Report 1

Five hundred and fifty five kilometres in two weeks, all clocked in Mumbai and suburbs, almost 80 per cent of them in prime time traffic with average speeds of around 20km per hour and yet achieving fuel efficiency of 15.85kpl. These numbers are good enough to make the Xcent everyday companion for city use and the good part is that this compact sedan from Hyundai offers even more value with its feature list on these daily commutes.

The Xcent that is currently a part of our long term fleet has already done over 15,000 kilometres in the last one year – this is to say the car has been thoroughly put through the grind already. Now 15,000 kilometres may not sound like a lot, but most of these have been done by various publications as part of their stories and tests and our job description does not allow us to be too gentle with the cars. This means a bit of creaking sound from the dashboard or some noises from the doors, seats, glove box or from anywhere else in the cabin is not uncommon. It should then speak volumes about the next generation Hyundai built quality, when I say there is not a squeak from the cabin.

There are other things that could have been better though the clatter from the diesel engine is distinctly audible in the cabin. There aren’t as many vibrations as one would expect from a tiny three-cylinder engine, but the NVH can be better. The other problem with the engine is lack of bottom-end torque; there aren’t many overtaking opportunities in the Mumbai traffic, but if and when you do get one, the Xcent needs to be pushed well beyond the comfort zone. Another problem is that the air conditioning takes a lot of time to cool the cabin during the afternoons. However, I am not sure if I should be blaming the car or the scorching Mumbai summers for the same.

The efficiency is phenomenally good; anything close to 16kmpl in city is good, but in this case it sounds even better. I have been skeptical about the real world efficiency of the Hyundai’s 1.1-litre U2 engine; it lacks torque and building momentum requires you to go higher on the rev range. Despite this, the Xcent is frugal and that means the highway efficiency is going to be even higher (Pratheek should tell us about it in the next report).

It is also one of the easiest diesel cars to drive in city traffic – the clutch is ultra light, so is the steering and every button that one might need is there on the steering wheel. I have always been of an opinion that the features like start/stop function can be omitted for more useful features like additional safety, projector headlamps etc. Even in a car with keyless entry and drive, most of us invariably end up using the remote to unlock, making the feature rather pointless. But we tried getting used to the new key fob and then the feature; I will maintain that we can have better features in this segment, but the one touch lock/unlock function is useful as well.

I don’t think any of the compact sedans look nice with the shortened boot, but if I have to choose one, I will settle for the Xcent for being the most balanced of the lot. The front design looks good; it is not as aggressive as the premium Hyundai cars and creates a decent impression for itself. The Xcent does not come with the budget car image that is becoming synonymous with the Dzire and that is a big plus point.

It is unfortunate that I could spend only a fortnight with the Xcent, before I handed it over to Pratheek. Sadly, I could not judge the all-round usability of the car in the short duration, so talking specifically from perspective of a diesel city car; the Xcent is one of the best options. It is easy to drive, efficient and offers lot of convenience with the elaborate features list.