The largest car exporter of India, Hyundai showcased a bevy of vehicles at the Auto Expo 2012 that was held in New Delhi. The company grabbed a lot of attention at that time owing to the unveiling of a Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) concept named as HND-7. The vehicle made its global première at last year's biennial event. Codenamed as HND-7, the concept developed by Hyundai was based on the platform of Fluidic Design Architecture, which is currently adopted by the South Korean auto maker in its model. Since then, auto experts are eagerly waiting for the production model that will be inspired from this concept and the wait could soon get over as the company is planning to launch this Multi-Purpose Vehicle.
In the design showcased by Hyundai at 2012 Auto Expo, the concept car showed eight slim and hexagonally shaped seating arrangement that aimed at maximizing the passenger room. The seats were fitted with puzzle pieces that allowed for a optimum usage of space on the inside of the vehicle without unnecessarily expanding the width. Officials from Hyundai also that the seats would come along with different configurations in order to offer comfort and convenience for passengers. In case of front seats, a conventional rule of two seats was challenged by Hyundai, which gave away a configuration of three seats vertically in line with each other. Also, the front seating arrangement could be folded along with the second row ones, so as to give a greater comfort for passengers.
As revealed by the company, Hexa Space had dimensions of 4300 mm in length, 1820 mm in width and 1647 mm in height. The exteriors of HND-7 are based on bold character lines that run through the whole body of the vehicle. Also to mention, the innovative design of the rear door garnered the attention of many critics. In the design, the rear doors would first lift outwards and then slide to the back of the car thereby lending a much more space for entering the vehicle. HND-7 featured a lot high-tech functionalities that include all touch-screen centre console panel, cluster ionizer air purifier and a push star/stop button. In the engine and performance section, Hyundai said that Kappa 1.2-litre turbo GDI engine that currently does duty on European models will power the HND-7 coupled with a automatic 6-speed transmission system.
The car that will roll out bearing the design of HND-7 will be the first Multi-Purpose Vehicle from Hyundai to hit the Indian car market. Hexa Space Concept based model will aimed at targeting the urban masses that are in their 30's and 40's. As far as the launch date in India is concerned, the company has not provided any information regarding the matter but industry experts are betting that the upcoming MPV might be showcased at the 2014 Auto Expo.
The Multi-Purpose Vehicle segment was previously ignored by the major auto makers citing low demand as the main reason. Now with MPVs accounting for a significant market share, things seems to have turn around as car companies are trying to bring in new models. Since Hyundai is planning to enter the segment for the first time, things will certainly get tougher as companies like Maruti Suzuki, Chevrolet and Nissan are already competing with each other. The biggest rival for Hyundai's MPV will be Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, a car which has already established itself as the segment leader.
