Elantra CRDi - 40000Kms in 1.5 years.

deepakhon · 29th August 2006, 12:20

Good review. Enjoyed reading it.

tadukuttan · 29th August 2006, 12:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by srikantans04

Well written - presenting both sides to the coin.
The common caution (Ive heard) with crdi is that its performance drops and trouble begins post 50,000 Kms. But from what I read, you seem to be nowhere near any sort of trouble. !!
Awaiting your post 50K review.

There is one more in the family, and that was purchased a week before mine. Has done some 60K+, and still going strong. I drive that every other time I see it, just to make sure that everything is fine. It is like looking into the future of mine, and needless to say, the future looks bright.

The blue CRDi is in the background.

spadival · 29th August 2006, 12:38

One thing I didnt get is why did u go for a Kenwood with GPS unit.. since it cant be used in India at all.

tsk1979 · 29th August 2006, 12:59

Wow,
the service bill looks like a Tata indica's! This car is sure cheap to maintain too. One last question, since you are a highway star, how does she behave with desi daru(Adulterated diesel)

tadukuttan · 29th August 2006, 12:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by spadival

One thing I didnt get is why did u go for a Kenwood with GPS unit.. since it cant be used in India at all.

Hmm, I was trying to make the dash look good. And this was the best looking unit I could find. Remember, I was taking out a well integrated, well finished OEM head unit, and the last thing I wanted too do was put in something ugly there. And anyway, the head unit can interface with a GPS unit, it does not really contain one, although it does contain a fair amount of navigation capabilities. And I got the idea for this one on a Lexus forum. Of course, he was also using the Navigation system. Think he was from Germany.

tsk1979 · 29th August 2006, 13:03

Does it interface using a standard NMEA cable or some proprietry thing working with only some brands.

DRC · 29th August 2006, 13:08

Excellent review tadukuttan....
I saw this beast in the t-bhp meet in Nandi hills. I should say I was more than impressed, man the was it shoots! I also saw V1P3R evaluating the Pete's box, and came out impressed.

The same evening I went to Trident hyundai to test drive! call me crazy. But I cam out disappointed as the test drive was offered on a car which had done 34K kms and was in a pathetic condition. I was still impressed with the engine which really used to pull, but the clutch (lack of maintanance I would say), and the body rattles let the car down.

I learnt from dealership that the new version of Elantra is due next year. Since I am not in any sort of hurry, I am waiting (to the changed grille)

rangaraj · 29th August 2006, 13:13

Wonder what the new sonata with a new more power diesel plant will be like with elantra doing so good!

A quick question - any sources of changes of the facia/grill of the elantra or for that matter the hyundai family.. They universally look c**ppy..

tadukuttan · 29th August 2006, 13:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Wow, the service bill looks like a Tata indica's! This car is sure cheap to maintain too. One last question, since you are a highway star, how does she behave with desi daru(Adulterated diesel)

Forgot to cover that one in the review., thanks for bringing that up. The car sounds like a truck if the diesel is bad. And of course, looses out on power too.

Fortunatly, a tank full of the good stuff gets it back in shape. And then I know a lot of the good gas stations on the highways down south. If I am on unfamiliar territory, I look around for pumps where the truckers congregate. If that does not work, stop and have "chai", chat up a few truckers to get more info on pumps in that area. All this is a pain, but then the thought of a messed up Common Rail System gets me out of lethargy and the availability of good diesel is always something I keep in mind for all highway runs.

And last but not least, I fill only the normal stuff. No premium diesels. For example, the Extra Mile actually gives more mileage, but the engine starts sounding rough after a few tanks of that. For long term, this engine is happy with the normal brew.

tadukuttan · 29th August 2006, 14:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Does it interface using a standard NMEA cable or some proprietry thing working with only some brands.

As far as I know, it is a custom Kenwood interface, and the only receiver you can control using the touch screen is KNA-DV2600. Of course, another option is to give the AV out of a stand alone navigation system to the head unit. But then, you cannot really control that unit from this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangaraj

Wonder what the new sonata with a new more power diesel plant will be like with elantra doing so good!

I am waiting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rangaraj

A quick question - any sources of changes of the facia/grill of the elantra or for that matter the hyundai family.. They universally look c**ppy..

Absolutly. And there are a lot of options for making it look better. Sadly, not sure whether I will ever do any of that. I kind of like the unmarked car which goes like stink more...

For those who would do it, found couple of good pictures from - http://elantragtclub.tripod.com/elantra/id5.html.

tifosikrishna · 29th August 2006, 14:13

That was a brilliant review tadukuttan.

How did you arrive at the new bhp (131) and torque (30kgm) figures???

tadukuttan · 29th August 2006, 14:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by tifosikrishna

How did you arrive at the new bhp (131) and torque (30kgm) figures???

I only said "Allegedly, bhp went up to 131...".

Anyway the figures are from the petes guys. Also on their website @
http://www.petes.in/hyundai_elantra.html.

The site mentions 305Nm as the updated torque after petes. Guess that is 31Kgm, probably not 30Kgm as I mentioned earlier?

Also, I am driving with the petes box on the lowest level, some folks who have tried the next two said that it is definitly more fun at the next levels. Will try maybe later...

maxbhp · 30th August 2006, 09:57

Great Review Tadukuttan ,

I myself have been searching for a sparingly used Elantra . Nice review . The red one in post no 25# really looks neat except for those grille , skirts really really does a great job as far as looks are concerned .

giri · 30th August 2006, 13:44

Finally we have some owners posting reviews of this vastly underated car.

And if people can look beyond the grille (which I think gives the car a distinctly European styling), this is one great value vehicle.

kpzen · 30th August 2006, 22:02

2 Elantra CRDi's in the family covering 100K kms in 1.5 years.....

Damn, where do u drive sir???

My 6 year old zen has done only 43K

KP

29th August 2006, 12:20	#16
deepakhon Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,441 Thanked: 65 Times	Good review. Enjoyed reading it.
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 12:38	#18
spadival Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 1,773 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	One thing I didnt get is why did u go for a Kenwood with GPS unit.. since it cant be used in India at all.
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 12:59	#19
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Wow, the service bill looks like a Tata indica's! This car is sure cheap to maintain too. One last question, since you are a highway star, how does she behave with desi daru(Adulterated diesel)
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 13:03	#21
tsk1979 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 23,717 Thanked: 22,825 Times View My Garage	Does it interface using a standard NMEA cable or some proprietry thing working with only some brands.
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 13:08	#22
DRC BHPian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Cockpit Posts: 911 Thanked: 64 Times View My Garage	Excellent review tadukuttan.... I saw this beast in the t-bhp meet in Nandi hills. I should say I was more than impressed, man the was it shoots! I also saw V1P3R evaluating the Pete's box, and came out impressed. The same evening I went to Trident hyundai to test drive! call me crazy. But I cam out disappointed as the test drive was offered on a car which had done 34K kms and was in a pathetic condition. I was still impressed with the engine which really used to pull, but the clutch (lack of maintanance I would say), and the body rattles let the car down. I learnt from dealership that the new version of Elantra is due next year. Since I am not in any sort of hurry, I am waiting (to the changed grille)
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 13:13	#23
rangaraj BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 570 Thanked: 10 Times	New sonata diesel Wonder what the new sonata with a new more power diesel plant will be like with elantra doing so good! A quick question - any sources of changes of the facia/grill of the elantra or for that matter the hyundai family.. They universally look c**ppy..
	() Thanks

29th August 2006, 14:13	#26
tifosikrishna BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: chennai Posts: 827 Thanked: 383 Times View My Garage	That was a brilliant review tadukuttan. How did you arrive at the new bhp (131) and torque (30kgm) figures???
	() Thanks

30th August 2006, 09:57	#28
maxbhp Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: C C K Posts: 1,382 Thanked: 89 Times View My Garage	Great Review Tadukuttan , I myself have been searching for a sparingly used Elantra . Nice review . The red one in post no 25# really looks neat except for those grille , skirts really really does a great job as far as looks are concerned .
	() Thanks

30th August 2006, 13:44	#29
giri BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: bangalore Posts: 35 Thanked: 4 Times	Finally we have some owners posting reviews of this vastly underated car. And if people can look beyond the grille (which I think gives the car a distinctly European styling), this is one great value vehicle.
	() Thanks

30th August 2006, 22:02	#30
kpzen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Faridabad Posts: 5,610 Thanked: 1,876 Times View My Garage	2 Elantra CRDi's in the family covering 100K kms in 1.5 years..... Damn, where do u drive sir??? My 6 year old zen has done only 43K KP
	() Thanks