Last week, the Hyundai Styx (codename: Hyundai QXi)
was spotted on test near Chennai. The product's
marketing launch is around four months away. Essentially the production avatar
of the Hyundai HND-14 'Carlino' concept from Auto Expo 2016, the Hyundai Styx
(Hyundai QXi) will leverage the burgeoning demand for sub-4 metre SUVs in its
effort to become one of HMIL's best sellers.
The exterior of the Styx combines the Creta’s
traditional SUV proportions with modern touches of the upscale Hyundai Kona, as
we had depicted in our rendering earlier. According to Hyundai Latin
America’s product planner Armando Cardoso, the Styx could be riding on a new
platform. The word from Stanley Anderson, Hyundai Automotive South Africa’s
Sales and Operations Director, is that Hyundai's small SUV sits on the Hyundai
Verna platform, and that seems the most plausible case.
Engine options of the Hyundai's first sub-4m SUV
will include a new (for India) locally manufactured 120 PS 1.0-litre T-GDI unit
- Hyundai’s first turbocharged petrol engine in the country - and a 115 hp 1.5-litre turbocharged diesel unit operating with a standard
6-speed manual transmission. Here the company may offer a Smart Auto AMT option
instead of the expensive conventional torque converter of the Creta.
India will get the Hyundai Styx first globally, in
April 2019. Aimed squarely at the Vitara Brezza, India’s best-selling SUV, it
could cost between INR 7-8 lakh (ex-showroom) for the most basic configuration.