Hyundai put a price on the Bayon on Monday, and it landed lower than a lot of people had guessed. The introductory ex-showroom tag starts at ₹9,99,900, which is a whisker under the ₹10 lakh line and a fair distance below where the Creta begins. Some listings round it up to ₹10 lakh. Either way, the SUV is on sale and cars are reaching buyers now, not "by the festive season" or "soon."
Hyundai's Indian SUV range has a soft spot between the Venue and the Creta. Plenty of buyers outgrow the first and don't want to stretch for the second. The Bayon is built for them.
The name will ring a bell if you follow European cars, because a small i20-based crossover called Bayon has been sold there since 2021. This isn't that car. Reports ahead of the launch said the India-spec model shares little beyond the nameplate with its European namesake, and CarWale notes that India is the first country to get this vehicle. Hyundai says the name comes from Bayonne, a city in the French Basque Country. A bit of trivia, sure, but it explains why a Korean SUV for Indian roads sounds like a holiday.
Autocar India ran the numbers against its stablemates. The starting price is ₹91,000 below the Creta's. At the top end, the Bayon's petrol CVT costs ₹69,000 less than the Creta's. Against the Venue 1.2 petrol, the base Bayon is about ₹2 lakh dearer. That last gap is the one buyers will argue about at dealerships, and Hyundai clearly expects the extra size and kit to win the argument.
Autocar also points out that the gap to the Creta could grow, since a next-generation Creta is expected next year, probably with higher prices.
Under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated petrol with multi-point injection. It makes 115 PS and roughly 144 Nm. If you've driven a Creta or Kia's Seltos with the same family of engine, you know the character: smooth, unhurried, not trying to impress anyone at a traffic light.
Transmission choices are a six-speed manual or the IVT, which is Hyundai's name for a CVT. There is no turbo-petrol and no diesel. Anyone who read the early reports expecting a punchy 1.0-litre turbo, or a 1.2 turbo, will be disappointed. Hyundai chose the safe, familiar motor.
CNG is the interesting bit. CarWale reports a factory-fitted version arriving in January 2027. Earlier coverage suggested it would be Hyundai's first SUV longer than four metres to get a CNG tank, though that claim came before launch, so treat it as unconfirmed until Hyundai says so.
Most of the excitement is inside. The Bayon carries two 12.3-inch displays, one for the instrument cluster and one for infotainment, running Hyundai's ccNC system with NVIDIA acceleration. That brings online navigation, a split-screen view and personalised controls.
It also gets what Hyundai calls its first Generative AI voice assistant in India, built with Perplexity and SoundHound AI. How good it feels in daily use is something only road tests will answer. On paper, it's a big swing for a car at this price.
Bluelink connected tech offers more than 70 functions, including remote controls, vehicle status and location-based services.
Outside, the car wears Hyundai's Art of Steel design language with a layered front end and split headlamps. Teasers also showed a lit signature at the rear that echoes the front. Ground clearance is listed at 205 mm, there are 10 colour options, and Level 2 ADAS is part of the package, along with six airbags.
A caution on that last bit. The launch coverage I could find does not spell out which trims get ADAS and which get all six airbags. At ₹9.99 lakh, it would be surprising if the base car had everything. Check the variant sheet before you pick a trim.
One report calls the Bayon Hyundai's answer to the Maruti Suzuki Victoris, which tells you the company is thinking about the upper end of the compact-SUV crowd, not just the Venue's patch. Hyundai has also been trying to win back market share in a segment that has gotten brutal. A new nameplate, a sub-₹10 lakh headline number and a long feature list is how you try.
Bookings are open online and at authorised dealerships for ₹11,000. Deliveries are underway. If you're after CNG, the wait runs to January 2027. If you need an automatic, remember that the IVT only starts at the HX5 trim, so the real entry price for a two-pedal Bayon is ₹13.84 lakh, not ₹9.99 lakh.
