Where features are concerned, Hyundai Verna is by far the most feature-rich and also comes off as the most powerful as well
After a lot of testing, anticipation, leaks and other paraphernalia, Hyundai has finally launched the much-awaited Verna in India. There is a lot of demand for this sedan and reportedly, Hyundai has already garnered over 8,000 bookings. Verna prices are currently in the introductory phase and are likely to be hiked in the future.
In our previous post, we made a detailed comparison between segment contenders including previous-gen Verna. Now, lets take a look at detailed price comparison across all the variants of all sedans in this space to get a detailed understanding as to where Hyundai Verna’s entry-level Rs. 10.89 lakh (ex-sh) for base EX trim stands at.
Hyundai Verna Prices Vs City, Virtus, Slavia, Ciaz – Value For Money
Before getting into pricing, let’s take a look at the price increment one has to pay for an automatic transmission. Hyundai is charging between Rs. 1.25 lakh (SX) and Rs. 1.53 lakh [SX (O)] for IVT over 6MT and Rs. 1.24 lakh (SX) and Rs. 1.39 lakh [SX (O)] for 7DCT over 6MT. Honda is charging Rs. 1.25 lakh for CVT over 6MT. Skoda is charging Rs. 1.3 lakh (Ambition) and Rs. 1.2 lakh (Style) for a 6TC over a 6MT and Rs. 1.4 lakh for 7DCT over a 6MT.
VW charges Rs. 1.3 lakh for a 6TC over a 6MT. Most surprising of the bunch is Maruti Suzuki charging Rs. 1.2 lakh for a 4TC of dinosaur era over a 5MT. That said, it is the oldest of this lot and hence has the least entry-level price point of just Rs. 9,19,500 for Sigma MT. Even at top-end level, Ciaz costs just Rs. 12,18,500 for Alpha AT which is Rs. 6.21 lakh less than Virtus Style 1.5 AT and Rs. 7.41 lakh less if going for more logical Alpha MT.
Most affordable base MT, base AT, top MT and top AT are all Ciaz. For perspective, Ciaz Alpha MT is just Rs. 9,000 more than introductory price of base Verna MPi MT. Offering a 2,650 mm wheelbase, Ciaz is the best option for anyone who is a rear-seat dweller and is looking for a no-nonsense sedan.
Performance – Which is the most powerful sedan of them all?
Performance freaks are likely to gravitate towards Hyundai Verna as it claims a 0-100 km/h sprint in 8.1 seconds from its 160 PS motor. This comes close to the 150 PS motor from Germans which is a second slower to 100 km/h. Also, Verna SX (O) GDi DCT is the only one with disc brakes too. Most affordable base 1.5 turbo petrol offering with MT is Verna SX trim priced at 14.83 lakh and with DCT, it is again Verna SX priced at Rs. 16.08 lakh.
Most affordable top-spec 1.5 turbo MT and DCT is also Verna SX (O) trim. So, Hyundai has tried to appeal to enthusiasts with this introductory pricing. For customers craving for a bucket load of features, again, it is Hyundai Verna with a plethora of features covered in detail in our launch post.
Which sedan offers maximum safety features?
Hyundai has made safety a priority by making side and curtain airbags standard on all variants. In comparison among this lot, Ciaz comes off as the least appealing as it only offers 2 airbags even in top-spec Alpha trim. Speaking of safety, it is hard to ignore Honda City. We say this because, Honda offers its camera-based Sensing ADAS suite from second-base V trim itself which is priced at Rs. 12.37 lakh only. This not only makes City V trim, the least expensive ADAS-equipped car in this comparo, but across all segments in India too.
In comparison, Verna is the only other vehicle to offer ADAS and it does so starting from SX (O) 1.5 MPi IVT variant priced at Rs. 16.19 lakh. If crash ratings are anything to go by, City and Virtus have scored 5-stars each in ASEAN and Latin NCAP respectively and are likely to replicate the same in GNCAP and Bharat NCAP (when put into effect) as well. When it comes to crash worthiness of Hyundai cars, it is slightly iffy as 2022 Hyundai Tucson scored 0 stars in Latin NCAP just like its predecessor, which is not confidence inspiring as Tucson is much more expensive in pricing than Verna.