Introduction

What you see here is the all-new Hyundai Aura. If you don’t know already, it’s an evolution of the Xcent. With the Aura, Hyundai expects to bite some sales off popular rivals such as the Maruti Dzire and the Honda Amaze. Not an easy task, but you will find out some interesting things in this review.

So, here then are five things that work for the Aura, and two that don’t.

Positives

Lively Engine

This Aura has the 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol motor. It makes almost 100bhp and 172Nm of torque. What’s nice is that it is silent most of the time. But give it a foot full of the accelerator pedal and the engine noise will please your ears.

The power delivery is linear and there aren’t any jerky surprises. In fact, there’s a strong pull from 1,600rpm onwards all the way till the 6,600 limit. The motor is reasonably flexible too, so in 2nd gear you can do about 15kmph, no need to downshift even for speed breakers.

Slow Speed Ride

The Aura’s ride quality is on the softer side. This means that it offers a cushy ride to its passengers at slow speeds. What also helps is that there’s hardly any suspension noise too, which ups the comfort quotient.

The only things you really hear is some road noise and the truly noisy heavy vehicles. Hyundai has done a good job with the cabin insulation of the Aura.

Ground Clearance

Let’s admit it, sedans aren’t really known for clearing speed breakers easily. They usually tend to scrape their belly with some occupants on board. Not the case with the Aura though.

We’ve put it through most speed breaker sizes with three people and am yet to scrape this Hyundai. No worries here if you miss spotting one, and again, this brings a lot of confidence while driving on our roads, since most of the speed breakers are unmarked and can actually cause more harm than good.

Fresh Looking Cabin

The Aura’s cabin is a pretty one. Everything from to the fish-skin trim, the turbine-looking vents, the dual tone, the large buttons and controls, and the flowing theme onto the centre console; they all look and feel good. We just felt that if the wireless charging layout was more portrait than landscape, I could have read-off my google maps without twisting my head so much; just a thought.

And there’s lots of features to pamper you too. From the chilly climate control, the swift infotainment system, numerous compatibility options for your phone- including the wireless kind just make charging a lot easier.

Space and Seats

Once seated, you appreciate the airy cabin, thanks to the dimensions and large windows. The seats aren’t too soft, so coupled with the nice contours and good back and thigh support, long journeys will be comfy.

We would have liked some extra shoulder support, but that's just grumpy side of me talking. Rear seat is best for two. Although there’s adequate knee and foot room, a flat floor along with a big bench, taking a third occupant will be a squeeze nonetheless.

Negatives

Bouncy High-speed Ride

Sure, the slow speed ride is comfortable and all, but things take a different turn as soon as you start going faster. We noticed the Aura’s ride quality getting considerably bouncy.

Now, if you’re travelling with a bunch of occupants who’ve just had a meal, dialling down the speed will make more sense than having to listen to their stories later.

Exterior Rear

Okay, we understand that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but, we just can’t ignore the fact that that the Aura’s rear section looks displeasing.

And if you were already trying to look away from the Aura’s boot, you might also want to note that there’s no external button to release the boot lid.

Conclusion

With our brief stint with the Hyundai Aura, it became apparent that the Aura has the makings of a prominent segment winner. Be it space, comfort, quality, powertrain; in this context the 1.0-litre turbo petrol; this car is well-packaged. Now, if one can truly get over those looks, well it might just be all the sedan you'll ever need.

Pictures by Kapil Angane