If there’s a mass market segment that presents a unique sales opportunity, trust Hyundai to do everything to try and bring out a product that fits that category.
Small hatchbacks, it has got this covered, regular and premium hatchbacks, yes, Hyundai has those too. Subcompact and compact crossovers — it’s been dominating that space.
And there are a couple of sedans and a luxury SUV in the mix as well. The one big segment that Hyundai was missing was the mini crossover segment but it has filled that void with the Exter.
Exterior
Dimensionally, it’s well under 4 meters and sits a segment below the Venue. But the way it is designed gives it a nice and vibrant feel which defies its pricing to some extent.
When I first saw the Exter in pics, I was a bit unsure but when you see this thing in person, the perspective changes. It’s a very youthful and unique design. The front has a strong blunt look to it with the skid plate lending it a bit of visual strength. I’d have liked the glossy black plastics to be replaced with a matte finish; I think that’ll look better, but overall, it looks nice.
Along the side, the puffed-up haunches add to its muscularity and the rear is pretty nicely done as well. Overall, it’s a refreshing design change from the sea of usual stuff.
Interior
Inside, it’s the typical Hyundai experience. The layout is familiar, the touchscreen infotainment system is encased nicely with buttons on the sides of the frame. The steering wheel is pretty much the same as other products in the family as is the digital instrument pod. One cool thing is there’s a dash cam which — fittingly in this social media-driven make-believe world — also takes selfies.
The feature list of the Exter is pretty elaborate for its price. It’s got a sunroof which also works on voice command, the infotainment system is Bluelink enabled, and there’s an Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, a wireless phone charger, and cruise control. So, pretty loaded.
Safety is addressed quite well, too. There are 6 airbags as standard, and things like VSM, ESC and Hill Start Assist — which are basically a part of VSM itself — are standard in the higher trims but the good thing is they are available in the options pack of the base version too. Another thing that’s commendable is the quality of the rear parking camera — excellent resolution and sharpness.
In the length that’s a bit more than 3.8 metres, and a 2.45-metre wheelbase affords reasonably good space inside. The knees aren’t going to rub against the back of the front seats even if the driver is a tallish person and the general comfort is not too bad. But, it’s strictly a 4-seater. If you really want to squeeze 3 grown-ups in the back, they should be more than just good friends.
Driving
The Punch has done wonders for Tata Motors. It’s in a unique space where it hasn’t had much of a direct competition. The mini-SUV category has been rather static for a while. There was the Mahindra KUV100 for a bit, but it was a rather depressing product. In this bracket, the Punch has the Ignis by to contend with, but that’s also more an obtuse hatchback than a crossover.
The Exter comes packing a punch — pun fully intended, of course. But it’s true; as a package, it’s commendable. The engine is a 1.2-litre petrol; makes 83PS and almost 114Nm. Both of which come fairly high up in the Rev-band. Power peaks out at 6,000rpm and peak torque comes at 4,000rpm.
It has proven to be reliable and decent over all these years but its marriage with the AMT gearbox isn’t the best. By itself, the engine pulls okay but the automated manual is a bit dim-witted to upshift. Press hard on the throttle and it downshifts okay. You’ll of course hear the revs rise and the engine letting out a rough tone and the speed build-up might not correspond to all the instant noises but it moves pretty well enough.
Is it an enthusiast’s car? Very simply, no. But does it drive well? Oh absolutely! The load shifts are not too pronounced and if you don’t suddenly load up the car on one side and are smooth with steering and throttle inputs, it will settle down nicely on its springs. Being sudden or abrupt in the inputs definitely upsets the car and you can sense a little skip at the rear sometimes. Overall though, this thing can handle twisters well enough.
The suspension is okay; nothing great, nothing bad. It’s the right level of softness for most of the scenarios but it does transmit the slightly more unsettling bumps in the form of hollow noises in the cabin and it can make you feel like the suspension ran out of travel. But that’s only on pretty serious broken patches. It’s a well-balanced setup between ride and handling. For the regular city and smooth highway use, the Exter shouldn’t complain much and even the twisty roads can be reasonably enjoyable if you drive sanely or conservatively enough.
The steering doesn’t have any actual feel but it’s linear and turns well. The brakes are good on feel and modulation and the general sense of confidence is good. Even the ABS is not as intrusive in this one as in many of the other Hyundai products.
The weak link? Tyres, in my view.
The JK UX Royale as they are called, are 175/65 R15s and while there’s enough sidewall to lend a decent ride quality, they aren’t all that grippy and in some wet road patches, they struggled on throttle. But this issue can be easily fixed. Just replace them with better tyres!
So, how is it?
It’s not bad at all; it’s pretty damn decent, in fact. What is it? Well, it’s not an SUV, that’s for sure. No matter how much Hyundai would like you to believe otherwise, it’s really a good jacked-up hatchback with a very unique design to flaunt. Which is also what the Tata Punch is — Exter’s chief rival.
How has Hyundai done with the Exter? To bring in the game of intended puns, it has punched pretty well with this one.