It seems that the wait for Hyundai’s hatch turned Crossover is finally over as the Korean auto giant has announced the official date for lifting the veil from this much awaited car in the country. Until few days back, when Hyundai leaked design rendering of upcoming crossover i20 Active, we were only speculating the launch date of the said vehicle. And now it comes as a surprise that the carmaker has confirmed the global debut of i20 Active in India on 17 March 2015. As mentioned, i20 Active is a crossover version of the well-applauded hatch Elite i20, which was introduced in 2014. Claimed to be designed at Hyundai’s Design Centre Europe in Rüsselsheim, Germany, i20 Active is called an SUV looking car by company.
Being the extended version of hatch, i20 Active crossover shares most of the things of its sibling except few exterior attributes that would differentiate it as a crossover. While steel body panels, glass and the chassis are similar in both the vehicles, i20 Active carries few SUV like designing in form of elongated circular fog lamps, new bumper, silver- plastic skidpad and projector headlamps along with day time running LED lights. On the side profile, few alterations that are evident from open eyes include additional skirting, increased ground clearance and new set of alloy wheels along with roof railing.
Though there is no word on vehicle measurement, yet it is expected that the car will be put under 4 meter with an overall length measuring just above 3,900 mm to get the excise duty benefits. Similarly, if the rumors are to believed, the crossover i20 Active might carry a larger wheelbase more than 2400 mm and an increased ground clearance of 180 mm.
Moving to the rear side, the all new crossover Hyundai i20 Active gets a new bumper, spherical reflector, sliver skid plate, bigger spoiler and a shark fin antenna. In addition to this, a new i20 Active badge is also seemed to be there in the spied shots. To sum up, the car is designed in such a way to give the cross version a distinguish appearance. Though, the carmaker has not disclosed anything regarding the interiors of i20 Active but it is expected that the Hyundai will adorn the car with different shades on dashboard and new upholstery. However, rest of the cabin might look similar to hatch Elite i20.
Talking about the engine specs, the upcoming crossover i20 Active is likely to get the same powertrains of its hatch sibling in both petrol and diesel options. But since it is going to be a global debut of i20 Active, we might welcome some changes on mechanical front. If this is the case, the petrol crossover will get its power from a 1.2-litre, Kappa, dual VTVT petrol engine mated to 5- speed manual gearbox, delivering 82bhp of peak power and 115Nm of maximum torque. Whereas, the diesel models of the car will get power from a 1.4-litre, U2, CRDi mill coupled to a six speed manual gearbox. The upcoming vehicle is likely to fetch peak fuel efficiency in the range of 20-23 kmpl, though actual figures may be different than these.
Once launched in the country, the new hatch turned Crossover from Hyundai will take on the likes of other segment leaders including VW Cross Polo, Toyota Etios Cross and Fiat Avventura. As far as pricing of i20 Active is concerned, Hyundai will surely give it a competitive price tag perhaps Rs. 50,000-1 lac above its hatch sibling. To give you the more insights of the vehicle, we have to wait till 17 March, when the i20 Active will make its global appearance in India.