There’s a new small, affordable car from Hyundai, but you probably won’t see it around. It’s called the Verna, and it’s effectively the Hyundai Accent as built for India.
Looking like a baby version of the South Korean market Hyundai Grandeur, the Verna adopts the brand’s new design language, including angular body work and the front light bar, and adapts it to the small sedan’s frame.
Though an entry-level model, Hyundai has gone to lengths to make the Verna look and feel more premium, and it even has features like LED lights, a Bose sound system, and a host of safety functions like mild autonomy as Level 2 advanced driver assistance.
Built in Chennai, India, the Verna comes with one of two engine options, an 84kW 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, or a more powerful 118kW turbocharged engine of the same size, which can optionally be had with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.
While the latter output is relatively powerful for a car in its segment, Hyundai India’s statement that the Verna “not only looks fast, it drives even faster” is perhaps a little hyperbolic.
The Verna won’t come to Australia, and it’s very unlikely the Accent version will either, given it’s been discontinued in most large markets outside Korea.
With the Hyundai i30 hatchback potentially on its way out, should the brand bring an Australian specification of the Accent back to the market for buyers who need affordability but don’t want a small SUV like the Venue?
Keyword: Does Australia need this affordable small car? 2024 Hyundai Verna is the Accent successor we might not get