My Getz 1.3 - 30,000km report & Review of Modifications too

[akshay1234]

The Story
in september 2005 we wanted a small car in the range of 5 lacs. there were pretty much 2 options. the swift and the getz. we saw the swift but the 3 month waiting list put us off. i wanted the swift but now i realise that the getz was probably a better decision owing to the better ride, more space and better build. we went to jayabharat hyundai and saw the getz. we liked the car a lot and decided to that this was the car we were gonna get. the top end glx was beyong our budget so we decided to get the gls. it had pretty much all the features we wanted (abs wasnt a big deal at that time). so we booked it and got it 3 days later. the colour is real earth.

The Car
its got a 1.3 83 bhp engine thats not really very rev happy. the low down torque is just about ok for city driving and its got a huge flat spot at 3k rpm. the car is spacious from the inside, much more than the swift, and is comfortable for 4 people only. it becomes a squeeze with 5 poeple. the ac is effective (not half as good as my innovas) and manages to keep the car cool even in summers. the car is not too quick and loses to a swift in a drag but after the mods im sure itll easily beat a swift.

the handling is ok and there is some body roll when taking turns at more than medium speeds. not really confidence inspiring. the build quality is better than the swift but nowhere close to toyota standards. no rattles till now when it goes over bumps etc but when i start playing music then all the rattles crop up.

the mileage? well its fine. about 8-9 in the city. somtimes 10 if its driven properly. dont know about the highways since its never taken on them. if you want alto type mileage this isnt the car for you.

Maintainence
now this is where ive had the most problems with the dealership. jayabharat is useless when it comes to maintainence. in the free services i got the feeling the car was just sent there for a day and sent back in worse condition. i dont think anything major has had to be replaced besides one shock which had a defect and was done under warranty. its ok for maintainence but due to the bad service i dont think we are gonna buy a hyundai again.

Accessories
when we booked the car we got fake leather seat covers and mudflaps and mats. the seat covers were nice for a year or so then they got a bit dirty and they used to heat up quite a bit so i just removed them. found they were taking away most of the seats support.

the day after i got the car took it to bharat audio and got 3m re35 sunfilm on the windows and rear windscreen. dont remember how much i paid. also got the alpine 9847 head unit and alpine sps 170 6" speakers fitted in all the doors. the sound was just ok. had wanted to get a sub but somehow didnt get it done at that time.

the headlights were terrible so i went to shivaji park and got relays, cutouts and narva 100/90w white bulbs fitted. the lights improved alot. over the years i think ive had to change the bulbs 3 times after that and even the holders got burnt so recently i changed those to ceramic holders.

then a few months later i decided to get a sub. didnt want to spend much so i got an alpine e 10" sub and an alpine 2 channel amp to run it. it was fine and kept me happy for a year till i went to the autocar performance show and won 2 jbl gt5 oval speakers and a jbl gt5 12" sub. then i wanted to get those fitted so i bought the gt5 a604 amp and went back to bharat audio. so now i have 6 speakers and a sub all run off 2 amps. haha.

the tyres, goodgear gps2 i think were absolutely pathetic. they had hard ride and no grip and used to lock up at anything. changed them to 185/70 r13 potenza g3s keeping the stock steel rims. the grip is much better and surprisingly the ride is a bit better too.

thats all for now. will update with a review of the mods and some pics.

[akshay1234]

The mods
after almost 2 years of owning the car it wasnt feeling that fast and didnt have enough torque. so i decided to pep it up a little. bit. i decided i would get a free flow and an air filter. so what better person to go to than viper. i went to him and asked him a few questions and then fixed up a the day. i dropped the car at his office and afzal picked it up and took it to his workshop. he was giving me the free flow and the air filter for around 10k if i remember correctly.

i got the car back the same day. the full feel of the car had changed. it was much peppier. had more low end torque, and sounded sexy at high revs. it could now beat cars like swifts and keep up with the mid size sedans. there was no effect on mileage and it dropped by 1kmpl since the car was being revved much more. the flat spot at 3k rpm was almost non existant and it the tacho moved towards the redline with much more urgency. the airfilter also has a nice sound but it can barely be heard thanks to the exhaust.

at first i got a silent exhaust. it sounded fine for a few months. then it started sounding like those fiat cabs. fat fatis. lol. went to afzal. he said id have to change the end can. it cost 2k. sound was perfect again. but the same problem cropped up after a few months. this time i just told him to make it loud. problem seems to be solved since it sounds the same from the past few months.

also added a tri-phase in the middle. it gives a bit of extra torque. the effect it gives is noticeable. just remember one thing. if your not flooring the car dont keep it on. lol it just makes the car eat up fuel.


what guys? no comments? will upload pics tomorrow.

[akshay1234]

here are some old pics- will get new pics tmrw.

[aka_iitd]

My Getz completed 2 years this April and found it as a good choice now.At that time only Swift(3 to 4 months waiting and also steering wheel was touching my knees) and Wagon R(My better half didn't liked it) were available.
It has just clocked over 11K as my wife use it and her office is very near. In weekend we usually use SX4.
Till now no major issues. Regular service at 6 months.
Overall good car

[DriverR]

Thanks for the well detailed long term review. I'm sure it would benefit people who are thinking whether to go for a Getz or not. I must say your car looks very well maintained, no noticeable dents/scratches.

30K km in about 3.5 years. Hmmm, don't have to drive too much? Did getting the new headlights and cutouts void the warranty? Or did you change them after the warranty ended?

I believe the millage you are getting is the norm. I had spoken to a Getz owner in the service center once and he was mentioning figure of 9-10. He had his Getz for about 2 years.

[akshay1234]

Originally Posted by DriverR

Thanks for the well detailed long term review. I'm sure it would benefit people who are thinking whether to go for a Getz or not. I must say your car looks very well maintained, no noticeable dents/scratches.

30K km in about 3.5 years. Hmmm, don't have to drive too much? Did getting the new headlights and cutouts void the warranty? Or did you change them after the warranty ended?

I believe the millage you are getting is the norm. I had spoken to a Getz owner in the service center once and he was mentioning figure of 9-10. He had his Getz for about 2 years.

thanks. those pics are a year old. there is only one visible dent. above the front right wheel. itll show in my next set of pics.

forget about the lights, even the free flow didnt void my warranty.

aka_iitd - what does that have to do with my review?

[Cyrus43]

The very BEST part of your car is that your driver drives it and ur grandparents are sitting in the back seat....and the freeflow is merrily playing music behind them!!

I remember once, i was driving right behind your car from siddhivinayak to shivaji park wondering why old people needed a freeflow and then a couple of days later met you and found out it was your car!!

[akshay1234]

the clutch seems to have gone. its become hard and slips at higher rpms. for example earlier in 2nd the it used to to 95kmph now it only does 85kmph. any idea how much that will set me back by?

[DriverR]

Get it checked as soon as possible. I delayed getting my hard clutch issue checked and at 11:30 at night, the clutch wire nearly broke. I had to drive over 5 km on 2nd gear (as it was very difficult to change gears) to reach home. Thankfully there was no traffic at that time. I was initially not sure whether it was clutch plate or wire problem. Next day, Hyundai service people checked and said it was wire problem. They replaced it at no cost as it was within warranty, so I cannot tell the cost. Btw, I have a i10.