Anamit Sen drove a petrol-engined Fluidic Verna all the way from Calcutta to Raichak near Diamond Harbour and back.
The Ganga Kutir Resort and Spa, is about 50km South from the madness that is Calcutta. It is optimistically speaking an hour and half's drive from the city in the direction of Diamond Harbour and sits on the Calcutta side of the Ganges River (Haldia port is on the other side) at Raichak. The saving grace is that once you reach Ganga Kutir, you immediately forget the maddening drive as you take in views of the river flowing serenely past. Ganga Kutir has 16 rooms only, so exclusivity is guaranteed. It's only when you are about to return to Calcutta and start thinking about battling past all that traffic do you get that sinking feeling again. However, it does help if you have the ideal weapon - a modern, comfortable car - to tackle the roads with. Fortunately, I did have adequate weaponry – a petrol-engined Fluidic Verna, thanks to Hyundai inviting me to participate in a drive from the Taj Bengal Hotel opposite the Alipur zoo to Raichak and back.
If you have read my impression of the Diesel version on this site, you will know that Hyundai has spared no expense to pack the Verna with tonnes of features. These have been carried over to the petrol version as well. There is the engine start/stop button as well as the smart key, the AC incorporates a clean air ionizer that keeps the occupants fresh. The button-operated folding door mirrors are nifty as are the speed and impact sensing door locks. The feature I liked the most is that in addition to the rear parking sensors there is a rear parking camera that is very helpful while reversing and even works at night, the image being displayed in a corner of the rear view mirror.
You will also know that the new Verna is 4370mm long, 1700mm broad and 1475mm tall with the wheelbase is now 2570mm. The styling of the new Verna is certainly interesting – one will either love it or hate it. I'm still undecided about the looks of the car or the Fluidic Sculpture Design philosophy, but the dynamic lines of the bonnet and the side profile are all there on the petrol variant. The Verna comes in four variants - two petrols and two diesels – When I drove the Verna the last time it was in and around New Delhi and the NCR and was the 1.6 SX Diesel with manual transmission. This time it was the petrol 1.6 litre VTVT engine with 123PS@6300rpm maximum power and 15.8@4200rpm peak torque.
Source : Wheels Unpugged
