[mclaren1885]

I was never a Hyundai fan to begin with . Until one day I saw an uncle driving an Elantra at one of the TBHP meets. He redefined to many of us what Hyundai cars and more so turbocharged diesel engines are capable of. And in ways, I am glad he did. Today, there is a "small tribe" on TBHP that swears by some of the cars churned out by Hyundai, but I find it quite sad when members post comments like:

All I'm saying is, I think Hyundai as a manufacturer is crap and is being overly glorified.

To begin with, I have noticed a general tendency wherein people have a blocked mindset when it comes to cars. Some people can't see beyond a Honda, some Suzi, others Fiat and so on.... Honestly, I have been guilty as charged for the same. But then, one begins to learn with time.

But what comes as a rude shock is that many a times, people shoot of comments (mostly negative) WITHOUT even driving the car they are talking about. Which I feel IMO is improper and uncalled for.

Stereotyping has become the norm of the day. What if a Korean manufacturer churns out a good car amongst a horde of ordinary ones? Are we so blinded by our ability to see things that we could care less to give it a try and put out an honest review? Instead what we see happening is scores of members just rubbishing some cars off without even TD it.

Then you have the next lot, those who are so stuck up with the cars they own, they fail to notice that each car has its +'s and -'s. We conveniently, make it a point to dig out every -'ve point on a car we don't much like, then blow it out of proportion while at the same time try to neglect the -ve points in our own cars. To top it all, we find it offensive when someone else points out these glitches. But, I guess, we men work that way.

I have had the chance to live with some of these cars and how my perception of them has changed over the years.

Hyundai Elantra: I didn't even know a car like that existed until I saw it at one of the TBHP meets. Needless to say, it might not be the most attractive looking car, but wait until you see one move. It will give most 1.6 litre petrols a run for its money on the highways, comes bundled with loads of safety features like airbags, abs, ebd, traction control etc etc. I can vouch that the cars brakes are the best in the under 15L category. It handles quite well, given that its quite a front end heavy car. To put it to perspective, cmiuc's car with a bigger intercooler, Petes with added boost, clocked a best time of 2:17 on the Chennai track with me driving it. IIRC, Narain Karthikeyan did a best of 2:15 secs on the same track in a stock Skoda Vrs. How many people even think that is possible?

A diesel car, churned out by Hyundai that can handle pretty decently and go like a rocket? To top it, it gives twice as much FE as an RS would give driven at the same speeds. I have had personal instances where RS' have found it difficult to pull away with some of the Elantra's on the TBHP drives. That in itself is proof enough that its a very underrated car. One that deserves a lot more accolades than what its getting at the moment.

Lucky are the tribe who own one of these. It never lets you feel the speed, safe as a house and if you buy it from the used market, its a steal. I have had the chance of driving quite a few Elantra's during the last few years, its a wonderful car. One I am surely in love with.

This car has changed my way of thinking in so many ways. Earlier it used to be high revving petrols, how to mod them to get the most power out of them. What I realized is, after I spent a whole fish tank load of money on modding my Baleno, a Pete'd elantra could keep up with AC on and 3 people on board. All this while maxxing out the speedo and yet churning out FE figures of around 8-10kmpl wherein my Baleno was returning 3-4kmpl.

Have we become that blind to stand up and notice that this car is indeed something we missed out on? All because the name Elantra doesn't sound catchy? Or is it because its made by a Korean company?

IMO, things are not the same anymore. I wish we all could stand up and call an apple an apple. Matter of fact is, there are quite a lot of good cars out there that are being unfairly reviewed, which in return skews up the whole point of being on this forum.

Let us not go by hearsay, or make conclusions because of some preconceived notions or skewed perceptions. Drive one of these for a while and you will change the way you see some of these Korean cars. I did.

I have had a lot of people say to me "You are the first guy we have seen, who owns a fast petrol car and swears by a diesel car to be fast and fun to drive" .
Here is a pic of one of the elantra's in action.


Disclaimer: I own 3 Suzi's, my favourite list of cars at the moment (apart from my baleno) are the OHC Vtec, Elantra, Getz Crdi, Tata Xenon. It doesn't matter from which manufacturer a car comes from. What matters is how good it is.

Let us use this thread to clear some of those skewed perceptions on any car churned out by Hyundai.

PS: Next in line is the Getz Crdi. Let the brickbats and tomatoes fly.

[McLaren Rulez]

Well if there are preconceptions with Hyundai, then what about Fiat? Its always war here when Fiat is discussed. And my apologies if another one starts after this.

[mclaren1885]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Well if there are preconceptions with Hyundai, then what about Fiat? Its always war here when Fiat is discussed. And my apologies if another one starts after this.

Feel free to start another thread on Fiats! Lets keep this to Hyundai's shall we?

[McLaren Rulez]

Sorry, didn't mean to go OT. Just wanted to point out that the preconceptions aren't so bad with Hyundai as they are with many other brands. Only luxury Hyundais suffer from the image issues as far as I see. The Sonata, Elantra, Tucson and probably Verna have image problems. The Santro, i10, i20, Accent etc. don't really have any such problems.

[akshay4587]

Korean crap as they call it
i have one and though it aint a firebreather,it does the job pretty well

[extreme_torque]

Well the real deal is anyone who doesnt agrees with 'your' point of view has a skewed view of things.
Each one of us is different when it comes to their choice of cars. For some power is an absolute priority, for some ride and handling and a reasonable engine would do, what matters is what you want from your car, doesnt really matters which manufacturer it really comes from.

As far as ridiculing Hyundai is concerned, I dont see too much of it on team-bhp, surely not as much so as to warrant a seperate thread on it. The mods have been doing their jobs perfectly.

Frankly I dont really see the point of this thread apart from your praise for Hyundai. (Strictly my opinion)

[vasudeva]

Considering the segment wise sales figures here in India and in competitive markets, Hyundai does have a perception problem (could be rooted in some past or present mistakes). Hyundai acknowledges that. How: thru their pricing and their marketing.

Image change takes a long time to achieve.

[TheDoors]

I too agree, initially I also had a very negative opinion about the Hyundai's. At least most of my opinion was formed when watching the Car and Bike show, the Auto car show where, when ever a Hyundai was in comparison, there would be a comment, " since it is a Korean, don't expect it to have the build quality and finish" like a Japanese or a German.

As mentioned, thanks to many of the test drive reviews, ownership reviews, etc on Team-BHP that encouraged me to go in for a Hyundai. I am very satisfied with my newly acquired i10.

[newcoolgadgets]

I have felt the same while deciding on a Hyundai Verna (see thread here). I truly believe if the same car was being sold by Suzuki, it would have been heralded as the supercar of India, no less.

Apart from the Zen Estilo, no one has anything bad to say about any of the Suzuki cars in India. Keep in mind that I too own a Suzuki and have nothing against them. I too feel it is entirely a matter of perception, and unfortunately Hyundai is a brand that people love to hate. Hyundai always gets second hand treatment after Suzuki.

[diabloo]

I can say for sure that I don't have any preconceived about Hyundai.
From their cars I find the following 'hard to digest':

1. Look: Their design is mostly rounded with sad looking fronts/bonnet.
2. Engines: Their petrol engines make coarse roar (Hyundai sound).
3. Interiors: Quality just below par
Other than these, nothing else.

To overcome their perception, they had to something extra-ordinary. They did by:
1. Making SRK drive Santro & improve the brand.
2. Getting their CRDi engines earlier than others (in the segments they operate).

[Screwdriva]

...it's a Hyundai. That says it all.

This coming from a former Tiburon owner!

to quote my man Kanye West:

"I know somebody payin' child support for one of his kids
His baby momma's car crib is bigger than his
You will see him on TV, any given Sunday
Win the Superbowl and drive off in a Hyundai..."

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by newcoolgadgets

unfortunately Hyundai is a brand that people love to hate. Hyundai always gets second hand treatment after Suzuki.

C'mon! They are the second largest selling car maker in India and look at their model portfolio compared to Maruti's and you will know that we love Hyundai's.... we really do.

The first gen Sonata was success, even though it was a copied design, because it better than Accord of that time. Then the new Accord came and suddenly Sonata was nowhere to been seen. The current gen car is too plain and understated and Hyundai isnt a brand Indians aspire for.

Getz was a failure because of its pricing.
Accent sold well and continues to do so.
Verna cannot be called a failure.

Skewed... I dont think so.

[rjstyles69]

First and foremost , I think we need to digest the fact that every car has its own pro's and cons. So why bring in the Hyundai alone, I think its more of perception and hearsay and then post on team-bhp.

When the verna was launched and I still remember reading a post right here on team-bhp which said " 100 Korean mal-nutritioned horses " Now who in his wildest dreams would have thought that the Verna would be a hoot to drive and powerful ? I am sure the Verna can give the other 1.6's a run for their money.

Its the same with the Elantra, till recently this car was spoken about seldom and one fine day it takes the throne when it came to power delivery and sustaining the same.

Come' on chaps everyone wants powerful cars be it hyundai/mitsu/suzuki/fiat. I think each manufacturer has its share of fast cars so maybe I think its time we stop this manufacturer/brand bashing and continue sharing knowledge on what makes a brand/car distinct from its counterpart.

[mclaren1885]

Each one of us is different when it comes to their choice of cars. For some power is an absolute priority, for some ride and handling and a reasonable engine would do, what matters is what you want from your car, doesnt really matters which manufacturer it really comes from.

Exactly my point! But does that allow us to blindly negate all faults in the cars we own, does it? On the pretext that, if I can't feel it, it doesn't exist.

But we have had many instances where people blindly say "Never buy a Hyundai". With no prior experiences of owning one or driving one over a period of time.

As far as ridiculing Hyundai is concerned, I dont see too much of it on team-bhp

For that you will have to leave the Fiat threads for a while and look into the Hyundai's.

Originally Posted by diabloo

Engines: Their petrol engines make coarse roar (Hyundai sound).

Yup! Hyundai petrols aren't rev happy. They are more like diesel engines minus the turbo.

Interiors: Quality just below par

Thats not entirely true. Infact, Elantra has pretty decent interiors. The getz interiors are way better and fit is much better than the rattly swift. The I20 interiors are also pretty nice. I think this notion is mainly from the Santro days?

Actually, the other thing is people think Hyundai A.S.S is horrendous. Having had to deal with them on close quarters, I find them to be as good as Maruti. But you will always have some sour grapes like you have with all manufacturers. But somehow pepople generally associate Hyundai's with bad after sales.

[fast_elegance]

Hyundai has always had this kind of treatment from the time it was launched in India. People were so much used to and also trusted the Maruti Suzuki thing that they were not ready to accept a new car manufacturer. Hyundai has always been underrated. But now I believe that this perception has changed a lot. People have now started trusting Hyundai and also the diesel versions are very much appreciated.