On the back of a successful 2014, Hyundai have started the New Year with the launch of a rework for their urban sedan – the Verna. Car India gets behind the wheel of the top-of-the-line 1.6-litre CRDi Verna 4S Fluidic to gauge what’s different about this car
Story: Harket Suchde
Photography: Rommel Albuquerque
“Progress for progress’s sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognised as errors of judgement.”
— Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
For those of you (like me) who don’t have Hermione Granger’s keen sense of interpretation, that quote from the delightful Professor Umbridge might sound like so much waffle. The crux of it, though, is that change is a good thing when ideas or practices are outdated, but not so much if you’re just making change for the sake of change. Now, whenever a car manufacturer comes out with a facelift version of a car, I can only think back to these lines, because a lot of times it’s a little change in the lines here, a little dash of leather there, and an odd feature improvement thrown in for good measure. These changes seem forced, and a lot of times, unnecessary.
Which brings us to the Hyundai Verna 4S Fluidic, which, you guessed it, is a facelift of the old Verna Fluidic. The whole facelift-y bit is quite apparent as soon as your gaze falls upon the 4S Fluidic, which, as the name suggests, has been heavily influenced by Hyundai’s much-vaunted Fluidic design philosophy. The projector headlamp units on the Verna are bigger and taper across the front end, and the under-lamp LED strip, one of the most eye-catching aspects of the Fluidic Verna, is conspicuous by its absence. The front bumper, too, has been reworked to look edgier, and the air dam has been widened for greater air intake. All this is set off by a brand-new grille, shaped to resemble a wing. The front end of the 4S Fluidic Verna is aggressive and a lot more uncomplicated overall, and a definite improvement over its predecessor.
