Battle of sedans heats up: 2017 Hyundai Verna beats Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz in Sept sales

South Korean carmaker Hyundai might just have ticked the right boxes with the latest addition to its portfolio in India. The new avatar of its sedan, Verna, which was launched in the country in August, has outnumbered its arch-rivals Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, returning better sales in the month of September.

Going by the figures released by News 18, the new Hyundai Verna found 6,054 takers in September, while Honda City just fell behind with sales of 6,010 units. Maruti Suzuki's premium sedan Ciaz clocked 5,603 units in the same month taking the third slot.

Should Maruti Suzuki and Honda worry? Will Hyundai Verna be able to continue the momentum?

Hyundai Verna

The new Verna is powered by 1.6-litre petrol and diesel mills. While the 1.6-litre petrol engine churns out 121 bhp and 151 Nm of peak torque, the diesel engine makes 126 bhp and 260 Nm of torque. Both engines come mated to either a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic torque converter unit.

Based on the K2 platform, the new Verna has got some of its design elements from its elder sibling Elantra and packs a slew of goodies to woo the customers. The new Verna includes features like the front ventilated seat, smart trunk, electric sunroof, rear AC vents, cruise control and rear curtain.

Maruti Suzuki Ciaz

Ciaz comes powered by a 1,373 cc petrol unit and a 1,248 cc diesel mill under the hood. While the petrol unit develops 91 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 130 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm mated to five-speed manual transmission, the diesel unit comes equipped with a small hybrid system which produces 89 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 200 Nm of torque at 1,750 rpm. The petrol variant is also available with four-speed automatic transmission.

Maruti Suzuki is expected to launch the facelifted version of Ciaz in the country soon. Ciaz is now being sold through Nexa, the premium dealerships of the company. It is said that both the petrol and diesel engine versions of Ciaz are likely to get the 1.5-litre engines in the new avatar.

Honda City

City comes with features such as keyless entry, electric sunroof, steering mounted audio, touchscreen infotainment system, reverse camera, cruise control and 16inch alloy wheels and safety features such as ABS (anti-lock braking system) with EBD and airbags. Powered by the 1.5L i-VTEC engine and 1.5L i-DTEC diesel engine, City comes with CVT with 7-speed paddle shifters.