The Hyundai i20 Cross will be competing against the Fiat Avventura, Toyota Etios Cross and the Ford EcoSport in the segment, and will come with even more features over the hatchback variant.
2015 will be the year of compact crossovers in Hyundai’s stable with not one, but two crossovers across different segments that will be launched in the year. While the ix25 crossover was confirmed for India earlier in the year to compete against the Renault Duster and Nissan Terrano, the South Korean automaker dropped a bomb on us when the first spy shots of the i20 based crossover emerged soon after the model was launched internationally at the Paris Motor Show last month. Now, our reader Iris Mathew Paul spotted the new i20 Cross doing test rounds in Ooty, Tamil Nadu.
The heavily camouflaged 2015 Hyundai i20 Cross will be sharing several components with the Elite i20 hatchback but gets additional features to differentiate from the latter. As seen in the spy shot, the crossover gets a raised ground clearance and newly designed alloy wheels. The model also gets revised front and rear bumper with skid plates, black body cladding on the lower belt line across the sides and silver finished roof rails for a rugged appeal. In addition, the earlier spy shots also indicated that the i20 Cross will get LED daytime running lights along with projectors, much like the international version. Hyundai could also spruce up the tech laden interior with a few off-roading features, like the Avventura.
In terms of powertrain, the new Hyundai i20 Cross will continue with the existing engine options seen on the hatchback version with the 1.2-litre petrol motor producing 83 PS of power and 114.7 Nm of torque, paired to a 5-speed manual transmission, while the diesel version gets the 1.4-litre engine developing 90 PS of power and 220 Nm of torque, paired to a 6-speed manual gearbox. Competing against the new Fiat Avventura, Toyota Etios Cross and the Ford EcoSport, the i20 Cross is expected to offer a mix of rugged appeal coupled with the hatchback’s practicality and will be positioned above the hatchback version in the i20’s lineup.
