SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.
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 prepared course chosen to make the product look good. 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.
Pics supplied
Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday September 14, 2011
“I know this is only the fifth generation of Elantra,” said Stanley Anderson, Hyundai Automotive SA’s Director of Marketing, “but it’s so far ahead of the previous one, it’s almost as though Hyundai skipped a version and this should actually be the sixth.” It’s not only in the way it looks - company wordsmiths make much of terms like “fluidic sculpture” and “wind craft” to describe the new car’s flowing lines – but in its engineering as well.
The old 1600 cc Gamma engine has been revamped to increase maximum power from 89 to 96 kW and give maximum torque a small bump up to 157 Nm from its previous best of 153 Nm, albeit 650 rpm higher up the rev range. With the power increase comes an improvement in fuel economy to a claimed average of 6,1 l/100 km. Hyundai expects that the entry-level car with this engine, available only with a six-speed manual ‘box (also new by the way); will be bought mainly by fleet buyers and rental companies.
The two-litre engine available until recently has been dropped in favour of a completely new, even dubbed ‘Nu’, 1797 cc dual-CVVT DOHC four-cylinder unit developing 110 kW of power and 178 Nm of torque. It uses an aluminium block, 36 percent lighter than previously, with the cast-iron cylinder liners moulded in right from the start and even the main bearings nestling in a dedicated bedplate. The crankshaft is offset by 11 mm, so that when each piston is at top dead centre, ready to begin its downward power stroke, there is less initial inertia to overcome and start the crankshaft turning. Just a tiny detail, but it reduces vibration ever so slightly and improves fuel economy by as much as one percent. These and other innovations, including a maintenance-free silent timing chain, work together to reduce noise, vibration and harshness while improving fuel economy by up to 18 percent and reducing CO2 emissions.
Apart from the new six-speed manual transmission mentioned above, the 1800 is available with Hyundai’s latest in-house six-ratio automatic. This is a torque converter unit with three planet gears, two clutches and three brakes, making it smaller, more compact and lighter than others. A special locking mechanism reduces the traditional ten-percent rate of slippage to a mere 20 rpm per thousand. This improves response and fuel economy. Hyundai claims to be one of only three global car manufacturers producing its own six-speed automatic. It’s part of the company culture of “do it yourself and get it right the first time.”
Dimensionally, the new car is 25 mm longer on a wheelbase stretched 50 mm to 2700 mm, with overall height reduced by 35 mm to 1445 mm without sacrificing headroom. Width remains as was, at 1775 mm. Boot space is given as 420 litres with the 60:40-split rear seatbacks up.
Suspension and steering components have been upgraded and are anchored to a strong and rigid chassis that permits more precise tuning of final ride and handling settings. Motor Drive Power Steering (MDPS) has been chosen over the hydraulics of a conventional power steering system. One of the benefits is delivery of varying degrees of power assistance and adaptability to driving situations such as city use with parking in tight spots, or faster driving through sweeping curves on the open road where accurate feedback from the wheels to the steering wheel is critical. Another benefit of MDPS is that it helps save fuel. Non-believers might consider this: the next-generation Porsche 911 will be fitted with MDPS. Its engineers have more confidence in being able to fine-tune their car’s legendary steering dynamics with an electro-mechanical system.
Standard kit on the 1600 GLS model includes steel wheels with 195/65 R15 tyres, four-channel ABS with EBD, anti-submarining luxury cloth seats, two airbags, front fog lights, autolocking doors, rain sensing wipers, dual channel automatic air conditioning, six-speaker radio and CD player with iPod, USB and auxiliary inputs, on-board computer with fuel usage readouts, electrically operated windows and mirrors, height and depth adjustable vinyl-covered steering wheel with audio controls and height-adjustable driver’s seat. Opting for the bigger engine gains you higher capacity battery, alternator and starter, alloy wheels with 215/45 R17 tyres, a leather bound steering wheel, four more airbags, anti-jamming protection on the front power windows and rear parking assistance. No cruise control – sorry about that.
The familiarisation session revealed a big square boot with accessible loading height, ample head, leg- and foot space for those in the back seat and a very comfortable interior with excellent fit and finish. No 1600s were available on the day, but we got to try both manual and automatic versions of the 1800 through traffic, on freeways and a scenic shoreline drive. They were solid, quiet and comfortable to drive over a variety of surfaces and handled well.
The numbers
1600 cc GLS:
Price: R186 900
Engine: 1591 cc DOHC, 16 valves, four cylinders
Power: 96 kW at 6300 rpm
Torque: 157 Nm at 4850 rpm
Maximum speed: 200 km/h
Zero to 100 km/h: 10,7 seconds
Average fuel consumption (Euro test): 6,1 l/100 km. CO2 145 gm/km
Tank capacity (all): 48,5 litres
1800 cc GLS:
Prices: R214 900 (man), R224 900 (auto)
Engine: 1797 cc DOHC, 16 valves, four cylinders
Power: 110 kW at 6500 rpm
Torque: 178 Nm at 4700 rpm
Maximum speed: 205 km/h (man), 202 km/h (auto)
Zero to 100 km/h: 9,3 seconds (man), 10,2 seconds (auto)
Average fuel consumption (Euro test): 6,5 l/100. CO2 155 gm/km (man)
7,1 l/100. CO2 169 gm/km (auto)
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km with roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km at 15 000 km intervals
For a road test on the 1800 GLS version, click here
For our review of a facelifted 2014 model click here
This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.
What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so I do actually exist.
I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
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