The upcoming Hyundai MPV will be based on a modified platform of Creta and Kia Seltos, just like the Kia KY MPV
Hyundai has been in the Indian automotive market for almost a quarter of a century now and has found tremendous success in the country. While the South Korean carmaker has tasted success in every other body style and segment, it has never introduced a proper MPV in India.
For a very long time, Hyundai has wanted to introduce an MPV in India. About a decade ago, at the 2012 Auto Expo, Hyundai had showcased their India-spec MPV concept in the form of Hexa Space. A few years later, the production spec test mules were also spotted testing on Indian roads. But due to some reason, the project was cancelled.
But seeing the success of Maruti Ertiga and its premium version XL6, Hyundai’s decision to shut the Hexa Space project, seems like a wrong one today. Internationally, Hyundai has been working on a couple of MPVs such as Staria and Custo but it is safe to assume that both these models are too premium for attracting sales numbers in India.
What Hyundai wants is an MPV such as Maruti Ertiga and XL6 which is a mass-market product. The company might have found its answers in the MPV whose completely disguised test mule was spotted recently in Indonesia. This is suspected to be the same MPV based on the platform underpinning Creta and its cousin Kia Seltos which has been in development for almost two years. Spy shots are credit to Autonetmagz.
Same MPV branded in Kia
In fact, Kia has already been testing its version of the MPV for quite some time now which is internally codenamed KY. While this Hyundai MPV has been spotted on multiple occasions last year in South Korea and China, this is the first time it has been spotted in Indonesia. Local media report suggests that this MPV will be manufactured at Hyundai’s manufacturing facility in Kota Delta Mas, Bekasi in West Java.
This MPV will be called ‘Stargazer‘ in Indonesia and is expected to go into production sometime next year. In all the spy pics surfaced on the internet until now, test mules have been under complete wraps. However, certain reports claim that design of this MPV could be inspired by the Hexa Space (HND 7) MPV Concept.
2022 Hyundai Stargazer MPV – Expected Specs
As far as powertrain is concerned, this MPV could borrow the engine options from Alcazar which includes a 1.5-litre CRDi diesel unit and a 2.0-litre MPi petrol unit. The former kicks out 114 bhp and 250 Nm of peak torque whereas the latter generates 157 bhp and 192 Nm of peak torque. Transmission duties could be handled by either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic.
2022 Hyundai Stargazer MPV is expected to be slightly longer than Ertiga/XL6. It will also be more premium, as all Hyundai / Kia cars are, compared to its Maruti rivals. If and when launched in India, this MPV could be slotted above Ertiga in price. It will also rival its cousin from Kia and Mahindra Marazzo.
