Cool New Gadgets and Gizmos Blog: 10/2/11

Update: Hyundai India launched its smallest car Eon today in Gurgaon. Hyundai Eon launched in 6 variants with starting price if under Rs. Rs 2.69 Lakhs to top variant of Rs. 3.71 Lakhs. Hyundai Dealers have already started to accept the booking of Hyundai Eon car starting October 1, 2011 with a booking amount of Rs. 20,000. Here're the list of prices basis on the model:

Hyundai EON D-lite : Rs 2.69 lakhs
Hyundai EON D-lite-o : Rs 2.91 lakhs
Hyundai EON Eera : Rs. 3.11 lakhs
Hyundai EON Magna : Rs. 3.36 lakhs
Hyundai EON Magna-o : Rs. 3.46 lakhs
Hyundai EON Sportz : Rs. 3.71 lakhs

First instance of action in the cut throat low end entry level car segment is almost a revolution with Hyundai throwing style, substance, space, performance and fuel efficiency to take on the Alto league.

After launching a slew of premium hatchbacks in India, Hyundai is now preparing to introduce a small car priced below Rs. 3 lakh. The car, to be called Hyundai Eon, will compete against Maruti Suzuki's best-selling car Alto.

Eon will be an entry-level car but at the same time it is likely to be spacious with a large boot. The car is likely to be powered by an 814 cc engine with a mileage promise of over 20 km per litre.

Brings us straight to discussing the price point of the new vehicle which should be on or about the Rs 2.5-lakh ex-showroom sticker tag for the base Alto. Hyundai would have worked out what it had to do with a brand new modern design to try and engineer it not just to the pricing of the Alto but more importantly, allow it to deliver more in terms of style, occupant space, performance, fuel efficiency than the established segment leader.

Thus was born Project HA, which saw not just Hyundai’s design and development centre at Namyang in Korea do most of the work, but the fact that Hyundai’s Hyderabad-based R&D centre also pitched in massively to firm up a product which is fresh and appealing and also meets most requirements in this class of small car in India.

The new Hyundai is a stunner with substance to boot, as I discovered during the course of an exclusive half an hour session driving this small Hyundai at the firm’s Namyang test track. In one fell swoop Hyundai seems to have re-written a new chapter for entry level small cars and it is here in the Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3.0 lakh space, where most entry level buyers are to be found searching for their first spanking new automobile.

While the Tata Nano may be cheaper, the Indian consumer is looking at better value, more substance and style rather than just focus on pricing. And in this era where every detail counts, the Eon should be the one which could ignite an all-new and more meaningful race in this segment.

The Eon is built on a completely new platform which has no bearing on the ones used before, either for the Santro or the svelte i10. What clearly denotes the Eon is its stylish exterior with hints of Hyundai’s fluidic design language showing. It is no secret that trying to style a small package is much more difficult than a larger sized hatch or saloon.

But with the Eon, the Hyundai design team has really pulled out all the stops and emerged with a package that is fresh, contemporary and appealing. Casey Hyun, the Australian-born Korean who headed the design team, was clear in his mind that style was as important as the interior detailing needed to prepare a product which had to stand the test of time in a class which would see newer competition arrive sooner rather than later.