A decade ago, there was 0 dominance of the SUV segment in the Indian market, sedans and hatchbacks were the 1st preference of most of our Indians, back in the day. But on July 4th 2012, Renault launched their first sub-4 meter SUV Duster in the Indian market, which was the first ever 4WD SUV to be priced at ₹7.20-₹11.00 Lakh, because of its perfect pricing and positioning, the Duster turned out to be a game changer, and from there, a new segment for sub-4 meter SUVs was born, then in 2015, Hyundai launched Creta, which was the SUV of a segment above the Duster, and currently Creta needs no introduction, why Indians are preferring it over any other car at the same price point.
By seeing this gigantic growth in the SUV breed, brands have now to offer SUVs of any shape, size or price as per the demand and budget of the consumer, and with the SUVs like the Renault Kiger, Nissan Magnite, the Tata Punch and Maruti Suzuki’s Latest offering Fronx, born a completely new segment of micro SUVs, they sit above the hatchbacks but below the sub-4 meter SUVs. and recently Hyundai announced its first micro SUV Exter, which will be based on Hyundai’s K1 series platform, where it will share its underpinnings with the Grand i10 and the Aura, will sit between the Hyundai Grand i10 and the Hyundai Venue, and the Tata Punch will be its main target. The Exter will first be showcased in India and then for the rest of the world.
From the exterior, the Exter looks quirky and different than any other outgoing Hyundai, which is the same thing with the whole line-up currently, from the front it gets a split headlamp setup, with H-shaped LED DRLs, and below that it gets a piano black grill with a unique pattern, projector headlamps, and skid plate treatment below the front bumper, which makes Exter look upright from the front, from the side it gets roof rails and you will also see lines on the doors, claddings on the wheel arches and on the side skirts, which overall gives the Exter an upright SUVish look from the side as well, the Exter will also be offered with new diamond cut dual-tone alloys as well, from the rear the LEDs in the taillamps are H-shaped like the DRLs, between the taillamps you get a piano black finished panel, skid plate on the rear bumper and the muscular lines flowing around the rear bumper and the tailgate, makes it look bulky from the rear end as well.
No official details of the interiors of the Exter are out yet, but as per the sources, it is expected to get a feature-loaded cabin as per what other brands in this segment are offering, the whole layout might look different from the Venue, Grand i10 and the Verna, but we could get a floating infotainment display with blu link connectivity features and a new digital cluster introduced in the new Verna, we could also expect wireless charging, a sunroof and an air purifier as well.
For now, Hyundai will offer the 1.2L naturally aspirated Kappa petrol engine with the Exter, borrowed from the Grand i10, which will be able to generate 82hp @6000 rpm and 113Nm of peak torque @4000rpm, will be paired with a 5-speed manual or a 5-speed AMT transmission, and there will be a CNG option as well. Hyundai will offer 5 variants of the Exter, EX, S, SX, SX(O) & SX(O) Connect, and bookings for the car have opened for a token of ₹11,000.
