Sedan Tourer

We drive the top-end Hyundai Verna first on the busy streets of Pune city and then take it on to one of our favourite driving roads

- Joshua Varghese

FOLLOWING THE FIRST DRIVE ON THE NEW Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, it was time to see how the latest Hyundai Verna would hold up in the demanding urban conditions of Pune. Shortly after the launch of the car, I began coming across quite a few on the road. The hatred for its radical front-end design seems to have abated both on social media and in real life. Undoubtedly, the car looks a lot better physically than in photographs. It sits low to the ground, is as good as its rivals when it comes to sharpness in design, and in the top-end model, the contrast offered by the paint and the black wheels (along with the red calipers) give it a lot of points in the looks department.

Personally, the fastback-inspired tail-end remains my favourite angle of the new Verna and the lights at the rear ensure great visibility. Whatever doubts anyone may have had about the illumination power of the low headlights can be shelved because they do their job rather well. However, being placed slightly lower than on other cars, those may get dirty during the rainy season. We will leave that for scrutiny during a long-term test.