Honda Vezel vs Hyundai ix35

Hyundai has tried its hand on SUVs in the Indian market but they haven’t been a success story for them. They hardly sold any units of the Tucson and the Santa Fe hasn’t been doing any good either. The updated Santa Fe with the typical Hyundai fluidic treatment was launched earlier this year at the Auto Expo but we haven’t been able to spot many of those on actual roads. Going against the Japanese giant is tough after all. Now they are planning to compete in the compact SUV segment with the ix35. It would compete against vehicles like Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport and many other upcoming vehicles like Honda Vezel and Maruti Suzuki XA Alpha.

Both the Honda Vezel and Hyundai ix35 are being sold in many markets. Both the cars look quite impressive. The Vezel looks like a smaller CR-V while the ix35 looks like a Verna sitting higher than usual without its boot. The point is that both the cars are pretty but quite differently. The Vezel has got the typical Honda face with the H design scheme and has got an impressive presence. The side profile features flared arches and hidden door handles to boost the overall look of the car. The ix35 on the other hand features a sleek and sharp design.

You can clearly tell the ix35 is a Hyundai just by looking at it. The smooth lines, sharp headlamp flowing into hood and the tail lamps just give it away. There is a lot of detailing on the car and it looks worth much more than what you would actually pay for it. The Honda Vezel isn’t lacking in this department either. The car is impressive on both the outside and inside. There is a lot of space in the cabin and the packing is excellent like you would expect on a Honda. Every bit has been properly used to free up space for the occupants. The dashboard has been laid out nicely and it offers you decent level of equipment. However the people at Hyundai are just as good at the job of loading the dashboard.

The Vezel would offer both petrol and diesel engines. These engines will be carried from the current generation of Honda City. The 1.5 litre petrol engine generates peak power of 116 bhp while the 1.5 litre diesel engine generates peak power of 100 bhp. Both the engines perform really well in the everyday usage and offer excellent fuel economy. We have recently seen Honda launch the Mobilio MPV with the exact same engine options. The ix35 on the other hand will offer more engine options. Hyundai recently introduced a new 1.1 litre diesel engine on the Grand i10. This diesel engine might make it under the hood of ix35 generating different amount of power. This would help them keep the starting costs low for the diesel variant. They will also introduce larger engines like the ones from Verna on the higher models. Expect the prices of ix35 to start a bit lower than the Vezel.