Recently we found out that Hyundai will be launching its new hatchback, Grand i10, in India on the 3rd of September. Interestingly, the car is scheduled to make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013 which will begin on the 10th September. This means that India will be the nation to get the Grand i10 much before its scheduled international debut. Now it has surfaced up that Hyundai might be planning to launch a compact sedan based on its hatchback, Grand i10.
Hyundai has 3 sedans in its lineup which are Elantra, Verna and Sonata, in various segments. But unfortunately it does not have any sedan in the highly popular compact sedan segment. This segment is presently being ruled by Maruti Suzuki Dzire and Honda Amaze. Hyundai has always received a tough competition from Maruti Suzuki since its entry into the Indian market in the year 1998 with its family car, Santro. The battle is still on as Maruti Suzuki is the number one car manufacturer in the country while Hyundai is ranked as the second largest. The only sedan by Hyundai that can be compared to the Dzire or Amaze, is its Accent compact sedan. But sadly this car does not comply with any of the government guidelines here and the car has already lived its prime life.
The grand i10 will be a larger version of the Hyundai i10 and it will fill in the gap between the current i10 and i20 models. This hatchback will be available with two engine options. The first variant will have a Kappa petrol engine having a capacity of 1.2 liter as seen in the current model of i10. This engine has a output of 80 PS and a maximum torque of 115 Nm. The car will come with either a 5 speed manual transmission or a 4 speed auto transmission. The Grand i10 will feature a new engine option of a U2 VGT 3 cylinder diesel engine having a capacity of 1.1 liter which will offer a maximum power output of 75 PS and a torque of 170 Nm.
It was revealed in February by various media reports, that after the new i10- Grand i10 is unveiled, the company might start working on updating its compact sedan line up in the country. This new compact sedan, based on Grand i10, will most likely be a sub 4 meter vehicle. The compact sedan might be equipped with a comparatively larger version of the engine which will be seen in the diesel variant of Grand i10 which will be launched in the next month. This compact sedan, most probably, will share many of its designing elements and features with the Grand i10 hatchback. The car performance and engine specs might also be similar to Grand i10 which are mentioned above.
After its unveiling on the 3rd of September, the Grand i10 will go on sale in the next 6 to 8 months. In this span of 6 to 8 months, Hyundai Motor India Limited might also launch its new i20 and also a facelifted version of its Eon.
