The Hyundai Verna had come as a fresh breath of air in the mid-size sedan segment, when the earlier generation car was launched. It had brought in a lot of new features and engine options to revive the segment, however, over the last few years it had lost that steam and the competition had got the better of it. This time, however, Hyundai has upped the game and come in much stronger with a much improved and better product, which is the 2017 Hyundai Verna. This car is now built on an all-new platform that makes it more robust and efficient. It also comes with new features and some segment first ones as well. How is the new 2017 Hyundai Verna? Will it disrupt the sedan segment once again? Is it worth buying? We tell you in detail, in this review. Read further.

Hyundai Verna 2017 Video Review

Exterior

The new Verna now meets the family look of the new Hyundais. It now resembles other sedans from the stable is what I mean. Though the earlier Verna was also a good looking car, the new one is much more sportier and has more character.

Front

The front sees a large grill that now is present on most Hyundai cars. This signature grill covers most of the front and looks imposing. It has sleek headlamps on either side and they come with projector lamps. The headlamp assembly also houses daytime running LEDs. There is a segment first feature which are LED fog lamps, unseen on any other car in this segment before. The front look is much more pleasing now and classier as well.

Hyundai Verna 2017 side

Side

From the side the 2017 Hyundai Verna looks very sporty. It is styled like a coupe so you have sloping roof that gels well with the short boot. There is a chrome strip on the window line that makes it look premium and there are chrome door handles, however, available only on the top-of-the-line variant. The car has turn indicators on the ORVMs and these mirrors are electrically foldable. the lower variants get 15-inch steel / alloy wheels and the top and variant gets 16-inch alloy wheels. However the spare wheel remains a 15-inch one.

Hyundai Verna 2017 red rear

Rear

The rear of the Verna is now quite different and resembles its elder sibling – the Elantra. It gets similar tail lamps that have LED in it and the look is very classy and upmarket. The boot looks small from the outside but offers 480 litres of space. That is 20 litres more than the previous model. There is another segment first feature in this car which is called Smart Trunk. When you approach the car with the keys and wait near the boot for three seconds, the lid automatically opens to allow access. This is specially useful when your hands are full of shopping bags or luggage. Quite a thoughtful feature in my opinion, to be offered. This makes the new 2017 Hyundai vErna a lot more sporty than ever.

Interiors 

Once you enter the car, you get a familiar feeling. Yes, it’s that of other Hyundai cars. The interiors don’t feel very different but they are put together very well. The dashboard has a clean look which is uncluttered, with neat following lines. The centre console is slightly tilted towards the driver to allow easy accessibility and visibility while driving. The interior colour theme is a black and beige one and this makes the car feel quite airy and bright.

The steering wheel is a new one which is three spoked. It has several buttons on it which includes audio and Bluetooth controls, driver info system switches and also cruise control. The top and variant gets leather steering and the quality feel top notch. The instrument console is simplistic with two dials for the speedo and tachometer. It has a driver information screen at the centre, which has a digital speedo (available only in the top end version) and also has tripmeters. Another new addition is the presence of distance to empty and mileage indicator. We have often mentioned the fact of Hyundai missing out on this feature in its cars, but now they have been started providing it in their cars. The Elantra was the first one to receive it and now the new Verna also gets it.

There is a 5-inch touch screen on lower variants and the top variants get a 7-inch touchscreen. The functionality of the screen is good and is quite sensitive. You get features like Bluetooth, Mirror-Link, Android auto and Apple carplay. There is also navigation present here. The quality of audio is commendable and reproduces good quality sound. Below the screen are the AC controls. The top and variant gets automatic climate control and the air conditioning as usual is excellent. It gets segment first Feature called Eco-coating. This essentially means that the evaporator of AC is coated with a special material, which eliminates micro-organisms breeding on it, that may result in bad odour coming into the cabin. This feature offers fresh air in the cabin at all times.

Storage spaces are aplenty in this car. The glove box is quite spacious and is also a cooled one to keep your beverages cool enough the door pockets can take in one litre water bottles there is a space to keep your mobile wallet at cetera in the centre console and the floor console has Cup holders there is an arm rest which is adjustable and it also has storage inside.

Hyundai Verna 2017 new rear AC vent

The seats are pretty comfortable the top and variant gets perforated leather as the seats are ventilated yes this is again a segment first feature we tried using the ventilated seats and in the humid conditions of Kochi it worked wonders

Another much talked about future is the presence of an electric sunroof which is available on the top and SX O version and also comes in the SX auto version click here to read more about the variants and features. While the front offers generous leg room, the same can’t be said about the rear. No, its not very tight on space but it is certainly below our expectations and also the leg room is lesser than what the competition offers. The reason for this seems to be the coupe like design which somewhere hampers the flexibility for more leg room and also headroom.

The seats are comfortable and provide good thigh support as well. There is a centre armrest present. Another thing we found was that 3 people will find it a bit of a squeeze at the rear. Clearly the new Verna seems to be more driver focused and that’s where the efforts of Hyundai have gone in as far as the improvisations are concerned.

The headrests on the rear seat adjustable only on the top and variant others get a fixed one there is also rear blind which operates manually again present in the top and variant

Engine and Performance

The Verna now comes with only 2 engine options as opposed to the earlier car which had four options. Hyundai is positioning the 2017 Verna as a premium car and hence the 1.4-litre petrol and diesel engines have been discontinued. It gets a 1.6-litre petrol engine and 1.6 litre diesel engine. These engines are the same ones which powered the earlier Verna, however, they are tuned differently this time. The petrol has a power output of 121bhp and the diesel offers 126bhp of power.

What makes the car behave differently this time is the fact that both engines have been tuned to offer better low end torque. This has made the 2017 Hyundai Verna more drivable, be it the manual or even the automatic than its predecessor. This is especially helpful when you are driving on inclines or hilly roads, or even overtaking on the highways. The better low end torque also helps reduce gear shifts while driving in city conditions.

Outright performance of both engines was always good and now it is even better. Another change that the new Verna sees is the introduction of a new automatic transmission. This is a six-speed box, as opposed to the earlier four-speed one. The result is a more responsive feel and that is certainly more pleasurable as a driving experience.

Ride and Handling 

This is an area where you will find the biggest difference over the earlier model. The new Verna has been built on an entirely new platform and has no similarity with the outgoing model. This platform is the same one that also underpins the Elantra. The company says as this is a more advanced and expensive platform and a reason for the paradigm shift in the behaviour of this car.

2017 Hyundai Verna new motion

The new Verna offers a much more pliant ride than before. The handling is also improved and doesn’t feel tricky when pushed hard. Another thing that we liked in the new Verna is the steering feedback. It is certainly a big improvement over the outgoing model. The steering weighs up pretty well and doesn’t feel vague while hard cornering. Though its yet not up there with some of  its European rivals,it does the job well enough. Hyundai cars have often been criticized for their handling and steering feedback. However, we feel that this aspect is being worked upon by the company and it shows.

The brakes have also improved and the tires provide decent grip. We drove the 2017 Hyundai Verna in hilly sections with winding roads and tried some hard cornering. The car behaved much better than what we had expected.

Also Read: Hyundai Verna 2017 – All details | Honda City 2017 | Maruti Ciaz 2017 – new car coming

2017 Hyundai Verna Verdict

Now why should you buy the 2017 Hyundai Verna? It has been priced pretty aggressively and falls exactly in between the Maruti Ciaz and the Honda City, the duo which together command about 80% of the market share in this segment. It does fall short in some areas like rear knee-room but then it compensates that with the number of features offered. It comes across as a more rounded package for the price. By the package, what I mean is the combination of excellent performance, good fuel efficiency and much more improved ride and handling, with the icing on the cake being the introduction of many new features, some of which are segment first ones. To top it, the after sales service backup of Hyundai is there amongst the top ones, if not the best. The new 2017 Hyundai Verna has left us quite impressed and we are quite sure that you too will be.

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