[DieselTurbo]

While I strongly condemn the Korean twins alleged practice of making substandard vehicles for india as compared to the rest of the world as seen in recent crash test ratings.

One has to see that our country is so price sensitive and hungry for features, car manufacturers have to make cars to the likings of the majority to survive. AFAIK Hyundai - Kia has its own facility for producing metal in Korea. So they are not dependent on international prices of steel as such. So it is surprising how much extra it would cost them to use the same high grade material for Indian cars as well.

Thinking about it from an economic lens - if most of Hyundai’s markets are first world markets like Korea, USA etc. wouldn’t it make economic sense to produce the same high grade of steel as the additional costs of producing a higher grade of steel would be somewhat offset by the benefits of economies of scale. Given that india is such a big market the increase in economies of scale would be very great.

Just a thought. I personally own a Hyundai (Creta gen 1) and after all these reports of shoddy build and unreliable brakes makes me feel very nervous every time me or any of my family members go out in this car.

[DriveShrive]

Originally Posted by RSR

Thank you for the very positive & encouraging responses, guys!

After carefully observing all crash test charts, Can anyone help me understand what is Crash test weight? I guess it's the car's weight with all dummies seated. Here, prev gen Creta has 1496kgs. Seltos was 1391kgs so 105kgs lighter? I can accept this but Altroz was 1401kgs, a hatch 10kgs heavier than Seltos
Also, XUV300 is rated as 1637kgs. Sure XUV300 can be heavier but 246kgs heavier? I just can't believe it. Any views?

[RSR]

Indian Venue (QXi) and developed market Venue (QX) - how different are they?

The Venue sold in India (QXi) differs from the one sold in developed markets (QX) in terms of dimensions, as Hyundai shortened it for India in order to make it duck under the 4 m mark. Here is a comparison of their dimensions:



As we can see:

• QXi is 45 mm shorter in length than QX
  
  
• QXi has a 20 mm shorter wheelbase compared to QX
  
  
• QXi is 13 mm taller than QX (due to the increased GC and different wheel & tyre sizes)
  
  
• Both cars have the same width

From the dimensions, it's clear that Hyundai have not only shortened the bumpers of the Indian Venue, they've also shortened the wheelbase by 20 mm in order to bring the Indian Venue within the 4 m mark.

Now, let's take a look at their monocoques and compare them.


Bottom view

Indian Venue (QXi):



First World Venue (QX):




Top view

Indian Venue (QXi):



First World Venue (QX):



Legend:

Grey denotes mild steel

Blue denotes high strength steel

Red denotes ultra high strength steel


As we can observe, both the QXi and QX are built on the same K2 platform, but there are a few differences in terms of the strength of steel used for some members, as follows:

• The QX has two longitudinal members under the front of the cabin as well as two longitudinal members at the rear in ultra high strength steel, while the QXi has all four of them in high strength steel.
  
  
• The QX has the flat sections of the cabin floor (between the longitudinal members) in high strength steel, while the QXi has them in mild steel.
  
  
• The QX has the B-pillars in ultra high strength steel, while the QXi has them in high strength steel.
  
  
• Quite contrary to the above three points, the QX has the two vertical inverted V-shaped members on either side of the engine bay in mild steel, while the QXi has them in high strength steel.
  
  
• The QX has two mild steel roof cross members between the B-pillar & C-pillar, while the shortened cabin of the QXi has one.

Thus, we can conclude that the Indian Venue is shorter in overall length, and also has a shorter wheelbase compared to the First World Venue. While both cars are built on the same K2 platform, there are differences between the two in terms of the strength of steel used for some members.

Coming up in the next post: We shall take a look at one of the remaining two Hyundais.

[Steppenwolf1978]

Suzuki is the torchbearer in this market differentiation.

Just read this article where the Official handle of Suzuki says that indian Spresso is inferior to the one sold in South Africa.

https://www.carandbike.com/news/s-pr...ome-topstories

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Steppenwolf1978

Just read this article where the Official handle of Suzuki says that indian Spresso is inferior to the one sold in South Africa.

https://www.carandbike.com/news/s-pr...ome-topstories

The handle told that the Indian version does not have pre-tensioners and is a single airbag variant thats tested, which is pretty much obvious. They have not mentioned about any other inferiority like the structure and so. What is the rabbit that came out of the hat?

[rpm]

Originally Posted by RSR

.....................................The previous generation Creta (GS) did not have any members in ultra high strength steel. Yet, it was able to get a good rating (4* adult, 3* child, body structure rated as stable & capable of withstanding further loading) on the Latin-NCAP 2015, which followed the exact same protocol then as Global-NCAP still does now.

So, it is indeed a misconception that ultra high strength steel chassis members are a minimum requirement in order to get a good rating on the Global-NCAP test. It can also be done without them, as the Creta (GS) had proved on the Latin-NCAP 2015.

Hey RSR, really appreciate all this elusive content that one wouldn't normally find elsewhere. Very interesting to see the differences in chassis and the type of steel used across different markets.

The recent HB20 fiasco (Hyundai HB20) by Hyundai reminded me of this post of yours. Would it be possible for you to examine/investigate the chassis diagrams of the HB20 back when it got a 4-star rating and compare it to the recent chassis diagrams to see if there is anything that could help discern the changes that led to a reduction in crash scores? Could similar foul play have occured with the Creta in your post? Could it be that they initially launched a different version with UHSS reinforcements until the crash test was conducted and then watered it down to an all HSS structure we see in your post? Are there any more examples of cars with just HSS acing the crash tests other than the old Creta?

[manpreetsj]

@RSR - Do you have access to Alcazar's pictures? Will you be able to share assessment on how well Alcazar is made, whether it is better than current gen Creta/Seltos (borderline 3 star)? That will help understand whether one should wait for Kia Carens! Thanks

[SR7]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

These are just different type of steels. These diagrams or usage of similar type of steel means Nothing if Hyundai India is not using similar gauge of steel in India as they use overseas. Is there a way to confirm on this?

I know for sure, Maruti using a thicker gauge on export models vs thinner for domestic.

The Elantra here is a CKD - so it would be likely that the chassis is manufactured elsewhere (Korea for India?) & imported here.

The silencer on my 2017 Elantra has gone kaput. I’m being quoted ~65K to replace it along with the muffler, high cost is justified saying it is an overseas part & not manufactured here.

Can anyone shed info on this? I’m seeing conflicting reports online where the previous gen Elantra was actually manufactured, with some reports suggesting it could have been made in India, while others claim it is from Korea.

The bodyshell could have also been imported if not manufactured here which would give us an idea of the steel used.

But Hyundai knows how to make safe cars, the entire Genesis lineup has been given a top IIHS Safety+ Pick in the US alongside Volvo - right up there with the safety pioneers