it's a question of margins and incentives.

Take a look at Hyundai India's Instagram page. There have been no posts on the Verna for ages! On the other hand, VW is super aggressive on social media in promoting the Virtus. Granted they only have 2 vehicles in their portfolio currently (Virtus/Taigun), but there is a reason why the Virtus is the best-selling sedan in the segment.

Originally Posted by carhead

Seek your opinion. For a sedate driver how much of a performance difference would there be in DCT vs IVT

My opinion is that a sedate driver will find his/her forever happiness in the IVT because such a driver would probably never access the performance of the DCT.

Originally Posted by NTO

Despite having a Virtus GT in the Garage, I felt Verna to be a great package and picked up one for myself, in the SX DCT guise.

Talk about being a sedan lover!
Congratulations on both your cars. Would love to hear your comparisons for sure.

[GForceEnjoyer]

Absolutely excellent review. The varied individual perspectives on the many different small aspects of a car are why I love reading different reviews even long after its launch. This was a wonderful and extremely detailed read!

Wishing you innumerable pleasurable miles with your beautiful car. And I must say, that's quite a garage you've got there! As a die-hard sedan lover myself, heavily approved!

[fhdowntheline]

Welcome to the tribe! The Verna 1.5 dct has that very sleek futuristic air about it, and can hold it’s own to cars twice its price bracket in terms of performance.

[bblost]

With almost 22,000 kms done in my Verna, I must say that you have covered everything beautifully about this amazing mile muncher.

The car is an absolute pleasure to drive.

The only thing I miss is a camera in the front. That would have helped a lot when parking in places with a low kerb in front.

Extremely comfortable for both driver and passengers. I just keep wanting to find new destinations to drive to.

Wish you many many happy miles on it.

[throttleAddict]

Welcome to club Hyundai mated with a slick DCT, the only manufacturer who still cares about physical knobs, switches and the quality of it. PS : I’m on the i20 N-Line club and I absolutely hate the touch controls for the HVAC in the VW twins.