Entry level cars can be stylish too

Eon stands out for styling and features

Dilip Maitra (All pictures by writer)

As the bottom of the Indian car industry pyramid is getting flatter and wider, more car makers are jumping into the fray. When a car maker offers a car to the first-time buyer, the focus generally is on to keep the price as low as possible. This is why most entry-level cars keep just the bare minimum needed to offer as the focus is more on “most affordable price” rather than style or other features. But 'Eon' from Hyundai Motor India, the second largest car maker in the country after Maruti Suzuki, is an welcome change. Though placed at the entry level 'Eon’ has a sleek design and can boast of a few interesting features we normally don’t see in such cars.

But before we look at the features that set Eon apart from the rest in the same class, let us discuss the performance of the car from the driving perspective. Eon is fitted with a 814 cc petrol engine and has also added LPG engine recently.

Hyundai’s Eon's petrol engine delivers 56PS@5500rpm of maximum power and 7.65 Kgm @4000 rpm of peak torque. Although it is the same engine the company uses in its popular car Santro, the engine for Eon has been tweaked to give more power. What is means is that the 814cc petrol engine, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission has become more efficient in terms of power and fuel efficiency, a major obsession of the Indian buyers. The company claims that under ideal test condition Eon gives a mileage of 21.1 kmpl as per the ARAI figures, making it one of the most fuel-efficient cars in the segment. In my test drive, however, I could not precisely measure the fuel efficiency of the car.

Driving Eon out of Bangalore through some hilly terrain and flat highways with four passengers, I found that for an entry-level car it delivers sufficient power on lower gears and slowly picks up speed even on higher gears thanks to a flat torque. The power and the torque also make it easy driving on a congested, bumper to bumper city drive. But those who want the kick from quick acceleration – useful for fast overtaking, shifting to lower appropriate gear is a must. Ideally one should always shift to lower gears when overtaking a fast vehicle on the highway to get the thrust of more power and quick acceleration.

The Eon engine also allows you to use the AC, without much drag, cutting out the noise from honking maniacs on our roads and the obnoxious fumes that many vehicles (including autos that use spiked fuel) belch out. Of course, the added benefit is you enjoy your favourite music in a cool and quiet cabin.

Just to make sure that an entry level car will not have to have a boring look, Hyundai’s design and development center at Namyang in Korea has worked in sync with its Hyderabad-based R&D center to firm up on the fluidic design of Eon. This design, first appeared on the Hyundai’s new sedan Verna, has a fresh, appealing look normally not seen by the entry-level segment customer. (No wonder, Hyundai's recent ad campaigns also emphasise on its stylish looks compared to its nearest rival.) 

Since most customers at the entry level segment are young, buying their first car, Eon has a distinctive sporty and youthful profile with low roof line. Eon also boasts of rich interiors with comfortable leg space normally not seen in high compact segment cars. In its class, the company claims, Eon has widest and longest body, longer wheel space and largest boot space. It also has multiple bottle and cup holders, a spacious glove box and practically designed dashboard for storing small utility items.

Other interesting features, in some variants of Eon are: front power windows, internally adjustable mirrors, tilt steering, keyless entry, remote fuel & tail gate opening, central locking, front door full armrest, front room lamp, rear seatbelt knuckle holder, rear speaker grill and rear parcel tray. In the higher variant Eon is loaded with a infotainment system which comes with a 2-DIN integrated type audio with features like Radio/CD/MP3/USB/Aux-in/i-Pod connectivity.

Safety aspects

Eon also offers high-end safety features in higher variants, unseen in low compact segment cars like driver’s airbag, front fog lamps and an immobilizer that prevents the car from starting without the correct key.

It has also incorporated an interesting feature called ‘Alternator Management System’ (AMS), developed by Hyundai especially for Indian customers, to deliver more eco-efficient driving. It controls the power supply to the battery to relieve the engine workload and reduces fuel consumption & emissions while decelerating and idling. Additionally the manual shift indicator in Eon prompts the driver whenever a gear shift is required. Thus together the AMS and Gear shift indicator ensures better fuel economy and extended battery life and adds to customer’s benefit.

The writer is a Bangalore-based senior Business Journalist writing test drive reports on cars and SUVs for the last ten years. This article first appeared in DH Wheels, an automotive supplement of Deccan Herald news paper, Bangalore.