The Hyundai Exter replaced the Venue turbo DCT in our long term fleet. The Venue was almost always used as a support car on shoots thanks to its ground clearance, ease of use and practical nature which means everyone in the team had driven it extensively and thus hopes from the Exter were also quite high.
Interestingly, I had never driven the Exter before so I was actually keen on using it extensively first. This is the fun of testing mass market cars. All of them have their own nuances and there’s a lot to talk about, both good and bad. As soon as I got the Exter, I started taking it for shoot commutes and our test car is the manual version which I actually wanted and not the AMT.
I actually loved driving the Exter in traffic. The steering and clutch are extremely light and the 1.2 Kappa is peppy enough. The Exter has a big glass area and there’s amazing outward visibility. Because of the height of the car, head room in the cabin is also excellent. However, this height does translate into a not-so-great looking rear portion.
For the price segment the Exter is slotted in, Hyundai has loaded it with every possible feature they could. It shares its touchscreen infotainment system and many other components with the Grand i10 NIOS. It also has a sunroof! Hyundai also offers a factory fitted dashcam which I think is quite useful especially looking at the number of accidents and road rage incidents happening these days. Also, it’s good to have it straight from the factory because many people don’t trust accessory shops for a clean install.
My work commute has reduced from 80 kms a day to 30 kms a day which means I spend lesser time commuting. The Exter is quite comfortable on city roads and looking at the current state of dug up roads in Mumbai, I’d say the Exter is doing a very good job of handling all the rough usage. The seats are comfy though you might want to get out and stretch your body a little every few hours when you’re out on a long drive.
What about the fuel efficiency? I’ve been getting 13 km/l in the city and around 15.5 km/l on the highway. I drove the Exter for close to 1000 kms before handing it over to our video production team. They seem to be liking it a lot thanks to its practicality. The Exter now does support car duties on shoots, very happily and the boot of the car is being put to some good use.
It’s going to be interesting to see how the car fares during the upcoming rains. I’ve been seeing in the news that this is going to be one of the wettest monsoons in Mumbai. So that’s it for now. Next update soon! If you have any particular query about the Exter, let’s discuss in the comments below.
