Great car for the highway

 

Exterior Good.

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Good.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Good engine, terrific pick-up, pleasure to drive on highway, overtaking is easy; you can easily be at 140-150 without noticing it. But not a great drive in the city because you have to be in first / second gear perpetually in traffic.

Not great fuel economy (8.5 in Mumbai city and about 12-13 on highway) versus tall claims of over 20 km by Hyundai. But for the tall claims, the fuel economy is ok compared to the 'punch' the cat delivers on pick-up. 

Lousy first gear - after a long drive (say 100 kms), the first gear jams badly. Could even be dangerous. Lots of diesel and petrol Vernas have the same problem. Dealers have no answer. Company doesn't respond to emails.

 

Ride Quality & Handling Good.

 

Final Word Great car for the highway, you can easily beat the Honda Cities, the Swifts and the Fords of the world and give the Skodas a run for their money. Terrific pick-up. Very good safety features (even without air-bags). I would buy it but not if I want fuel economy or great support from the manufacturer (they don't respond or respond very late and in a poor way, asking you to contact the dealer when you have already exhausted that route).

 

Areas of improvement Gear-box, especially the stalling of the first gear after driving long distances (> 100 km). Really lousy. So is the response or support from the manufacturer. This leaves a very poor taste in the mouth when I am buying a car for almost Rs 10 lacs from a MNC car maker. This would a strong reason for me not to buy Hyundai again.

 

pick-up is great, safety is excellent, decent interiorsfirst gear stalls badly after long drive; lousy fuel economy vs promise