Hyundai Elantra SX Petrol AT (2018): Test Drive

[Kumar_CarFreak]

Hi

Happened to Test Drive the new gen Elantra SX in Petrol with 6 speed automatic slush box. Here are my impressions:

1. The car is big and roomy to sit inside.
2. Interiors are up to the mark for the price to pay.
3. AT box is pretty good and responds well on every shift.
4. D mode acceleration was exciting enough and during my entire test drive in city traffic conditions, I didn't require to switch to Sports mode of driving, even though I tested it for the sake of.
5. NVH levels are excellent. No complaints on that.
6. The ICU set was pretty much good with 7/8 inch display.
7. Handling was great.
8. Ride quality was at par with competition.
9. Suspensions absorbed small potholes with a thud.
10. No much undulation inside the passenger cabin.


Now the CONS of the car as per my understanding is as here (things I wasn't that impressed with)
1. Braking distance. I applied panic brake to test the braking. Yes - the car came to a halt from city speeds, say 40-45 kmph without any drama or vibration or jerk. However, the braking took more time and more distance, which is a safety concern for a car of this segment and price. It took longer time than my expectation and stopped with a mild vibration in the brake pedal.

If 45 kmph running D segment Elantra petrol takes this long in city to stop, I am concerned about stopping the car on highway speeds. Shouldn't this be something to be looked into - Hyundai ?
Honda Civic 2010 had excellent braking performance, with very less braking time and distance, as both time & distance matters to decide the pedestrian's life & death factor. I love Civic's braking here.

2. Rear leg room - not at all impressive. I wouldn't accept that leg room at rear with front driver seat pushed back to its maximum. Honda City ( a C segment car wins my heart here). Why Hyundai's are space congested in their premium cars ? Even my TD on a petrol Verna AT New Gen gave me the same impression.

3. Boot - Sales rep was not sure about the boot space of the car , but he assumed and said it to be 475. Again, a C segment wins my heart here, which is Honda City which has 490 litres of boot space. Readers correct me if I am wrong in numbers.

4. Pricing - I was given the Automatic to TD as they didn't have a manual variant. KUN HYUNDAI Anna Nagar Chennai quotes 16.5 lakhs for Manual S (almost no features) and 18.6 L for SX manual.

I understand, Elantra is the least priced entry level D segmenter sedan, however the price still feels skyrocketed with the kind of comfort and braking safety offered in Elantra. I don't assess it as a VFM purchase.

5. Mileage - The test drive car showed an average Petrol FE of 5.7 kmpl in automatic in city. ASM of KUN Hyundai quotes 11 kmpl in city and 14+ on highways. I would agree the later 14+ on highway as I myself have extracted 15.8 kmpl as per tankfull method (not MID) from Bangalore to Chennai in my friends prior generation 2014 Elantra SX Automatic Petrol. But city mileage is pathetic. In Bangalore city my friend, in his 2014 Automatic Elantra Petrol gives him 6.5 kmpl and max happy figures occassional touch 7. Civic outwins here as well. Bangalore city mileage of Civic AT exceeds 8 and a maximum of 10 in automatic, highway mileage extracted by my uncle was around 15 kmpl with some nasty speeds of 160 + kpl.

No offence to current Hyundai Elantra owners, but the above is only my own perspective. Also note that I have had opportunities to drive an Elantra Automatic Petrol from Bangalore to Chennai with my friend (his car) and I did enjoy the drive. But my minute observations in the above caders turn me off.

I would suggest every prospective buyer to Test Drive his preferences back to back to finalise on his choice.

But please double, triple check the braking distance and time, in an Elantra, both MT & AT before cutting a cheque.

Thanks and Regards
Kumar

 

[SilverEyez]

Re: Elantra SX Petrol AT - 2018 - A Test Drive

Nice and to the point review of Elantra.
I always wonder that why would anybody go for Elantra, when all the features and strikingly similar looks are available in the Verna top spec too,not that the engine is very different or its a drivers delight to drive an Elantra.
personal opinion, no offences to any owners.

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

Re: Elantra SX Petrol AT - 2018 - A Test Drive

Correct, Verna top variant provides 80% of the features available in Elantra top spec, but for a few luxury features like cooling seats, LED Tail Lamps, etc.

Elantra would be a nice car if the cons I have mentioned above are rectified to 100% satisfaction, especially the braking part. I would prefer a Honda City's braking to be more efficient and sharper.

I was even happier with the braking of the New 2018 Swift VXI Petrol during its test drive, even though there was a very negligible tire screetch from wheels of Swift, whereas Elantra didn't give a screech. But I would prefer faster braking and definitely would ignore / compromise over the screetch, even if it is there in Elantra.

Mileage part could have been better, I would say, keeping in mind the bigger 2.0 engine and a naturally aspirated petrol motor, I would have been happy with a honest 8-9 kmpl in city with full AC with this automatic and in petrol I would have loved a 11-12 kmpl.

But as you say, I loved Verna to the core when I TD'ed a Petrol Automatic one (new gen) and I didn't feel anything bad. The braking was also on par and sharper than it is Elantra.

 

[acechip]

The Elantra has all disc brakes, surely the stopping power would be better than any car with a disc+drum combo. There may have been a problem with your specific car. WRT rear seat and ingress-egress, how would you assess it for elderly folks?

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

The Elantra has all disc brakes, surely the stopping power would be better than any car with a disc+drum combo. There may have been a problem with your specific car. WRT rear seat and ingress-egress, how would you assess it for elderly folks?

______________

Ingress and Egress for tall elders would be a problem in Elantra in the rear seat, as they may not be that comfortable.

For medium and short elders, Elantra rear entry and exit should be fine.

 

[Kumar_CarFreak]

Stopping power doesn't depend only on all 4 wheel disc brakes, cost, segment etc. It technically depends on numerous factors, such as the quality of material used in the Disc(s) in all 4 wheels, brake pads, brake sensors, ABS, brake fluid, technology used and on top, wight of the car, power to weight ration, total load in the car, speed at which it braked, surface on which it braked and so on.

We can't just say any car which has all 4 disc brakes will be optimally great.