A bigger heart grants the Korean
access to the tough litre-class zone. Will it come out as a winner?
If you think this is one of those
steal-a-car’s-engine-and-plonk-it-in-another-car job, you’re highly mistaken.
Hyundai has not lifted the Santro’s mill and tossed it into the Eon’s engine
bay to get it into the litre-class category. It’s made a new unit specifically
for this tiny tot.
It’s smaller than that of the Santro’s by a
few cubic centimetres, and also has one cylinder less to fire. Still, by
employing new technology, it puts out five more horses, so this new 998cc block
is now good for 68bhp and 96Nm.
The
design is captivating enough to pick the Hyundai Eon over the
competition
With the old 800cc block, we’d say that the
Eon comes as a well-rounded package, but lacks oomph even when you’re not
making brisk progress. Also, the power delivery of the smaller engine is a bit
jerky. However, both these problems have been solved with the introduction of
this new power plant.
Being a three-pot, the Eon 1.0 is
inherently susceptible to engine vibrations, but Hyundai has taken good care to
filter them out. Except at idle, you won’t find reason to complain about this.
In terms of noise insulation, though, the Eon isn’t too good. Ample road and
engine chatter creeps into the cabin on the move.
In terms of speed, at 14-secondsflat to
100kph, it’s about three seconds quicker than the 800cc version. But on the
economy front, it’s not too far off the 800’s mark – 18.4kpl on the highway,
13.9kpl in the city.
Get
inside and the Hyundai Eon oozes of quality, feel fresh interiors,
great plastic quality and the 2 tone beige and greyish black combination just
enhances the appeal
For now, Hyundai has introduced the new
1-litre Kappa engine only with the Magna+ variant. This isn’t the fully-loaded
trim, but it does get power steering, front power windows, remote locking and a
music system with USB and Aux inputs.
The Eon tops the charts in its category when
it comes to plastic quality and overall fit and finish levels – which better
that of the Maruti Alto K10. But cabin space in the Eon is still at a premium –
you can just about squeeze in three at the back. The boot too isn’t very roomy
at 215 litres.
You won’t have many complaints with the Eon
when you confine your drives to tight city conditions. The light steering aids
easy manoeuvring and parking, and the suspension absorbs most road
irregularities.
The
rear seats are mix of fabric and art leather. Back support is adequate but due
to the size of the car, the seat width is sufficient for an average built
person
But on the highway, you will feel a bit
jittery with the Eon. The steering gets extremely light at high speeds, and is
devoid of any sort of feedback whatsoever. The body rolls and pitches at the
mere sight of a corner. Even the Alto K10 feels better-equipped to tackle
bends.
In Magna+ trim, the Eon 1.0 is priced at
$6,340 (ex-showroom, Delhi), which is a whopping $905 more than the top-spec
Alto K10 VXi. That’s a lot of extra dough, especially for a car in this
segment. But what you get is better interior, fresher styling and good fit and
finish. And with the new 1.0 Kappa engine, it’ll definitely make your city
commutes quicker.
