While it’s still some time away from making its global debut, the Hyundai Exter micro-SUV has been seen fully undisguised in South Korea. Pictures of the smallest SUV in Hyundai’s India line-up have surfaced online, revealing the exterior design of the Exter, which was previewed in the first design sketch released a few days ago. Codenamed ‘Ai3’, the Exter – which will take on the hot-selling Tata Punch – adopts what Hyundai calls the ‘Sensuous Sportiness’ global design language. What the latest images confirm is the Exter has a boxy silhouette, but also brings a handful of interesting styling elements to the table.
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Matte black grille merges with the headlight housings incorporated into the front bumper.
Like many other present-day SUVs, the Exter has a split headlight setup, with H-shaped LED daytime running lights positioned on top, and round projector headlights (likely to be replaced by halogen units on lower trims) sunk into a square, chrome-lined housings incorporated into the front bumper.
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The Exter also sports flared wheel arches and faux skid plates, which add some visual muscle to the micro-SUV’s appearance, along with prominent roof rails, blacked-out A- and B-pillars (with a shark fin-style black accent on the C-pillar completing the ‘floating roof’ look), dual-tone alloy wheels and pull-type door handles. H-shaped motifs are also integrated into the Exter’s tail-lights, which are connected by a horizontal black strip, and the upright tail-gate also incorporates the registration plate housing.
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H-shaped motif incorporated into the tail-lights as well; note shark fin-style black accent for the C-pillar.
Expected to be based on an existing Hyundai small car platform, the Exter will be the smallest in Hyundai India’s SUV line-up, and will be closer in size to the Punch. Two petrol engines are likely to be offered with the Exter – the 1.2-litre, naturally-aspirated unit found in a number of compact Hyundai models (making 82 hp and 114 Nm of torque), and the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol (available with the Venue) for those seeking more power. Aside from a five-speed manual, the 1.2-litre petrol version of the Exter is also likely to be offered with an automated manual transmission (AMT).
No diesel engine is expected to be on the cards with the Exter, but a CNG version may be introduced sometime down the road.
When it arrives in showrooms in the coming months, expect the Hyundai Exter to be priced competitively, with an estimated price range of Rs 6 lakh to Rs 11 lakh (ex-showroom). The Exter will be an important addition to Hyundai’s portfolio, as it will take the Punch head-on, a car that has enabled Tata Motors to exert intense and continued pressure on the Korean carmaker for the No. 2 spot on sales charts.
