Hyundai Elantra

I have drive 4 Japanese car and this is my very first Korean ride.

I must say that it has been a pleasant workhorse for me.

Was looking for a decent car with large room as i need to place a car seat at the back sit with another 2 passengers at the back. In my previous Honda Accord, i always reject my friends as i am not able to ferry them due to the smaller room constraint.

The engine does not feel like a 1.6 as the 6speed auto transmission was amazing. It is perfect for our city driving condition it change gear so quickly without having to drag its gear to high RPM for power.

i am surprised how well this family sedan handles. It allow you to take bends with confident.

the Korean have taken a big step in the car industry. They have invaded most of our home with the electronics, next they will conquer our road.

How time flies, I having been driving this beauty babe for 3 years. Never have any regrets, Brought it upon recommendation from friend even without viewing & test drive the actual car as it was not launch yet in Singapore. Best part was i can only read up the specs with information from the internet.

Oh boy i was damn impressed how it look from the exterior with the sleek aerodynamic lines and cool interior features u can have in 1.6L Korean car. Korean cars have indeed surpass the Japanese cars from that time, My friends and strangers have been asking me what car i was driving during 2011 when all the people are still skeptical about the performance and design of Korean Cars.

As for the performance, if you are not very particular person, there is nothing to complain except for concerning your rear tends to swift out and the pick up is a bit slow due to the heavy weight of the car. But if you are into modding, there are tons of poisons to beautify ride and performance items bring your ride to a greater level.

Another feature worth to mention is the sound system for this ride, I am surprised that it was a decent system as compare to what other car brand have bundle in the new car for 1.6L really CMI.

Bought in End March 2011 and it's a 2nd hand, at mileage 7500km.

Current mileage is 36000km and ride is as good as before.

Went to Penang, Genting, Malacca and Legoland and the rides are excellent throughout the whole journey.

Handling is a bit loose out, but i have since changed to coilover to improve the handling.

I purchased this car when the COE was lowest during the past one year (Aug 11). Although I had no intention to purchase the car before my dealer introduced me to it, I had no regrets whatsoever when I got my keys.

Starting from the exterior, the car has got aggressive lines based on the fluidic sculpture design language of the all-new Hyundai series (since I was amongst the first few to get their hands on the car, someone even commented it look like a BMW from the side angle!)

Internally, the settings and placements of storage area are well thought of and everything is within reaching distance for me, although the central aircon vents leave something to be desired as they are not that flexible. The glove and handrest compartments are very large and the leg space for front and rear seats are a lot. The windscreen is also vast and much can be seen from the driver's point of view.

Performance wise, the engine, gear and everything works well, although I have never managed to reach the claims of 6.7l/100km touted by Hyundai (my best was 7.3l or about 13km/l - still good enough for an auto transmission car in my opinion).

In-car entertainment (ICE) wise, mine was the factory-fitted dvd player (no GPS or screen) but the sound that came out from the sound system was mind-blowing to me, keeping in mind that all are stock and not aftermarket sound.

All in all, I love this car so much and being the cheapest amongst the competition just about make it up for me.

Needed a bigger car to cater to my growing family size. My previous car

is a Japanese hatchback with limited boot space. It

was down to 6 cars. The Jetta, Civic, Altis, Cruze, Forte and the Elantra.

The Jetta was eliminated due to long delivery time. I have to wait at least

3 months for stock to arrive.

For the Honda Civic, it was the higher insurance cost that puts me off. The

insurance quoted to me was $2000 for 20%NCD.

Elimination of the Altis was due to Borneo's sales person attitude. Refused

to furnish me with more details and kept insisting I should take the Wish.

Elimination of the Forte was also due to Sales Person attitude but at CnC.

Every sales person in the showroom ignored me even though they know I

am willingly to close the deal on the spot.

It was down to the Cruze and the Elantra. In terms of comfort , features and

safety they are equals. My concerns on the Cruze is the agent's technical support and

it is a huge unknown to me. I do not know of anyone who owns one and therefore

I am unable to determine it's reliability and the Authorised Dealer's level of expertise.

For the Elantra , I know lots of Hyundai owners and I get consistent feedback

from them; They service their Hyundais regularly

and it has served them well. Other than wear and tear, their cars ran without

major problems.

What's more, the Elantra's 48 litre fuel tank (60 litre for the Cruze) impresses me.

It has the smallest fuel tank among the 6 cars I evaluated and I get to drive up

about 500 KM before the low fuel lights gets illuminated.

Hyundai cars have come a long way and the Elantra is testament to that fact.

I had bought my parents a Hyundai Avante in 2009, prior to that, we had owned a Hyundai Excel in 1989 before. The Excel was quite a nightmare as when the battery was about to fail, all electronic systems go haywire.... All inclusive gear shifting and BRAKES. We had so many near accidents that we decided to sell it shortly later. Thereafter, we own 2 x Mazda, 2 x Toyota and me, an old Mercedes 124.

In 2009, decided to change a car for my dad as his Mazda was giving him problems, but nothing major. Dad went to test drive the Avante much to our protest. However, I must say we were impressed with the Avante, spacious and somehow, the road holding feels better than the Altis and the price at 43k was very reasonable, almost the same price as the 1989 Excel my dad paid.

We bought the car and I must say, it was a good purchase, the consumption is good and engine is smooth. That prompted me to write a very good review here.

HOWEVER, we had a very ''shocking'' finding a few weeks back. My dad was experiencing some knocking sound when steering left or right. The warrantee of the car just expired in Apr, nonetheless, we still sent the car to agent for check. After their diagnostic test, it was showned that the steering motor was spoilt. The shocking thing was, it cost SGD 5,000 +++ to replace that motor, about 50 % of the car OMV.

We were told that they dont repair the motor, they replaced the whole steering sytem. I was thinking OMG, for that little motor, I need to replace the whole steering system for 5k plus while the cost of the whole car cost likely less than 10k, where is the logic and it is really a mighty waste of resources, no wonder earth is sick.

My dad waited for the service centre manager for hours so see if anything can be done instead of replacing the whole thing, he never even bothered to see him. Pissed, I asked my dad to go to the mechanics that look after my 22 yrs old Mercedes. The mechanic stripped out the steering motor to find that a rubber bushing, cushioning the ball bearings cracked, probably due to wear and tear. To my friends reading this, a rubber bushing..... SGD 5,000 +++ to replace from the agent's quote.

(Running short of letter to write here, will comment further below at ''What I do not like.'')

I'm not surprise Hyundai isn't as robust as a conti. Just like Jap cars, look at their kerb weight and u should know. Elantra's kerb weight is not more than 1600kg, if i'm not wrong. Cruze is marketed as an safety car and weighs over 200kg more, Elantra confirm no match in terms of safety. However something funny, it's so light and slightly higher bhp, yet it doesn't have good FC?

Looks good, but somehow i feel something is weird after looking at it for a long time. Something just don't feel right with the design.

Interior, i really hated the aircon control, clustered together into 1 knob. Think i keep turning the wrong one while driving. Having this design i feel it is dangerous when i wanna look at the knob just to make sure i was turning the right one while driving. My dad is tall, so the head room is not really gd when he tries to get into the back seat, he hit his head twice because of it.

End of the day, this is still a budget car. Useful day to day ride.

It was hard to decide which car, until i took safety into consideration & features. I won't recommend this car if safety and features are what one is looking for. This is not a safe car, i've to do this because I've a 5yr old onboard. Hyundai hasn't been confident enough for an EuroNCAP rating of this model, but International insurance crash rating has given a rating of 3 out of 5 star for its frontal crash, that's some what pretty bad, isn't it?

Enough said, decision has to be made, i've to go for the Cruze. Afterall it is a German engineering, 5star EuroNCAP, bold styling with good features.

The car is perhaps the game changer for Hyundai. It does not even looked like a korean car without paying attention to the H badge. It has a pair of nice sharp fluid headlights and body that seems to be in constant motion of flowing pass water. The fluid design from head to tail is really superb and eye catching every time.

The gadgets in the Elite model really puts pricier cars to shame. It has almost everything less a DVD player. The seats are comfortable with all electric controls to get the best driving comfort. 6 airbags and VSC + EBD + BA + ABS quite power packed in safety department.

The interior materials are decent and improvements can be observed over the previous model Avante. Still, there are room for improvements in material selections. The best would be the ECO function that helps the driver to be eco friendly and the start button with keyless entry. That is a lot easier to get in and out of car. Not to mention the DUAL cabin air conditioning system.

On the road, the drive is quiet and smooth. The cabin is decently quiet even at speed above 80KM/H with 16inch rims. The engine needs to be push a bit harder to bring out the horses. Overall, this car has more than enough horses to overtake and speed up in city and expressway driving. It does not handle like a CIVIC but the steering is light and quick. Not much of a feedback from the steering but the small turning radius does makes U-turn a lot easier. The body roll of the car is minimal and the cornering is handled well. The suspensions does a decent job of taking the bumps and uneven surfaces common these days in Singapore roads (guess we have degraded to a 3rd world road qualities).

Fuel economy is healthy around 13-14km/l. That is considerably good as compared to all CRUZE and MAZDA models.

Overall, I am happy with the purchase on the backdrop of sky high COE crossing $50K mark. The car is a great family car. Given a choice between a VIOS, KIA CERATO, MAZDA3, CRUZE, CITY and LANCER...the clear distinction surely still the ELANTRA. You will not regret the buy. Of course, the new civic is the best choice but so is the price of $20K more.

This car is nice in many ways! Especially if u have a family.

Engine noise is at minimum if u maintain below 3000rpm. I always turn up my music to volume 10-11 (which is not that loud) and basically no engine noise,

Rear camera hidden behind rear mirror is a plus point for parking.

Boot space and leg room is never an issue. Driver electrical seat allows me to adjust when driving. Deep central compartment allows me to keep my car neat and tidy.. Too much to list actually..

Salesperson Tricia is helpful and proactive too!.

Negative side- engine can be a bit crumpy when overtaking.. But it does overtakes smoothly:) My elite tag dropped on day 1. Kinda sad actually:(

The Elantra Is a Avante In Malaysia. They Called The Elantra a Avante, But Here Elantra. Do Any Body Know What Elantra Or Avante mean?

Being a former Avante and now a happy Elantra owner, I must say that there is a significant amount of new features/upgrades that I personally enjoy and appreciate on my new Elantra Elite 2012. Apart from some plastic-y parts with the interior, I am impressed with the Elantra's appearance, engine performance, sound proofing at cruise speeds and superb handling that is never before felt in a Korean car.

Overall, I would recommend the Elantra to a tired Honda or Toyota /Japanese-make car owner. Give the Elantra a shot, you will not be sorry.

Cheers.

No doubt about it. This car is a head turner to a certain extent. It is not a premium sports car, just a family sedan. But the sleek design catches a lot of attention. This is the first Hyundai car which excels all Japanese counterparts (of the same category) and really put them to shame.

I like the exterior, and have to agree with others the interior dashboard design is a bit too much overdone. The car offers much comfort, but i feel the suspension is slightly towards to stiff side. Engine noise is noticeable, with surely within acceptable range. It drives well, stable at high speed, and packed with gadgets making it really fun to drive. Perhaps the only let down is the materials used. Some hard plastic in the cabin which does not offer soft touch feeling.

FC wise i won't say it is perfect. But surely more fuel efficient that the oil Mazda 3 which i used to drive. Not a perfect car, but a car which i have no regret buying at all.

I had been to Kia and Hyundai showroad and test drove Kia Forte and Hyundai Elantra. I found that Elantra is much different in term of looks and performance.

I felt very comfortable while driving with Elantra. The exterior and interior are outstanding if compare with same model of car.

Significantly improved design compared to any of the older models of Hyundai cars. I still remember I once drove an older model of the Elantra and it was one of the most lousy n unreliable drive ever. I got the constant feeling that the car will break down any time. The new mode of Elantral totally took my eyes off the road when it drove pass me (yes I know it is extremely dangerous). I was so eager to find out what model is that, and when I did, it took my jaws off each other. It has been a quantum leap for Hyundai and Kia in the recent models of their cars. Bravo Zulu!