2017 Hyundai Xcent Facelift Test Drive Review

2017 Hyundai Xcent Facelift Review

Car Tested: 2017 Hyundai Xcent; Road Test No. 815; Test Location: Mumbai

Price OTR Mumbai: Rs. 6.49 – 10.31 lakhs

The Hyundai Xcent constantly proves itself to be well-packaged compact sedan

Hyundai’s first offering for the compact sedan segment in India was the Accent Viva which was launched very long back. As the market hadn’t matured properly then, the Accent Viva didn’t sell in good numbers despite the regular Accent selling really well back then. The Korean automaker then introduced the Xcent in 2014, which is based on the Grand i10 and this compact sedan has been a good seller for Hyundai. The vehicle has now got a mid-life facelift following the Grand i10 so let us find out what additional things does the Xcent now offer.

Motor Quest: The Hyundai Xcent has good demand with private buyers and excellent demand with the commercial fleet segment. To differentiate between these two, Hyundai will offer the facelifted Xcent only to private buyers while fleet operators will get the older Xcent in a stripped down version.

Exteriors – While the Grand i10 facelift got minor changes to the exteriors, the Xcent gets pretty big changes. The most obvious change here is the new hexagonal grille which intends to make the Xcent look like a mini version of the Elantra. You also get a new bumper. The updated front fascia is a hit or miss design and it looks quirky at best. The side profile remains unchanged save for the new diamond cut alloys while at the rear you get a tweaked bumper and a more mature looking set of tail lamps. All in all, the Xcent looks fresher now and much different than the outgoing model.

Interiors – Not many changes have been made to the interiors of the Xcent. Just like the Grand i10, it gets a new touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink. The touch interface is smooth and the sound quality from the speakers is good, but what could have been better is the quality of the rear view camera which doesn’t feel up to the mark and the display ends up showing a hazy picture, especially in the dark. The infotainment system also gets voice recognition and navigation, both of which work well. Other equipment includes dual front airbags as standard, rear power socket, rear AC vents, push button start, rear defogger, cooled glovebox and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.

The interior has good quality materials with excellent finish all around

The cabin of the Xcent feels narrow. The front seats have decent comfort and support but a size larger seats would have been appreciated. The knee room and head space at the rear is good too but again the narrow width limits some space on the inside and passengers end up sitting too close to each other. The windows are pretty large though and they end up giving an airy feel to the car. The quality inside the cabin continues to remain excellent and it has a feel-good factor to it too.

Performance – The Hyundai Xcent is offered with both petrol and diesel engines. Talking about the petrol engine first, no changes have been made to the 1.2-litre Kappa VTVT unit. It is mated to either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a dated 4-speed automatic transmission and produces 83 PS of power at 6000 RPM and 114 Nm of torque at 4000 RPM. Throttle response is good and power delivery is linear. The top-end performance isn’t the best but the low-end and mid-range are very good. The NVH levels are also fantastic. The ARAI-claimed fuel efficiency is 20.14 km/l and 17.36 km/l for MT and AT respectively but in real world conditions, you can expect 10-14 km/l from the MT and 9-13 km/l from the AT.

The U2 CRDI mill would be our pick for its performance & efficiency

The diesel engine has been upgraded from the older 1.1-litre unit to a larger 1.2-litre U2 CRDI unit which now produces 75 PS of power at 4000 RPM and 190 Nm of torque from 1750-2250 RPM. The engine has been tuned very nicely and turbo lag has been negated effectively. The engine has a good surge of power right from 1600-1700 RPM and continues till 3500-4000 RPM and the oil-burner feels very peppy. The engine is quite noisy though. The 5-speed gearbox is a charm and gearshifts are smooth. The ARAI-claimed efficiency is 25.4 km/l and you can easily expect 17-22 km/l in real world conditions.

Driving Dynamics – The Hyundai Xcent has a soft suspension setup which results in a smooth ride for the passengers. The setup is slightly stiffer compared to the Grand i10 but the ride remains supple most of the times. However, uneven road surfaces tend to unsettle the car easily. On straights, the Xcent remains stable even at speeds well over the ton. The steering is feather light which is a boon in traffic and while parking but it lacks any sort of feel or feedback. It doesn’t even weigh up at high speeds and doesn’t instil confidence. Braking performance is sharp like other Hyundai cars and the grip from the tyres is average.

Verdict – The Hyundai Xcent is a well-rounded compact sedan because it offers excellent efficiency with the diesel engine, good performance, equipment and comfort. It is backed by Hyundai’s huge after-sales network. The Xcent doesn’t really have any major downsides except the handling part and is a very good contender in the compact sedan segment and the pricing of the car is attractive enough too.

What’s Cool

* Lots of features on offer
* Both the engines have good performance for the city
* Quality and fit & finish is splendid
* Diesel engine is extremely fuel efficient

What’s Not So Cool

* Could have done with better steering feel

Alternatives: Maruti DZire, Tata Tigor, Ford Figo Aspire, Volkswagen Ameo, Honda Amaze

Further Reading –

Hyundai Xcent Diesel Long Term Review – Final Report
Hyundai Xcent Long Term Review – Initial Report
Hyundai Xcent Test Drive Review
Maruti DZire vs Honda Amaze vs Tata Zest vs Hyundai Xcent
Hyundai Xcent vs Ford Figo Aspire vs Honda Amaze vs Tata Zest