Hyundai’s Maruti Ertiga Rival Spied Testing

The carmaker’s lineup currently lacks MPV offerings in India

• Hyundai’s small MPV spied testing in Korea.

• It will likely be powered by 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines.

• The small MPV would be positioned below the 7-seater Creta.

• Hyundai could offer it in India as a rival to the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and XL6.

The Hyundai lineup in India offers most of the popular body types except an MPV/people mover. While we have spied a Creta-based 7-seater before, a new Hyundai MPV has now been spotted testing in the Korean carmaker’s home country.

The Hyundai model spied was covered entirely and does not reveal any design details but its roofline indicates sporty styling. Its proportions suggest it could rival the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga in India and be positioned below the 7-seater Creta. The India-spec model would likely have increased ground clearance as well.

The small Hyundai MPV could be powered by the same 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines as the new Creta and Kia Seltos. In the SUV, the petrol engine makes 115PS/144Nm while the diesel engine makes 115PS/250Nm; both are offered with a 6-speed manual transmission. The automatic option for the petrol engine is a CVT while the diesel unit gets a 6-speed torque converter in the SUV. Higher variants could also get the option of the 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine from the Creta/Seltos. It puts out 140PS and 242Nm in the SUV and comes mated to a 6-speed manual or 7-speed DCT (dual-clutch automatic). 

It is hard to determine with what this Hyundai MPV shares its underpinnings. The compact MPV market in India currently has no rivals for the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and XL6 after the exit of the Renault Lodgy. After the Ertiga is the Mahindra Marazzo which sits somewhere between the Ertiga and the Innova Crysta. Toyota is also planning to enter the segment soon and an MPV is being jointly developed with Suzuki. Ford will also enter the MPV segment with a Marazzo-based offering as part of the Mahindra-Ford JV. The Hyundai MPV in question could enter the equation somewhere between the Ertiga and the Marazzo.

Hyundai could also offer a sporty alternative in this segment priced between Rs 9.5 lakh and Rs 14 lakh.

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