Hyundai India has launched the Bayon as the brand's second contender for the midsize SUV segment, slotting between the Venue and Creta. While the latter two SUVs are available with naturally aspirated (NA) petrol, turbo-petrol, and diesel powertrains, the Bayon comes with a sole NA petrol engine – a CNG version is set to launch in January 2027.
To that end, we examined how the Bayon fares against midsize SUVs that offer NA-petrol engines, specifically the Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Honda Elevate, Tata Sierra, Maruti Victoris, Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota Hyryder, and Citroen Aircross.
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Hyundai Bayon vs rivals: Dimensions
The Bayon trails its competition in terms of length and height, but it's the third-widest SUV here (wider than even the Creta) and matches the Victoris, Grand Vitara, and Hyryder on the wheelbase front. At 205mm, the Bayon's ground clearance is quite competitive by segment standards – it beats the Seltos, Creta, and Aircross, though the Elevate still leads the pack in this regard.
Boot space is a clear victory for the Bayon, with its 505-litre capacity beating the prior segment-best 458-litre figure of the Elevate by a considerable margin of 47 litres. As for wheel sizes, the Bayon is in line with most of its rivals, with only the Creta, Sierra, and Seltos offering larger 18-inch wheels in higher trims.
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Hyundai Bayon vs rivals: Engine and gearbox
Under the bonnet, the Bayon packs the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine seen in the Creta and Seltos, that too with identical gearbox options. Even the 115hp/144Nm state of tune has been retained for the Bayon, giving it an immediate advantage over the Grand Vitara, Hyryder, Victoris, and Aircross. It's also more powerful than the Sierra's NA petrol engine, though the Tata SUV does make 1Nm more torque. The Aircross's engine remains the smallest (only one with three cylinders) and least powerful among its rivals, while the Elevate remains the strongest overall.
Circling back to transmissions, the Bayon features a 6-speed manual as standard, which is one gear more than you get in the Grand Vitara, Hyryder, Victoris, and Aircross. The Bayon can be additionally had with a CVT automatic in higher-spec trims, while the Aircross is the only SUV here to not offer an automatic gearbox. Lastly, the Grand Vitara, Hyryder, and Victoris continue to be the only midsize SUVs to offer an all-wheel-drive layout.
Uday Singh
Dipan Sur
Dhruv Dhaka
