Hyundai unveil the 'Casper' in South Korea, ahead of its launch in India later this year
Hyundai has unveiled the Hyundai Casper, Hyundai's smallest SUV to date. The Casper is a mini-SUV that will arrive in India in the coming months. The Casper is named after Bobby 'Casper' Boyden's freestyle skating technique from the 1970s, not the friendly ghost.
The Casper has a boxy shape, but Hyundai has added some character to the front end with narrow LED lights up top and circular headlights with LED DRL rings below them, buried into the front bumper. The silver radiator grille portion has a fake skid plate and a 'parametric design' radiator grille section.
Blacked-out A-pillars, roof rails, body cladding, highly flared and squared-off wheel arches, dual-tone alloys, rear door handles neatly disguised near to the C-pillar, and different-sized window housings are all available on Casper. The circular taillights are placed low in the rear bumper, matching the location of the headlights, and the upper part of the hatch is covered in black, including the 'parametric jewel' style LED lights.
While Hyundai hasn't said anything regarding the Casper's interior, one of the photos reveals the mini-SUV will have a free-standing touchscreen infotainment system with a slew of connected capabilities. It will also be one of the smallest passenger cars with a standard-size sunroof.
However, given the Casper's smaller size compared to the Hyundai Venue which isn't exactly roomy it'll probably be just about big enough for four passengers. This will also be related to the fact that the Casper's boot space will also be limited.
Hyundai may use either the 1.1-litre petrol engine from the Santro or the 1.2-litre petrol engine from the Grand i10 Nios in India. Given Hyundai's efforts to democratise turbocharged engines by putting them in other mass-market vehicles like the Grand i10 Nios, Aura, and Venue, it would be interesting to see whether the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine is offered as an option for higher-spec Casper trims in India.
The Tata Punch is likely to beat the Hyundai Casper in India, as the action in the mini-SUV sector heats up. Tata Motors' mini-SUV is scheduled to be on sale in the next weeks, followed by the Casper, with pricing estimated to be in the Rs 5 to 7.5 lakh area (ex-showroom).
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