South Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai has finally unveiled its smaller and cheaper Micro SUV. According to international media, the company’s upcoming Micro SUV is called Hyundai Casper. So far this car has only been known by its codename (AX1).
According to reports, the company will first launch this Micro SUV in the South Korean market, followed by countries like India. Although Hyundai has registered the name only for the Korean market and it has been released to other markets under the Casper name, it is not yet confirmed.
In general, Hyundai offers the same model under different names in different markets, e.g. The Creta is marketed as the ix25 in other markets, while the Verna is introduced in some markets as the Solaris. So, when the company launches this Micro SUV in the Indian market, it can change its name at that time. However, some of the special information for this small SUV has come to the fore too, so let’s see how this new Micro SUV –
The company will soon launch the SUV in Korea, which will be first launched in this market. It is reported that it will be introduced to the global market in September and it is expected to introduce it directly to the Indian market after the domestic market. Notably, the Indian market is very important to Hyundai, where the company offers close competition to the country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki.
How does the Hyundai Casper Micro SUV:
As we told you, this is Hyundai’s smallest SUV, so its size is less than 4 meters and it may be slightly smaller than the standard Hyundai space on the market here. The SUV is based on the Hyundai K1 compact car platform on which the Grand i19 Neos and Santro are built.
According to media reports, the SUV can be 3,595mm long, 1,595mm wide and 1,575mm tall. However, there has been no official confirmation on the matter yet. If we look at this size, it is slightly smaller than the Santro hatchback with a length of 3,610mm, but the height of this SUV is higher than that of the Santro. The Santro is only 1,560mm tall.
This SUV has been identified during testing on several different occasions. Accordingly, it will be given a boxy design. It features circular headlamps with Daytime Running Lights (DRL), attractive taillamps on the back and some stylish elements. As far as the engine is concerned, it can be powered by a 1.2-liter naturally aspirated petrol engine that produces 83 hp of power and 114 Nm of torque. In addition, the company can also offer a 1.1-liter petrol engine in its lower variants, keeping its price low.
What’s the price:
However, it is hard to say anything about the price of the new Hyundai Casper before its release. But it could be introduced in the Indian market between Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, experts say. After coming to market, this Micro SUV will compete mainly with the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso. Tata Motors is also set to introduce the new Tata HBX in this segment.
Photo Credit: Autocar
