Volkswagen India is contemplating launching its Up hatchback model to compete in the country’s highly competitive compact hatchback segment. The upcoming Volkswagen Up is expected to be smallest as well as the most affordable hatchback model that will go against some of the very well established compact hatchback models in India such as the Maruti Suzuki Swift, Ford Figo, Chevrolet Spark and Hyundai i10 among others.
On the other hand, the Hyundai i10 has been a highly popular model in the Indian compact hatchback segment that is highly crowded with many capable cars. Although, now its charms have been vastly reduced after the advent of new car models including its own new generation model the Grand i10, the good old i10 is still preferred among the Indian buyers.
Here, we are taking a look at how the Volkswagen Up is pitched against the long-time popular Hyundai i10:
Design
The Volkswagen Up is expected to come to India with the same design as its international avatar that is already selling in the UK. The Up looks neat, contemporary and chic in its diminutive stature along with a number of eye-catching styling elements to grab attention. The new facelift 2016 Up flaunts a new front grille featuring fat black slats, pretty headlight clusters, well crafted bumper with protective black cladding and a slating bonnet with prominent character lines. The car gets a wide air dam flanked fog lamps. The side profile of the car is pretty sporty with black side molding, stylish alloy wheels and body hued door handles. The small hatch gets an equally attractive rear design owing to stylish tail lights, well designed hatch-door that is quite big and is adorned with a sporty black strip and body colored bumper.
On the other hand, the Hyundai i10, which is actually the previous generation model of the popular Hyundai Grand i10, is still good to go with its neat and stylish exterior visual appeal. Currently, it might not look so attractive, but when it first launched in India, it was highly appreciated for its smart design. Its large radiator grille offers a bold and wide looking front face that is flanked by stylish headlights. The top variants body colored bumpers. The side profile is also neat with a stylish waistline molding and attractive full wheel covers. The rear design features a nicely styled tailgate and pretty tail lamps.
Interiors & Features
The Volkswagen Up that is yet to launch in India is said to be coming in multiple hatchback versions. The Up is expected to be a highly feature-rich model and is likely to be loaded to several premium features to lure the modern style and comfort conscious Indian buyers. In global markets, the Up hatchback series offers an air conditioning system, all four power windows along with auto up and down function, height adjustable front headrests, foldable rear seat in order to increase the boot space, tilt adjustable power steering wheel, folding key with boot release, intermittent wipers, electric boot opening, door ajar warning, and many other features. It also features power adjustable and foldable outside rear view mirrors, ambient lighting system, integrated music system, with four speakers and many connectivity options, height adjustable driver’s seat, leather wrapped steering wheel, gear lever and parking lever on the top trims.
The Hyundai i10 on the other hand comes with convenient and comfortable i-relax front seats and i-relax gear console for easy functioning. The car’s feature list includes an air conditioner with heating function, power steering wheel, remote fuel lid opener, power adjustable outside rear view mirrors, all power windows with driver’s side one-touch auto up/down function, and many others depending on the various trims. The top of the range models comes with added convenient features including a tilt adjustable steering wheel, an efficient 2-DIN audio system with Aux-in and USB and four speakers. The i10 1.1 iTech SE model additionally offers steering wheel mounted audio controls, Bluetooth connectivity and a rearview camera with its display integrated into the inside rear view mirror.
Powertrain & Mileage
According to the various reports, the upcoming Volkswagen UP series is coming to India powered by a 1.0 liter 3 cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine. This compact yet powerful petrol engine has the capability of pumping out a peak power output of 58 bhp at 5000 to 6000 rpm along with a top torque value of 95 Nm at 3000 to 4300 rpm. Transmission duty on the Up in the Indian car market is likely to be carried out by a 5 speed manual and a 5 speed automatic transmission option.
The Volkswagen Up can offer a maximum fuel efficiency of around 18 Km per liter on the highways, while on the highly traffic laden city roads the car can offer a mileage of 14.5 Km per liter.
On the other hand, the Hyundai i10 compact hatchback comes powered by a iRDE 1.1 liter 4-cylinder petrol mill with a displacement of 1086 cc. This petrol motor has the ability to belt out a top power output of around 68.1 bhp at 5500 rpm along with a peak torque figure of around 99.04 Nm at 4500 rpm. The i10 is also offered in an LPG option powered by the same petrol engine, and offers low running cost advantage over the regular petrol counterpart.
The regular petrol version of the i10 offers a maximum fuel efficiency of around 19.8 Km per liter on the stretches of the highway and a mileage of around 14 Km per liter in the highly congested city road conditions. On the other hand, the LPG variant of the i10 delivers a max mileage of around 19.2 Km per liter.
Conclusion
It will be definitely interesting to see the fight between the German Up and the South Korean i10 in the Indian car market. While the Volkswagen Up is yet to arrive in India, the i10 has outlived its existence in the Indian market due to its popularity. Given the new attractive and distinct styling and other capabilities of the Up, it might as well outshine the sales of the aging i10, once it hits the Indian car market.