Kia Seltos’ Engines To Drive Hyundai Creta, Elantra, Verna In BS6 Era

The Kia Seltos will offer three BS6 compliant engines at launch, including two new Hyundai-Kia 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines

• Hyundai and Kia to continue selling diesel cars post April 2020 (BS6 emission norms).

• Seltos will debut Hyundai-Kia's latest 1.5-litre petrol and diesel Smartstream engines.

• Hyundai Creta and Verna's 1.6-litre petrol and diesel engines to make way for the new BS6 1.5-litre diesel.

• The 1.5-litre petrol diesel engines are more powerful than the current 1.4-litre but falls slightly behind the 1.6-litre units.

• Upcoming Elantra facelift will get the new 1.5-litre diesel, while its 2.0-litre petrol should continue.

Unlike Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai had announced that it will continue selling diesel engines in the BS6 era. The grey area, however, was whether Hyundai would utilize its existing set of diesel engines or develop new ones. Now, we have some much-needed clarity regarding the same. Hyundai is going to utilise the BS6-compliant 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engine from the upcoming Kia Seltos in cars like the Hyundai Verna, Creta and the Elantra.

The 1.5-litre four-cylinder diesel engine in the Kia Seltos churns out 115PS and will be mated to a 6-speed MT and 6-speed torque converter automatic. Currently, both the Hyundai Verna and Creta get a choice of 1.4-litre and 1.6-litre diesel engines which churn out 90PS/220Nm and 128PS/260Nm respectively.

The bigger 1.6-litre unit also performs duties in the Elantra. But once the BS6 emission norms kick in, it will be just the 1.5-litre Smartstream unit from the Kia Seltos that replaces the 1.6-litre engine in the Creta, Verna and Elantra. The 1.4-litre will presumably get discontinued with the introduction of the 1.5-litre diesel engine in these cars.

On the petrol front, the 1.6-litre engine in the Creta and Verna will also make way for the new 1.5-litre Smartstream engine that delivers 115PS of power, same as the diesel. This unit will get a 6-speed MT as standard along with a CVT option (the outgoing 1.6-litre engine offer a torque convertor). The 1.4-litre on the Verna, which was essentially brought for an enticing entry pricing for the sedan, will most probably be done away with.

Will the BS6 upgradation have any drastic increases in the prices of these Hyundai sedans and SUV? Well, the shift to new engines will help keep the costs in check thanks to the downsizing and lesser taxes on smaller engines. Currently, these sedans and SUV with the 1.6-litre engines are considered large passenger vehicles by the government and attract 48 and 50 per cent GST, respectively. With the shift to 1.5-litre engines, the GST would come down to 45 per cent. So Hyundai is trying to offset the BS6 premium slightly this way.

Otherwise, a diesel-powered car is likely to command an additional premium of around Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh over the current difference. Current prices delta between, say an Elantra S petrol and diesel, is around Rs 1.31 lakh.

The new engines in the Creta will come with the second-gen model, which is expected to go on sale before March 2020. In case of the Elantra and Verna, the new engines are expected to be introduced with mid-life refreshed models. While the Elantra facelift is expected to be launched later this year, the Verna (launched in 2017) should technically be in the market before the emission norms kick in.

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