The new Verna from South Korean carmaker Hyundai has become the talk of the town having made a grand entry into the Indian market on August 22.

The early booking numbers of the Verna in its new avatar indicate the arrival of a worthy rival to Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and Honda City.

2017 Hyundai Verna, 2017 Hyundai Verna new, 2017 Hyundai Verna India
2017 Hyundai VernaPR Handout

The introductory price tag of the new Verna starts at Rs 7.99 lakh, but it will be available to only the first 20,000 customers, and thereafter increased.

Hyundai, which is eyeing the top spot in the sedan segment, hopes to sell around 12,000 units of the new Verna by Diwali this year.

The company revealed that the new Verna has received good response in the market, clocking 4,000 bookings in just 18 days since the opening of the booking window. The new Verna also received over 45,000 enquiries during the same period.

If 20 percent of these get converted into actual sales, the target set by Hyundai could be achieved by mid-October.

According to an AutocarIndia report, the top-end versions of the new Verna are in great demand, and 60 percent of the pre-booking for the sedan was for the 1.6-litre diesel engine version. The new Verna is currently powered by 1.6-litre petrol and diesel mills.

Also Read: 2017 Hyundai Verna: 1.4L engines likely to return later

2017 Hyundai Verna, 2017 Hyundai Verna India, 2017 Hyundai Verna launch
2017 Hyundai VernaPR Handout

While the 1.6-litre petrol engine churns out 121 bhp and 151 Nm of peak torque, the diesel engine makes 126 bhp and 260 Nm of torque. Both the engines come mated to either a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed automatic torque converter unit.

Based on the K2 platform, the new Verna includes features like front ventilated seat, smart trunk, electric sunroof, rear AC vents, cruise control and rear curtain.

New Verna full price list (ex-showroom Delhi)

-- E EX SX SX(O)
Petrol MT 7.99 lakh 9.06 lakh 9.49 lakh 11.08 lakh
AT -- 10.22 lakh -- 12.23 lakh
Diesel MT 9.19 lakh 9.99 lakh 11.11 lakh 12.39 lakh
AT -- 11.39 lakh 12.61 lakh (SX+) --

Source: ACI