For someone who is a borderline introverted person, a day in the life as an automotive journalist is all about being outside my comfort zone. Be it meeting new people at events or facing the camera and delivering my lines in as minimum takes as possible. This is how life is going to be moving forward, I thought, but among all the chaos, I found a new comfort zone — the Hyundai Exter.
The moment I step inside the car, a sense of familiarity takes over. Everything is right where it needs to be, the gear lever, the AC controls, the infotainment screen and even the electronic ORVM controls. What I mean to say is that Hyundai has got the ergonomics spot on in the Exter. The leather-wrapped steering wheel feels nicer to hold than a few of the more expensive cars I have driven and its lightness is a huge boon when it comes to effortlessly tackling the city traffic. They say, operating a manual car in city traffic is a hassle. Maybe it is, but in the Exter it does not feel that way. It can be very easy for a tired mind to get lost in thoughts, but working the manual gearbox keeps me fresh and engaged in the task at hand. The short throw of the gearbox and the light clutch ensure that it doesn’t feel like I have to ‘work’ the gearbox. The only annoying bit is the Distance To Empty (DTE) display which seems to go haywire under half tank, showing a disproportionate drop in the range despite less distance being covered with light-footed driving.
Personal bias aside, it wasn’t surprising for me when the Exter won the Indian Car of the Year 2024 award. Apart from the design, which is subjective, there is hardly anything you can complain about in the Exter, especially when you take its price and features into consideration.
