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Will it be SA friendly? Hyundai teases new Casper mini-SUV
Casper will be positioned below the Venue with a line-up of engines ranging from 1.0 to 1.2 litres.
Hyundai has revealed a sketch image of its new Casper small SUV that will sit below the Venue. Picture: Autocar India.
Hyundai has provided the first official glimpse of its new small SUV that will debut either this year or in early 2022 below the Venue.
Known internally as AX1, the tiny newcomer, which has been spied undergoing testing in India for almost a year, will, according to a report from Autocar India last month, be known as the Hyundai Casper and sold in developing markets, as well as South Korea, with the likely base being the K1 platform that underpins the Atos and the Grand i10.
According to the report in question citing unofficial figures, the Casper will have dimensions of 3 595 mm in overall length, a height of 1 575 mm and width of 1 595 mm.
Sporting a boxy design with the front bearing resemblance to the Staria, the latest Autocar India claim, aside from the mentioned image, centres around the Casper’s drivetrain, which will reportedly comprise two versions of the familiar 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine; a normally aspirated 57 kW unit and the turbocharged 74 kW variant from the Venue.
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Outside of South Korea, other engines poised to be offered include the normally aspirated 1.1 from the Atos, known as the Santro in India, and the Grand i10’s free-breathing 1.2-litre petrol. Regardless of the powerunit, transmissions are likely to consist of a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic, the latter at the cost of the turbo Venue’s seven-speed dual-clutch in order to keep costs low.
Spotted by gaadiwaadi.com undergoing on-road testing earlier this month wearing substantial layers of black-and-white masking, the Casper, which will rival the Suzuki Ignis, will allegedly debut in India either towards the end of this year or early next year with a reported starting price of INR 500 000 (R102 023)
While earmarked for developing markets as mentioned, no word about the Casper coming to South Africa has been made, but chances are that an announcement, as well as well more details and images, will be made in due course.
