After several delays due to the second wave of COVID-19 in India, Hyundai Alcazar has been introduced in the Indian market. The all-new Alcazar is the brand’s newest seven-seater SUV. Introductory prices for the petrol version starts at Rs 16.30 lakh, while the diesel version from Rs 16.53 lakh (ex-showroom, India). Hyundai begun accepting bookings for the Alcazar online and at dealerships earlier this month, with the booking amount set at Rs 25,000.
Hyundai is offering as many as six trims Prestige, Prestige(O), Platinum, Platinum (O), Signature and Signature (O). While both petrol and diesel engine options are available with all the trim levels, only the (O) variants get the automatic transmission option.
The exterior of the Alcazar gets subtle design changes to help differentiate it from the Creta. These include a new grille, an updated front bumper, a prominent rear quarter glass, new wraparound tail-lights, a slightly more upright tailgate, faux dual exhaust tips and a larger set of 18-inch alloy wheels (compared to the Creta’s 17-inchers). Another prominent difference when compared to the Creta, is that the Alcazar looks noticeably longer, owing to its 150mm longer wheelbase (2,760mm).
There are a host of segment-first features. As standard, Hyundai will offer LED setup for trio-headlamps, Daytime Running Lamps, tail lamps and positioning lamps. The Alcazar gets a 7-inch digital supervision cluster as standard while the higher variants will get a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display. The panoramic sunroof is also be offered as a standard.
There is a smart key with push-button to start/stop, remote engine start, a sliding sun visor, cruise control, fully automatic climate control, electrically adjustable and foldable outside rearview mirrors, wireless charger and a lot more. There is also a perforated leather-wrapped D-cut steering wheel and gear knob.
Under the hood, the Alcazar comes with a petrol and a diesel engine option. The 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine is an updated and more powerful version of the one in the Elantra and Tucson. In the Alcazar it develops 159hp and 192Nm (7hp more than the Elantra). The diesel engine on the other hand, is the same 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged unit from the Creta – producing 115hp and 250Nm – though it has been tuned differently.
Gearbox options for both engines include a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic. Hyundai also claims that the Alcazar, in the petrol-manual configuration, can do the 0-100kph sprint in 9.5sec. Additionally, the three-row SUV is available with multiple drive modes – Comfort, Eco and Sport – as well as multiple traction control modes – Sand, Snow and Mud.
Coming to the fuel efficiency, the petrol manual returns 14.5kpl while the automatic version returns 14.2kpl. The diesel engine is even more frugal, as with the manual gearbox it returns 20.4kpl and with the automatic, it returns 18.1kpl. Hyundai claims, this makes the Alcazar the most fuel-efficient SUV in the segment.
The carmaker claims it has already received 4,000 bookings for the Alcazar, with a 50:50 split between the automatic and manual gearbox versions. Additionally, 60 percent of the models booked are with the 6 seat layout and the remaining 40 percent are with the 7 seat layout.
