Hyundai has been testing an all-new compact car which is expected to go on sale in the Korean market as well as other emerging markets such as India. The new compact micro-SUV is said to be codenamed AX1 and the car is likely to compete with Maruti Suzuki’s Urban compact SUV such as the Ignis when it arrives in the Indian market. The micro-SUV targets the new-generation clientele that are part of the latest trend shift towards the SUV market but looking for a small and affordable car.
The test mule has been heavily camouflaged to save the design from prying eyes but the extremely observant lot could notice that the new micro-SUV features a large and imposing front grille with a unique triangular mesh design finished in satin silver, bumper-mounted headlamps, turn indicators mounted close to the bonnet shutline, a clamshell-style bonnet, unique design alloy wheels with a capsule-like design, flared wheel arches with black protective plastic cladding neatly integrated with the arch line, C-pillar mounted rear door handles, body-coloured ORVM housing, large front side windows and smaller rear side windows, tailgate-mounted taillamps with 3D inserts, bumper-mounted turn indicator lamps, a high mount stop lamp etc.
The interiors have not been spied in pictures yet but sources believe that the though the car appears compact, however, it is expected to come with spacious interior space and the driver and front passenger appeared to be spaced apart in a ‘comfortable’ way. The keen-eyed would also notice a sensor or a group of sensors placed on the front windscreen behind the IRVM that leads us to believe that the car could get ambient light sensors for automatic headlamps, rain-sensing wipers and also some camera-based safety features. As of now, nothing more can be hypothesized.
The micro-SUV is expected to be powered by a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that makes close to 70 PS of power matched to a manual gearbox as well as an automatic option. The brand may also introduce a turbocharged version of the small capacity petrol motor to adhere to stricter emission norms in the future.
