Hyundai Eon – stylish looks, good performance

The Maruti Alto, Chevrolet's Spark, or the Hyundai Eon? This is a question that would haunt most young buyers looking for a small car. Most likely they have zeroed in on the Alto or the Spark – but looking beyond these, the Hyundai Eon packs enough juice to outshine most cars in the category.

Most impressive is its appearance. The Eon looks generations ahead of its competition in this - even the costlier Santro for that matter! Measuring 3495mm in length, 1550mm in width, and 1500mm in height, the Eon has a wheelbase of 2380mm. With contemporary styling, the car looks costlier than its actual price of around Rs2.6 lakh.

The fluidic front design and the tallboy structure give the impression, at least initially, that this is a shrunk i10. A look at the details however, and the thought of any semblance with the i10 evaporates. If there's any resemblance, it lies in the wheelbase; the i10 and the Eon share the same wheelbase.

Nice bold lamps adorn the front corners and align well with the steeply raked front pillars, which result in the Eon offering good space inside. The head lamps also remind one of the ones found on the bigger Verna.

Prominent is the steep curve at the shoulder level. It runs across the side, and disappears into the curvy tail lamps situated into a rear-facing portion of the C-pillar. Beefy wheel arches add to the contemporary styling of the Eon, indicating that this small car is quite stylish and far from mundane. Adding to the superior styling of the car's appearance is the high quality paint job.

Tipping the scales at 700kg, the Eon is a small and light car. The way the doors shut provides some idea about the metal work. The heavier Spark feels a shade more solid than the Eon for certain.