[hrag]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

The ride quality of the palio can still teach a lesson or two to cars almost twice as expensive.

Come on, give us your opinion not some magazine rehash. Sorry if this sounds rude but I've heard this quote too often.

I'm not doubting the Palio's ride quality but I'd welcome some original sentences.

Hyundai not VFM? You must be joking!

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by hrag

Come on, give us your opinion not some magazine rehash. Sorry if this sounds rude but I've heard this quote too often.

I'm not doubting the Palio's ride quality but I'd welcome some original sentences.

Hyundai not VFM? You must be joking!

I dont agree with that either, but lets not turn this into a Fiat thread.

As far as ride quality is concerned, I prefer the cushy ride of the Hyundai to the stiff ride of the Fiats. Why? Because that is practical and comfortable on our roads. I havent sat in the back of my Hyundai (GLS) so I havent experienced the legendary pitch, but this seems to have improved in the later Hyundais, especially the CRDis which do duty as Hertz airport cars in Bombay.

The Fiat suspension transmitted far too much noise into the cabin on account of its stiffness. I guess it would be the same if I drove my Mondy in India - its noisy and harsh on anything but good roads.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I prefer the cushy ride of the Hyundai

Hyundai's most selling car doesn't share that ride... by the farthest stretch of imagination.

Coming back to the topic..... RELIABILITY... has Hyundai ever been cursed for reliability? I don't remember those times!
It’s the exaggeration of performance and performance figures that would keep me away from Hyundai for now (CRDI is an exception).
It’s just the marketing gimmicks that rather than impressing me … put me off … b’coz it overdoes it!!!

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by hrag

Come on, give us your opinion not some magazine rehash. Sorry if this sounds rude but I've heard this quote too often.

I'm not doubting the Palio's ride quality but I'd welcome some original sentences.

Hyundai not VFM? You must be joking!

Yes i was checking the ride quality of my friends corsa on some bad roads and it was amazing, i tried Palio (1.2) on the same stretch and it was almost the same if not better.
Didnt have guts to take Santro on the same stretch at the same speed... else i had some severe constipation!
Accent has looks n luxurious feel (thats subjective but most of the owners say it) and thats abt it, its neither has the performance that is expected from a "94bhp" engine, neither the engine is frugal, with 3 passengers at the back, rear kisses any bigger than average indian speed breaker.... The rocam ikon 1.3 is far more enjoyable to drive.
Lest everyone is entititled to his/her own opinion and i beg to disagree what is being said in this thread.
Peace! :-)

[sajo]

This might be a one off case, but my cousin's 4 yr old Santro has done 80,000 Kms without a squeak or rattle to show it! Also, mechanically its just as sound as ever. All this with only regular servicing. The car does regular Mumbai - Kolhapur runs. Cant say the same about Maruti compacts. Hence, if and when I am in the market again for affordable transportion, Hyundais will be on the top of my list.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by sajo

Cant say the same about Maruti compacts.

Sorry dont agree there. If by Maruti Compacts you mean 800,zen,wagonr.. then i can tell you they are RELIABLE. My 9 year old M800 has completed 1 lac kms, and its still going strong.. ask Maruti long time owners about zen and wagonr.. these are japanese engines.. they can outlive a tortoise life (well, almost )

[sajo]

Originally Posted by dceite

Sorry dont agree there. If by Maruti Compacts you mean 800,zen,wagonr.. then i can tell you they are RELIABLE. My 9 year old M800 has completed 1 lac kms, and its still going strong.. ask Maruti long time owners about zen and wagonr.. these are japanese engines.. they can outlive a tortoise life (well, almost )

Well, I am not commenting about reliability. As a 800 owner myself, I know how reliable these little things are. I am just saying they dont age that well w.r.t. their bodies.
BTW, my 800 is 12+ years old, and apart from recent problems because of it being garaged, is going fine. (The problems mentioned above cost only Rs.2200 to fix!)

[speedzak]

Praising Hyundai is ok for those who like them.
Please but please comparing it to a MERC or a TOYOTA is just out of question!

Hyundai should change the vision they have about other car manufacturers. Nobody stops them from saying their cars are the best! But Please refrain from that false comparisons and everybody else is worng I'm right attitude.
They can develop themselves to a great future if they can avoid those cheap marketing gimmicks.

I'll still buy a Maruti when presented with a gift Santro!

[coloneljasi]

This thread will never end.There are people who like Hyundai and there are those who don't.It's a matter of experience and taste.It's different with everybody.
Some of you might remeber that japanese car makers were once loathed back in the early 80s.Look where they are now?The japanese aped the european cars shamelessly.Now this may be debatable too,but now they do make some wonderful but all reliable cares.Heck,Skoda was the preferred subject of many west european comedians till a few years ago.How are they doing now?People from the west say that Skodas are still not as good as the those made by the german side of the VAG group.Does anybody here agree with that?Just don't under-estimate the Koreans or Indians for that matter.Period.

[satish_appasani]

My opinion has defnetely changed. I don't know whether I am liking Hyundai as a manufacturer or just for it's CRDI products in India.

If I am looking for a Petrol car, I would defnetely spend a few more thousands and go for Jap or Euro car.

[speedbuster]

Nice topic, for opinions about Hyundai,
check read this comparo between New sondata, Camry and Accord.
This is not done by any indian company, instead by world famus Edmunds.

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpconta...pageNumber=1#1

[grandpa_ro]

Hi Dceite
Is the Hyundai Coupe available in Delhi? I mailed Hyundai asking for info but they sent me phone numbers of dealers in Chennai.
Do you have any info on pricing etc as nothing is mentioned in the website
Thanks
Ro

[jango]

in US they call Hyundai cars as cheap Korean stuffs !!

[rks]

Originally Posted by dceite

Sorry dude, as much as i am begining to like Hyundai, i wont make a statement even in my dreams that Santro is more Stable than WagonR. Get this right, Santro is as dangerous through the corners as the wagonR(if not more).. infact, the high speed stability of wagonR over Santro is one of the positives of WagonR.. drive both over 90, and you will know what i mean. The wagon is a better handler than the Santro even according to ACI,overdrive etc.

I am really tired of seeing so many inaccurate adverse remarks about the Santro's stability and handling at high speeds. I own the ZipDrive (1 lit, April 2000) and drive it on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway every week at top speeds generally in the range of 140-155 kph (Speedo). My time through the 94 km Expresssway is consistently at 50-53 mins, i.e., an average speed of something like 110-115 kph. In fact the entire trip of 174 kms was covered in 2 hrs flat in the morning (7-45 AM to 9-45 AM, Sion Circle to Hadapsar via Katraj) and generally in 2.5 hours in fairly dense traffic in the evenings (Hadapsar to Sion Circle, 6 PM to 8-30 PM). Much as I tried to change my style of driving and reduce my speed after being warned by people in this forum, I couldn't succeed so far because I just haven't felt *any* issues regarding stability and handling. But some people here make wild remarks to the effect that they feel that the car is "about to take off" or "go off the road" if driven at speeds above 90 kph or cornered at speeds exceeding 60 kph! The only issue with the Santro on the highway is that it lacks punch at higher speeds. Even on a slight climb uphill, its top speed steadily comes down, but this may be less of an issue with the more peppy xing. But I will admit that I haven't tried braking the car at top speed (and I don't want to either).

On my most recent trip to Mumbai this Friday, I decided to test the Santro while cornering at high speeds while going downhill at the Lonawala ghat section. Prior to reaching the ghat section, I was overtaken first by an Ikon and then by an Octavia and I couldn't keep up with them even at 140 kph. But I caught up with them in the ghat section. The agile Santro made short work of the Ikon first (which by this time was overtaken by the Octavia), zipping past with a sharp left-side overtake. Then on a long, winding, sharp left turn, the Octavia was despatched in a scorching overtake at full clip -- at the start of the turn, I aimed straight for the Octavia's rear in the middle lane and then floored the pedal. By the time the turn was completed, the anticipated understeer took the Santro, tyres screeching, into the right lane, past the Octavia. In the short straight stretch that followed, the stunned Octavia driver steadily gained on me. But in the next sharp right hand corner, another scorching turn, with the understeer taking me to the left lane and simultaneously overtaking a couple of other heavy vehicles, made the Octavia guy finally give up. I have similarly depatched a Honda Accord in the same downhill ghat stretch. He could catch up with me only after the exit toll gate, some 20 kms later. The corners were generally taken at high speeds, 80-90 kph; even on a sharp S-turn, the speeds exceeded 60 kph. The car gripped the road and I just couldn't detect any sliding of the wheels (there was a lot of noise from the tyres though).

Of course I realize that the Ikon and Octavia guys probably did not push their vehicles to the limit. But the foregoing goes to show that I would completely disagree with those who would bad-mouth the Santro. I don't know much about the Wagon R -- it is supposed to be faster than the ZipDrive, being a 1.1 lit. engine. But I doubt it can be more stable than the Santro, for the simple reason that it is taller and has smaller tyres. And as for the Santro's handling, it is just superb for Indian conditions. The Sion-Panvel highway and Pune bypass roads are what I would call Santro country -- the agility of this car, ability to switch lanes at speed and make very tight overtakes have to be seen to be believed. The bigger, faster and more powerful sedans are simply no match for my Santro in these traffic-filled roads. I have let the Santro rip at speed of upto 120 kph on the Pune bypass road and upto 110 or so on the Sion-Panvel highway, all the time making sharp overtakes. No issues that I am aware of, even at 120 kph, leave alone the 90 kph that you complained of.
Regards, rks

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by rks

I am really tired of seeing so many inaccurate adverse remarks about the Santro's stability and handling at high speeds. I own the ZipDrive (1 lit, April 2000) and drive it on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway every week at top speeds generally in the range of 140-155 kph (Speedo).

Dont take it too personally. The santro WagonR debate will continue forever. Its one of those things which never go away.
OTOH I wouldnt advise you to do such stunts on your santro, or for that matter even wagon R. Tall boy designs overturn more easily than lower set cars. ITs plain physics. Nothing to do with hyundai here. If your center of gravity is higher, you will topple more easily, you may even be a merc or a BMW.
A side hit to a santro(doing 50kmph) by a 1 ton vehicle doing 20kmph can easily make it land on its roof(know from expirience). But such a hit wont topple an indica(know this from expirience too).
Now if we come to the skoda's it will take a lot more to topple that.
Regarding your drifting style, dont push your luck too much. None of the cars in that price range are made for doing such stuff, and that includes the wagon r, the indica, the palio etc., etc.,