Long Term Report 2

In this month’s report, it’s all about the Verna’s impressive multimedia display and audio system.

Anyone who knows me well would tell you that I am a sucker for in-car entertainment. As someone who would much rather take a highly configurable display with a good sounding audio system over leather seats or automatic headlamps, I was more than keen to talk about our long-term Hyundai Verna’s multimedia system for this month.

The Verna has been with us since the first week of 2018 and so far, it has impressed most of us here at CarWale. My commute from Mumbai’s central suburbs to the office in Navi Mumbai is almost never easy, but the Verna comes into its own in traffic, with a light steering, effortless gearbox and good frontal visibility.

The muddled journey is made even easier by the seven-inch multimedia system which is not only easy to get to grips with, but also offers several connectivity options. Starting off with the display, the seven-inch screen is touch sensitive and has no lag virtually. In fact I feel it’s certainly more responsive than what Vikrant has in his long-term Honda City. What’s really thoughtful is that the system also comes with a full suite of physical buttons (for navigation, phone, media and changing tracks) for those who prefer the old fashioned way. What adds to the convenience is that the screen is placed high on the dash – I’ve never had to take my eyes off the road in order to glance at it.

The other highlight of the Verna’s multimedia system is the audio output which is surprisingly good. The six speaker Arkamys system (including 4 speakers on the doors and two tweeters near the A-pillar) lacks a subwoofer but delivers quality output with decent bass and clarity. There’s even something called as the Arkamys sound mood which has different pre-sets (Natural, Club, Lounge and Live) for reducing distortion and mimicking surround sound.

Like most new cars, the Verna’s system also supports smartphone mirroring in the form of Apply CarPlay and Android Auto. As for the standard Bluetooth pairing, you can hook up your phone only when the car is stationary, with the handbrake engaged.

Lastly, there’s the inbuilt navigation by MapMyIndia which proved to be quite useful and accurate with the directions. Besides displaying the usual stuff including Point of Interests and coordinates, the GPS also features Curve Guidance which lets out a ‘curve ahead’ bong as you approach the corners.

So far, then, the Hyundai Verna’s multimedia system has worked flawlessly. As for the rest, the car has been a fitting companion to my commute but it will be interesting to find out how it does over long highway trips with a full load. More on that in the next month’s report so stay tuned.

Vehicle Log -

Odo - 6255km

Km this month - 801km

Fuel – 62.20litres

Fuel Efficiency - 12.2kmpl

Pictures by Kaustubh Gandhi