Hyundai Motor India’s Exter compact SUV, launched on July 10, 2023, has become the company’s third best-selling SUV after the Creta and the Venue in the past 12 months. To mark its first anniversary, the company has introduced the Exter Knight special edition which features styling updates inside and out.
10 Jul 2024 | 4929 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Launched on July 10, 2023, at an aggressive pricing of Rs 599,000, the Hyundai Exter has turned a year old today. And till end-June 2024, it has sold an estimated 93,662 units and given Hyundai Motor India new power in the competitive Indian SUV market.
Since its launch, ...
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Launched on July 10, 2023, at an aggressive pricing of Rs 599,000, the Hyundai Exter has turned a year old today. And till end-June 2024, it has sold an estimated 93,662 units and given Hyundai Motor India new power in the competitive Indian SUV market.
Since its launch, the Exter, which is Hyundai’s second compact SUV, Exter has vaulted into the third best-selling SUV for the Korean OEM, after the market-leading Creta midsize SUV and the Venue. In FY2024, the Exter sold 71,301 units and accounted for 18% of Hyundai’s total SUV sales of 388,725 units.
The entry-SUV category within the sub-four-metre-SUV segment is witnessing strong demand and the Exter’s aggressive pricing strategy has paid off. It is estimated that between 20,000-22,000 entry SUVs are sold each month and the Exter has made it mark there. In this ultra-competitive compact SUV segment, which has 12 models including the Tata Punch, Citroen C3, Maruti Fronx, Toyota Taisor, Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger vying for a slice and more of the action, the Hyundai Exter did well to take seventh place in FY2024 with seven months’ sales
In the first quarter of the current fiscal year (April-June 2024), with an estimated 22,361 units, the youngest Hyundai SUV has contributed 22% to total Hyundai’s UV sales of 100,745 units, after the Creta’s 46% (46,402 units) and the Venue’s 28% (28,337 units). Given the strong demand for the Exter, Hyundai Motor India has ramped up production.
Boxy looking, feature-laden SUV
The Exter follows Hyundai’s ‘Parametric’ design language that employs boxy proportions and an upright stance. At the front, the mini-SUV gets a split-headlamp setup with integrated ‘H’-shaped LED DRLs. The front fascia gets a wide, contrasting black grille, and a prominent chin with a faux silver skid plate. The side profile is characterised by flared wheel arches, diamond-cut alloy wheels, clean lines, and all-around body cladding that lends a robust look.
The Exter gets LED tail-lights at the rear, a shark-fin antennae, roof rails as well as a single-pane sunroof – a first-in-segment feature. On the inside, the car gets an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with over 60 connected car features under Hyundai’s Bluelink connectivity suite, as well as OTA updates. Hyundai also offers a factory-fitted dual-monitoring dashboard camera, as well as cruise control on the Exter.
The Exter is offered in five trim levels, all with six airbags and electronic stability control (ESC) – the two key requirements to score a four- or five-star rating in GNCAP’s latest crash protocol – as standard safety kit. The Exter comes powered by a sole 1.2-litre, 82hp, four-cylinder, naturally-aspirational petrol engine, coupled with 5-speed MT or AMT options.
While Hyundai is claiming a fuel economy rating of 19.4kpl for the manual and 19.2kpl for the automatic, the factory-fitted CNG option offers a much superior fuel economy of 27.10kpl in comparison.
New Exter Knight introduced to celebrate first anniversary
To mark the first anniversary of the Exter, Hyundai Motor India has launched the Exter Knight edition with prices starting at Rs 838,000. The special edition version features styling updates, and has been launched to mark one year of the Exter in the country.
The new Exter Knight variant is based on the SX and SX(O) Connect variants and gets exterior changes such as black painted side-sill garnish, red accents on the front bumper and tailgate, red brake calipers, black front and rear skid plates, black alloy wheels on the SX(O) Connect, black Hyundai and Exter badges, and a Knight emblem.
On the inside, the Exter Knight gets an all-black theme with contrasting red accents and stitching, red footwell lighting, black satin interior door handles and steering, metal scuff plate, red stitching on the floor mats, and new Knight seat upholstery with red stitching and piping.
The Exter Knight edition retains the 83hp, 114Nm 1.2-litre, four-cylinder NA petrol engine as the standard SUV that can be had with both the 5-speed manual and the 5-speed AMT gearboxes.
(Exter Knight inputs from Autocar India)
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