HYUNDAI EON

Hyundai Eon- pleasing the next generation of small city car lovers

Hyundai will be known most customarily remembered for their success story of the small city car Santro which is still a hit in many cities in the country. But now with the demands of product reinvention, Hyundai has bought in several new successors to the prized Santro, including the new Eon. Compact and modernized with just a hint of upmarket touch, this car seems to be finding takers who are looking for something of this dimension. The good part also is, that it has the features and efficiency numbers to match the needs of the target audience perfectly.

Price band: Rs 2.83 lakhs to Rs 3.82 lakhs (ex-showroom)

Color options: 6 (Sleek Silver, Mushroom, Ember Gray, Pristine Blue, Maharajah Red, Coral White).

Engine fuel options: Petrol, Petrol + LPG

Exteriors

The new range of Hyundai vehicles seem to be going in the direction of the ‘fluidic’ theme, meaning that the aero dynamicity, and a fluidic nature of design is on top of their minds when they create their new cars. That’s exactly the case with the Hyundai Eon that has looked to reduce air friction in design, while lending the modernized touch to the shaping of the vehicle.

Since the Eon happens to be an entry level compact city car, the whistles have been kept to a minimum, yet smart and intelligent. The front grille for starters, is a simple mesh grille topped with a single chrome colored bar running down the center with the Hyundai logo placed at the center. The tapered shaping towards the front engine bonnet is a simple fluid design, which actually ends up looking imposing with the prominent headlamps, and the fog lamps, which appear towards the lower corners of the bumper.

The sides are without much of styling, except for the single curved crease running from front (near rear view mirror) till the rear end, repeated at the lower end of the vehicle. What was appreciable in such a scenario, is the body colored mirrors, which makes them blend in with the rest of the car and not stand out as a sore point. The handles too have been given the same treatment, and have been designed to fit into the doors at a fairly comfortable height.

The rear end design features a gently curved boot lid, with a reflector placed near the top of the door. What does stand out very strongly in all of this, are the tail lamps, which occupy much of the rear columns on the sides. Needless to say, they do extend on to the sides of the vehicle but only a marginal bit, and looks appealing too.

Interiors

For an entry level compact hatchback, the Eon does look like a premium offering. The high quality plastic fittings with the light beige fabrication proves, that Hyundai did something extra to impress this segment of consumers. The central console design has been modernized a whole deal when compared to competition, with the Fluidic principle giving the space a whole new touch worthy of a great look back. The air-conditioning vents sit right at the top of the column, with the emergency lights button placed in between. That is followed by the entertainment system controls, with a tapering design, with the handy control buttons placed around the backlit digital display at the center. The driver’s part has the dual tone silver and black steering wheels, which looks like a toned down version of what Hyundai offers in other higher end models with mounted infotainment system controls. There are 3 silver rimmed dials with fluorescent backlighting, which include the fuel gauge, the speedometer with the digital trip meter, and the fuel gauge on the right.

Just below the sound system controls, there lies some space for keeping small utilities, followed by the bottle holders and the black gear knob. This extra space perhaps can be best utilized for upgrading to a more advanced infotainment system, or creating an extra space for further utilities. Apart from the glove compartment on the left hand side of the dashboard, there is a smaller edition on the driver’s side towards the lower part of the area.

The rear sitting area though comfortable and smart in its appearance, could feel a bit a claustrophobic for some, due to the size and space utility, which is a downer for the rear seat passenger. If the driver or the front co-passenger happens to be a tall person, the rear seat looks to be a bit squeezed in.

The engine

Hyundai has managed to hit it just about right with the engine of the EON, which seems to be snappy and easy to handle for a car of this kind. The 814cc iRDE petrol engine boats of a Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS) functionality. This 3-cylinder machine gives around 21.1 kmpl under ideal conditions, which pretty much fits the bill for a car of this kind. The 55.2 BHP 74Nm top torque engine has been mated with a 5-speed manual transmission.

For those looking to further cut costs, there is a Petrol + LPG edition, where the same petrol engine gets an LPG fuel powered option, which dishes out a similar level of efficiency under most conditions. The best way to use this bi-fuel options would be go on long drives with both the tanks filled in for a non-stop journey.