In the Indian automobile market there is always good demand for small hatchbacks and sedans. The Maruti Suzuki and the Hyundai brands are the leading players in these segments. The Koreans have launched the compact sedan the Hyundai Xcent on 12th March 2014. The Xcent has already found a place in the top ten best selling cars of India.

The Hyundai Xcent variants comes in 7 petrol and 5 diesel. The Hyundai Xcent is priced between Rupees 4.73 and 7.44 lakh. The two petrol variants SAT and SXAT have automatic transmission. The Xcent gives top mileages of 19.2 (16.1 for automatic) kmpl for the petrol and 24.4 kmpl for the diesel variants.

Hyundai Xcent

The Hyundai Xcent is the most stylish car from the Koreans. Based on the ‘fluidic philosophy’ it is built on the i10 platform. The sporty and aggressive exterior has features like the hexagonal grille and air dam, the sweptback head lamps, sporty waistline moldings, the wraparound clear lens tail lamps with hexagonal chrome inserts, the chrome door handles, R15 diamond cut wheels and the body coloured bumpers on the body. The Xcent comes in colours of pristine blue, phantom black, twilight blue, red passion, pure white and sleek silver.

The cozy cabin of the Xcent has features like fabric seats, a manual AC, an engine immobiliser, child lock and central locking facilities and internally adjustable ORVMs for the base variants. The top variants have comfort features like an automatic AC, a segmental first rear AC vents, power and tilt steering, a keyless start, rear parking sensor with camera, a rear defogger, an integrated 2 Din music system with Bluetooth connectivity for telephony and audio controls. The top variants have safety features like 2 airbags, ABS and internally adjustable body coloured ORVMs with turn indicators.

The Hyundai Xcent is powered by a 1.2 dual Kappa VTVT petrol engine with 1197 cc volume, 81 bhp and 114 NM torque having a 5 speed manual transmission. The diesel variants have an 1120 cc, 71 bhp and 180 NM torque U2 engine with 5 gear manual transmission.

The dimensions of the Hyundai Xcent are 3995 mm length, 1660 mm width, 1520 mm height, 2425 mm wheel base and 165 mm ground clearance. The large boot has 407 litre capacity. The suspensions are McPherson strut at the front and the torsion beam axle at the back. The tyres are 165/65-R14 (R15 for top variants) tubeless type and the brakes are disc type at the front and drum type at the rear.

The Xcent is a family sedan with good mileages and affordable prices. The competition comes from the likes of the Maruti Swift Dzire, the Honda Amaze and the Tata Indigo eCS.

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