Spied - 2015 Hyundai i20 continues testing in and around Chennai

The 2015 Hyundai i20 continues testing as it inches closer to its debut. Motor Vikatan's readers Mr. Jagdish Prabakaran, Mr. Vivek and Mr. Kishore Kumar have spotted the test mule of the upcoming premium hatchback near Chennai.

The next gen Hyundai i20 is scheduled to be launched in India sometime in the September - October period. Codenamed IB, the hatchback receives a comprehensive makeover to its interior and exterior.

The front and rear fascias of the new car will be nothing like the outgoing model. The new headlamps, grille and the bumper give the car a low slung stance while the rear gets boomerang-shaped combination lights and a heavily contoured hatch door.

On the inside, as the previous spyshots revealed, the new i20 gets a three spoke multi-function steering wheel, a revised dashboard with black centre console (the current model sports a silver finished one) and a conventional shift pattern for the 5-speed gearbox (the current model has a lift-type lock for the reverse gear which is positioned where the 1st gear usually is).

Powertrains are expected to be carried over from the car it replaces. The petrol lineup includes a 1.2-litre and a 1.4-litre engines while a 1.4-litre CRDI motor stands as the sole diesel option. The smaller petrol motor is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox while the bigger mill adopts a 4-speed automatic transmission. The oil burner comes with a 6-speed manual.

Competitors: VW Polo, Maruti Swift, Honda Jazz, Tata Bolt

Expected Price: INR 5-8 lakhs ex-showroom

[Spy Images from Motor.vikatan.com]