[GSMINC]

I own a 2003 model Hyundai Santro GS. KA-04 MH-007
5 years-Absolutely no problem.
It has completed 5 years yesterday & has run 1 lakhs odd kilometres.
Till date no rattling,
superb build quality.
Have changed brake pads only once,
clutch still in good condition,
engine never opened,
serviced once every 10,000 kms,
engine oil/oil filter/air filter changed every 5000kms,
second battery,
third set of tyres & alloys changed recently (tyres last around 40-50k kms if you do tyre rotation, wheel banacing & alingment every 5k kms)
The car has never broken down even once in its whole life time.

And when it comes to long trips...,
the car has done:
Bangalore-Tirupati-Bangalore every month(around 60 trips in 5 years)
Bangalore-Sabarimala-Bangalore twice a year(around 12 trips + 2 Makarajyoti trips)
Bangalore-Mumbai-Rajastan-Amritsar-Chandigarh-Delhi-Shimla-Varanasi-Hyderabad-Bangalore-a really long trip lasting around a month.
Bangalore-every well known & not so well known hot spots in South India.Kodaikanal, Ooty, Hyderabad, Coastal karnataka, Goa, Kanyakumari, Kerala, Pondy, Vizag, Velankanni, navagraha temple circuit, Yanam, Mahe, Tamil nadu etc
Never has the car given me any trouble

& I'm sure it will run another lakh kms without any problem.

If this is not a good quality car, I dont know what is...,

My average service bill every 10k kms is around Rs.1800-2200, so maintainance is reasonable cheap.
Now you guys tell me in what way are korean cars inferior to japanese cars.

[Ajay_J]

Originally Posted by GTO

True. Hyundai quality betters Maruti in many areas. Consider the Santro vs Wagon R or the Getz vs Swift.

But then Its Indian Vs Korean ( not Japs vs Korean)

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by headers

current 3rd sets of tyres! My accent eats tyres!

vikram, I don't think Hyundai or Accent is to be blamed for this. Your unique driving style, track usage etc should be blamed IMO.

Originally Posted by GTO

True. Hyundai quality betters Maruti in many areas. Consider the Santro vs Wagon R or the Getz vs Swift.

I don't know how you guys measured the quality difference and found Hyundai to be better. But from what I see on the forum, there have been only Santros reporting major engine issues / overhaul etc (in just 3-4 years usage and within 50k kms). One of them was posted here by me for a colleague. Don't think this speaks much for their quality.

I am yet to see a similar issue reported from a WagonR - though it is possible that it is there and I did not come across the thread.

Don't know about the Swift/Getz though.

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by PatienceWins

I think its true in developed markers, but not in India. Maruti is cheaper compared to Hyundai.

Maruti is cheaper because their quality is not good as Hyundai in any aspects.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

In India Hyundai quality is at par, if not better, than Maruti. Maruti is owned by suzuki, but I doubt you can call Maruti a Japanese company. Maruti is an Indian company, and the best one at that when it comes to quality.
In UK, hyundai has been ranked among the best in quality, and they offer 5-10 year powertrain warranties to their customers. That speaks a lot about the brand.

In U.S Itself many magz clearly says that Sonata Embera is much superior than Honda Accord in terms of performance and goodies. Sonata's price is also too low if compared with Accord. I know Honda is known for the quality but Hyundai's quality is not bad either.

Originally Posted by headers

The Korean car I own is an ACCENT CRDi. 54K on the ODO no rattles. Only regular 10K interval services done apart from front left lower arm replacement, and current 3rd sets of tyres! My accent eats tyres!

The Japanese Cars I've owned - M800, Zen, currently MG413W - All cars rattle every 5K kms and need to be attended to. Lower ams changed many times in the zen and e-zen. Gypsy a good off roader, but ..

Have owned the M800 - 1,20,000 Kms, Zen - 65K kms, E-Zen - 25K kms, MG413W - 25K kms and still running.

This should help decide whether Korean or Japanese Rock!

Korean cars i own is Accent 1.6L GLS, Elantra CRDi and Suzuki Cars: Wagon R. Mate tyres for my accent lasts for 73k KM and that too stock and that too my driving style is like zoom fast because i drive a lot on highway.

Problems Created:
Accent 1.6L: Oxygen Sensor changed at 56K ODO as this babe use to run on CNG but not now.
Good Engine, Good Braking with ABS, Good and thick Body, Plastics are good, not good as honda but not bad as Maruti.

Elantra CRDi: 37K ODO No Problems at all. I'm saving money for pete's now.
Goodies they provided me in the car:
ABS + TCS + BAS + EBD + AirBags + 4 Disc Brakes + Torquish Engine (can touch 200 kmph mark easily) + Mileage + Space + Stability.
Which japanese car in India provides such goodies at such price? I think None.
Civic : Don't have such features. Price much more than Elantra CRDi.
Corolla: Don't have such features. Price much more than Elantra CRDi.
Accord? oo lala Don't have all the features too. One of the best premium cars sold in india. Ahem I have mention the price for this too?

Mind ya guys, Honda's quality is one of the best in india but Hyundai is not bad either.

Wagon R: clutch replaced at 30k km and then again at 54k km, rattling problem, not stable as my uncle's santro, thin body sheets. a cylist made a dent on the door of my wagon r. thats too thin body man. A scooter hits the bumper at traffic light. Bumper is off. what was that?

Now Coming to Honda.
Honda means reliability, quality and hell lot of money i.e over priced.
Price is the major drawback in Honda.

Hyundai means reliability and quality which suits your money.

Now talking about the bills. My last to last service bill at hans hyundai costs me just 2300 Rs. Elantra CRDi just 4050 Rs. I think which is much cheaper than any honda car.
Elantra cant fit in any of the segement for suzuki so we can take the example of Accent vs SX4 vs Baleno Service costs. I bet service cost for SX4 should not be less than 2000 Rs. Lala.
So, head to head in after sale service and getting much better quality than maruti. Spare Parts not much of a difference for sure.

[headers]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

vikram, I don't think Hyundai or Accent is to be blamed for this. Your unique driving style, track usage etc should be blamed IMO.

Biju, whatever, it is still one of the best cars [read troublefree for all the trouble i create for it ] I own!

I do agree, I brake late, accelarate hard, corner hard, cruise at obscene speeds, try it on track, etc but then thats why i bought a car and not a lame duck!

And but for my tyre life..everything rocks..even the previous Michelin XM1 energy actually gave away after 22000 kms of usage, but managed to coax upto 32000 kms of it with a good 3000 kms more out of it. But I need RELIABILITY and good high speed dynamics, hence the need for the tyre change..

FYI, the first OE set of Bridgestones were changed at 22 K kms cos of the scary feel it gave over 120 to 140. It was a hard compound tyre and not suited to my driving style.

I've just managed to try a YOKOHAMA A300 185/70 R13 [my 3rd set] now. After 100 kms of driving since morning, it feels good, but will let you know the results soon.

[ram_hyundai]

Gangsta,I would like to tell one point here.All the manufacturers except TATA use automotive grade steel.So thickness of body is the same for all the cars.
For 70% indigenous cars we get 70% Indian components and 30 % components from the manufacturers mother plant.So in order to make the cars cheaper greater levels of plastics etc are made indigenously.So the quality issues are mainly due to the Indian components i believe.And for those companies with lesser levels of local components they boast of higher quality.
When we compare Korean and Japanese or German we should compare those cars manufactured at their respective countries to get a fair idea of the actual quality.
ram

[headers]

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

.So the quality issues are mainly due to the Indian components i believe.And for those companies with lesser levels of local components they boast of higher quality.
When we compare Korean and Japanese or German we should compare those cars manufactured at their respective countries to get a fair idea of the actual quality.
ram

The quality is basically cos of the so called Value Engineering done by the manufacturers for some import substitute components without understanding the long term effects on the car.

I'd agree with your second statement though!

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by ram_hyundai

Gangsta,I would like to tell one point here.All the manufacturers except TATA use automotive grade steel.So thickness of body is the same for all the cars.
For 70% indigenous cars we get 70% Indian components and 30 % components from the manufacturers mother plant.So in order to make the cars cheaper greater levels of plastics etc are made indigenously.So the quality issues are mainly due to the Indian components i believe.And for those companies with lesser levels of local components they boast of higher quality.
When we compare Korean and Japanese or German we should compare those cars manufactured at their respective countries to get a fair idea of the actual quality.
ram

Disagree with your first point of the thickness of body for all the cars mate.
But very much agreed with your 2nd point.
But how can we compare at thier respective countries?
Korea = We will find max of Hyundai.
Japan = We will find max of Honda or Suzuki.

We are discussing about Korean vs Japanese cars Globally or just India?

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by headers

Biju, whatever, it is still one of the best cars [read troublefree for all the trouble i create for it ] I own!

Yep, thats why I said the car is not to blame for eating up tyres - if used by a normal person, the tyres would last longer.

For the next tbhp drive, I am riding shotgun in your Accent - wanna experience the drive that I have heard a lot about.

[stable rock]

Korea = We will find max of Hyundai.
Japan = We will find max of Honda or Suzuki.


Does the Hyundai sold in Europe and US are of superior quality?I know there are more features in the European and US Hyundai cars compared to the one sold in India.But what about quality of the parts,is it the same.

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Yep, thats why I said the car is not to blame for eating up tyres - if used by a normal person, the tyres would last longer.

For the next tbhp drive, I am riding shotgun in your Accent - wanna experience the drive that I have heard a lot about.

Bro. Define Normal Person and Abnormal Person.

Haha Headers, i can imagine your driving style. Driving as if you are on a race track. lol

[headers]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Yep, thats why I said the car is not to blame for eating up tyres - if used by a normal person, the tyres would last longer.

For the next tbhp drive, I am riding shotgun in your Accent - wanna experience the drive that I have heard a lot about.

What about the drag..Baleno power Vs. Korean power? Just Kiddin..welcome anytime buddy! As long as you're gonna be the entire trip..thats fine!

[headers]

Originally Posted by Gangsta

Bro. Define Normal Person and Abnormal Person.

Haha Headers, --> ABNORMAL person..buys a Korean Car, praises it and challenges one and all : lol

[Gangsta]

Originally Posted by headers

Haha Headers, --> ABNORMAL person..buys a Korean Car, praises it and challenges one and all : lol

Good one. Korean Power is cool. Owns Accent 1.6L and Elantra CRDi. cheers:
I do such things only when i'm in a mood. like once in a week. I love to Play with my cars. lol thats why my tyres last so long.

Check this out about Hyundai.
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ntra-best.html

[vabs78]

TopGear once presented "Worst car of the year" awards. Guess who won? Accent CRDi.

And who was in compitation? City Rover, i.e. our own TATA Indica.