SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.
This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a preselected course. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.
Posted: 9 June 2017
The numbers
Prices range from R299 900 to R399 900
Claimed average fuel consumption:
1600 Executive manual – 6.5 l/100 km
1600 Executive auto – 6.9 l/100 km
2000 Elite auto – 8.3 l/100 km
1600 TGDI Sport auto – 7.9 l/100 km
Warranty: 5 years / 150 000 km with roadside assistance
Powertrain extended warranty: A further 2 years / 50 000 km
Service plan: 5 years / 90 000 km at 15 000 km intervals, with an introductory service at 5000 km for Sport• Same underpinnings
• Wider range of engines
• More safety kit
• More luxury
• New, more formal styling
• New Sport version with improved DCT
This sixth-generation Elantra sees Hyundai edging away from its famed Fluidic Styling to something a little less flowing and more formal. Not that it really needs to; In May 2017 the local operation sold more passenger vehicles than Ford did, according to Hyundai Automotive SA’s sales and operations director, Stanley Anderson.
Some things stay the same: Elantra is still 4.57 metres long on a 2.67-metre wheelbase and it’s still 1800 mm wide but grew 15 mm taller. Brakes are carried over. The naturally aspirated 1600 cc Gamma engine powers introductory Executive units with choice of six-speed manual and torque converter automatic transmissions. A new Elite version takes its two-litre Nu motor and six-cog auto ‘box out of Tucson, while a sexy new Sport derivative borrows the decently quick 1.6 TGDI (turbo gasoline direct injection) mill and an improved version of the seven-slot dual clutch ‘box from Veloster. More on this later.
But other things don’t: To quote Anderson again, “First-time drivers of the new Elantra will be pleasantly surprised to see standard features such as an eight-inch, high-resolution, touch screen infotainment system; leather upholstery; rear park assist; six airbags (two previously); ISOFix latching points for child seats; cruise control and attractive alloy wheels on all derivatives.”
Styling changes are subtle. Its new, single frame grille appears to be more upright, bigger and chunkier - more aggressive somehow. Headlamps, fog lights and bumper have changed. Around at the other end there’s a new spoiler, tail- and fog lamps and bumper. The interior has changed completely. It would take too long to describe, so look at the pictures.
The infotainment system includes satellite navigation, a USB Mirror Link for Android phones, HDMI connection for iPhone - to view its screen on the head unit, hands-free Bluetooth telephone link with remote controls on the steering wheel, Bluetooth music streaming and auxiliary and USB input ports. There’s also a CD player.
Electrically operated side mirrors and windows, cruise control and rear park assist are standard across the range. Elite derivatives have automatic air conditioners, rain sensing windscreen wipers and a smart key with push-button engine starting.
Body construction uses more high strength steels that give it greater torsional rigidity and better flex resistance. Forty times the previous level of Aerospace adhesives plays a part in tightening the structure even further. These measures benefit ride and handling, reduce noise levels and increase durability. The body cage and doors were strengthened too. Rear suspension tweaks include re-angled shock absorbers, repositioned springs and larger-diameter bushes.
The new Sport version has some features of its own. Basically in upper level Elite trim, it shares the 2.0-litre car’s dual zone climate control, push-button starter, automated wipers, 17” wheels, vehicle stability management, ESC and hill start but discards mud flaps and front fog lamps.
What makes it special is the 1600 cc, 150 kilowatt and 265 Nm, GF4J engine with twin scroll turbocharger, direct fuel injection and CVVT; bigger brake discs front and rear; quicker steering ratio; model-specific red upholstery; all-black steering wheel with flat bottom and red stitching; blacked out grille and lower air intake; automatic headlights with LED running lamps; LED tail lamps, twin exhausts in a bigger skid plate and multilink rear suspension. Finally but not least, is the automatic transmission.
Despite criticisms of this box in early Velosters, we found it every bit as functional as DCTs usually are. It shifted and kicked down smoothly and quickly, featured manual override via stick or paddles and did everything we have come to expect of them. As you might guess, we were set loose in Sport versions because they were the prime focus of the event.
Unique to this model is a three-way driving mode selector (Eco, Normal and Sport) that alters gear change programs to suit users’ moods.
We found the short drive, through some of the more twisty and interesting roads of KZN’s North Coast, highly entertaining. If we were greedy we might throw tantrums for the torquier version of this motor that appears in Tucson Sport, along with its butter-smooth six-speed stick shifter. But we’ll wait - for now.
Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored launch event
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This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.
If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles. And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8