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S. Muralidhar

FIVE years ago, as car-makers out-raced one another to introduce vehicles in the market, a consultant with a prominent European automotive design house observed that Indians preferred their cars to appear big from the outside, but were not so demanding about interior space. The room available inside the car should be worth a premium, after all that is why we buy the car in the first place. And driving in crowded Indian cities will be easier if the car has relatively more compact exterior dimensions.

There are quite a few cars that have not leveraged their ample exterior dimensions to offer greater interior leg and shoulder space. But there are a few that look small on the outside and yet, relatively speaking, manage to offer more than proportionate space inside.

It is clever design that gives cars this touch of practical beauty. Hyundai has come up with a vehicle that surprises with its ability to utilise space extraordinarily well. The Hyundai Getz is probably the first of the `big-small' cars that are set to hit Indian roads. Set between the B and C segments in terms of size and price, the Getz will attempt to offer trim quality, interior space and build quality on a par with the pricey sedans.

Chic and clean

Hyundai calls the Getz a Euro-styled, premium hatchback. If simple straight lines and a practical, consistent design theme are indicative of pronounced European-styling, then the Getz belongs to that class. European or not, the Getz is a good-looking car that is also upfront about its focus on practicality, with marginal excesses in design, a trait that could not be associated with Hyundai's first car for the Indian market — the Santro.

The Getz's exterior styling gives it a sort of dual personality. The Getz's large format, clear lens-type headlamp cluster dominate the car's frontal view. The short, sloping bonnet and the single-slat grille seem to visually add some more measure to the Getz's already class-leading width. These features as well as the broad front bumper and the sharply raked windscreen make the Getz look very sedan-like, when viewed from the front. The muscular shoulder flanks and the prominent, flaring wheel arches give the Getz a well-planted, aggressive profile.

However, viewed from the back, the Getz seems to acquire a new, squat and wider appearance. The short-hatch door, the raised position of the thickset bumper and the relatively smaller combination lamps make the Getz's rear seem more compact. The wrap-around style tail-lamps are positioned mid-way, instead of lower and closer to the bumpers as in older hatches or high up on the C-pillar as in the case of the newer small cars such as the Tata Indica and the Suzuki Wagon-R. The overall design of the tail-lamps and the circular reverse indicator integrated into it may remind the casual observer of the Daewoo Matiz. The rear spoiler with the integrated high-mounted stop lamp and the chunky, profiled external rear-view mirrors add a touch of exclusivity to the Getz. While visibility at the front is ample for the driver, thanks to the panoramic windscreen and the large windows for the front doors, the thick, wrap around body panels on the C-pillar limits the driver's rear visibility, especially while backing the car into a cramped parking slot.

Simple interiors

The interiors of the Getz wear a fresh and simple look. The finish quality is good and dimensional accuracy of dashboard and door panels rival those of a few C-segment cars. The soft feel plastic used for the dashboard panels adds a touch of class, but the dimpled finish may be a bit difficult to clean and maintain in Indian conditions.

There are ample storage options, including the deep glove box, the removable ashtray cup, bottle and cup holders at the front and rear, seat side pockets, coin storage on the door handles, bag hook at the rear of the front passenger seat and the 60:40 split, folding rear seats that go on to more than treble the boot storage space.

The instrument cluster is housed in a simple semicircular dashboard panel and features two round, chrome-lipped gauges for the rpm meter and speedometer. The cluster also features a digital clock and trip meter. Power and tilt-adjustable steering is standard. The centre console features a brushed aluminium slap-on panel and houses rotary type controls of the HVAC (air-conditioning) system and positive type controls for the rear defogger, hazard lights and fog lamps.

The dual adjusting air-conditioner louvers look sophisticated and add to the Getz's upmarket image. The dashboard extends more than a foot into the cabin. While this gives the driver even more open storage space on the flat faced top, at the bottom, after the dashboard tapers off, the driver and co-passenger get loads of recessed leg space.

Engine and transmission

The Getz has been brought in with Hyundai's new 1,341cc, in-line, four-cylinder, SOHC engine that develops a maximum power of 82.9PS at 5,500 rpm and a peak torque of 11.8 kgm at 3,200 rpm. With the peak torque kicking at a low 3,200 rpm, you will not have to rev the engine up to a grunt to get the best out of it. However, as the Getz's engine is mapped for economy, there is a mild lag before the torque kicks in the first three gears. The other side of this slightly slow, but steady rise in torque is that this powerful 1.3-litre engine is surprisingly tolerant of lower speeds in every gear slot. As a result, knocking is minimal obviating frequent shifts to a lower gear. So, while the Getz delivers a lively performance in city traffic, the lull before peak torque kicks in may be only a tad bothersome on the highway. But once you are past 3,000 rpm, the Getz zips.

The five-speed manual transmission that the Getz comes with is one of the smoothest in its class. The short throw, short-talked gearshift stick is a delight to use. The suspension set-up features McPherson-type struts in the front and coupled torsion beam axle and gas-filled shock absorbers at the rear. This configuration, coupled with the rigid chassis, gives the car excellent handling dynamics.

Added to this the long wheelbase, the squat design and the responsive power steering make the Getz a well-behaved car in city, highway and hilly driving conditions.

Interior comfort is enhanced by the class-leading NVH packaging. Anti-vibration pads muffle road rush and engine noise and vibration to the lowest levels that can be found in cars in this class.

Value for money

The Getz is the first of the large sub-compacts that will make their way into the Indian market. The Ford Fusion will be next.

This cusp segment is likely to find more buyers as the market matures and as the expectations of customers in the small-car segment increase.

For Indian car buyers looking for a good value for money proposition in the high-end B-segment category, the Getz will be an attractive choice. With a fuel economy of about 10 kmpl in city and about 15 kmpl on highway, the Getz will also keep running costs relatively low. Hyundai has shrewdly priced the Getz GLS at Rs 4.8 lakh. The entry-level GL variant has been priced at Rs .4.5 lakh and the GLS with ABS sells for Rs 5.1 lakh plus.

But as the mindset of Indians still appears to be with the `premiumness' of three-box cars, and as we now have at least two sedans — the Esteem and the Ikon — crossing trails with the Getz, this Hyundai car will face stiff competition. But it has what it takes to redefine the expectations of the small-car buyer.

Stepping into space

THE whole Getz story is about its size. On the road or in a photograph, it just does not look much bigger than the current crop of small cars.

But step into it and the space inside surprises you. The Getz's dimensions puts it in the same league as several of the large hatches available in Europe now such as the Ford Fiesta, the Skoda Fabia and the Citroen C3.

The Getz has been built on a completely new platform and thanks to the extra-long wheelbase and the short overhangs, the car boasts of an amazing interior space which surpasses that in almost all the existing B-segment cars.

The Getz even manages to offer better legroom and interior space than some of the existing C-segmenters.

With a wheelbase of 2,455mm, the Getz beats the Maruti Esteem and the Ford Ikon, besides its costlier sibling, the Hyundai Accent.

The Getz's overall width, another potential indicator of available interior space, is also higher than the Ikon and the Esteem and is only slightly lesser than the Accent, the Mitsubishi Lancer and the Chevrolet Optra!

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