SUV-inspired Hyundai i20 Active Discontinued in India

As reported by our dealership sources, the 'SUV-inspired' Hyundai i20 Active has been discontinued in India. Moreover, the fact that the hatchback is no longer listed on the official website hints that it has been taken off the shelves. 

With the next-generation Hyundai i20 on its way to India, it’s easy to understand why the manufacturer would decide to discontinue the low-selling cross-hatch variant of its popular Maruti Baleno-rival. The Active is based on the current-gen model, which will be phased out soon. That said, there is no confirmation if the new-gen model will have an ‘Active’ variant. While crossover-hatchbacks are still quite popular among buyers, the sub-4-metre SUV offerings in the market tend to appeal much more to the customers.

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The trend of 'SUV-inspired' crossover-style hatchbacks started back when subcompact SUVs weren’t as popular as they are today, although people had started to show a liking towards them. To satiate the demand for small and economical SUVs in the country, Indian carmakers had started offering hatchbacks with details like a high ground clearance and body cladding. We got numerous offerings in this market space, like Tata Tiago NRG, Ford FreeStyle, Maruti Celerio X, Toyota Etios Cross, VW Cross Polo, SKoda Fabia Scount and of course, the Hyundai i20 Active.

The i20 Active had slightly larger dimensions as compared to the Elite i20 (regular model). Its length, width and height were 3,995 mm, 1,760 mm, and 1,555 mm, respectively, making it 10 mm, 26 mm, and 50 mm larger in each respect. The ground clearance is 190 mm, higher by almost 20 mm. You also got roof rails, faux skid plates, and body cladding all-around. The car was offered with two powertrain options. The first was a 1.2-litre petrol mill producing 83 PS and 115 Nm, paired to a 5-speed manual transmission. The second option was a 1.4-litre diesel engine that offered 90PS and 220Nm, and came mated to a 6-speed manual.

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Now, with plenty of sub-4-metre SUVs available in the market, the demand for crossover hatchbacks isn’t as strong as before. The former were presented as proper SUV offerings, rather than jacked-up small cars. This helped boost their popularity. Maruti enjoyed massive success with its Vitara Brezza, just like Tata did with the Nexon. To get a piece of that pie, Hyundai had introduced the Venue last year! It, therefore, seems unlikely that the next-gen Hyundai i20 will be offered with an ‘Active’ variant. There will be one available in the European market though, as such vehicles are still quite popular over there.