Elantra CRDi - 40000Kms in 1.5 years.

Venom_rider · 31st August 2006, 11:08

Awesome review there... A very Good read indeed. Started to like a lot of things about the car now... But the front grill... Not too sure about that.
Just wondering how it would be race the C220 of GTO's and this beast!!!

tadukuttan · 31st August 2006, 11:31

Had couple of folks PM me with questions which go like "My car does not seem to be as fast as yours", or I dont know what the petes box does for me, I cannot feel any difference, etc. So before I get accused of making all this up, clarifications are required.

Wanted to explain as best as I can how to get the best out of the Elantra. And some of these tips apply in general to other turbo diesels as well. Anybody with ideas/experience with this, please feel free to chime in.

And I am not sure this is the right place for this info, moderators, please feel free to move this to any place where it fits.

Now, I feel one of the first things you need to see are the curves. Ok, not as interesting as the "other" kind of curves, but still absolutly required if you want to extract the best out of the car. And the curves of the Elantra are below, and it is from the PSI motorsport site -

Standard : 113 HP 83 kW 255 Nm
PSI (RED): 131 HP 96 kW 305 Nm

For people moving from a petrol to a diesel, or even trying to test drive this diesel after having a petrol for daily use, the first thing to understand is, power comes in really early, and ends really early too. To be precise, 1750 - 4250 is the usable rpm range. Compare that to some high performance petrols, where the power band might start after the engine crosses 4000 rpm.

Before we move further, we need a spot of turbo knowledge. Turbos are driven by exhaust gases. And it consists of a turbine, and at the other end of the turbine shaft, a compressor which actually pressurizes the air going into the engine intake. Unlike a super charger, the power output from a turbo engine is not really linear. When the engine is idling, it does not produce enough exhaust gases to spin the turbo fast enough to produce sufficient boost. Two things need to happen before the turbo boost comes on. One, the engine rpm needs to rise so that it produces enough exhaust gases to spin the turbo to its usable boost range, and two, the turbo/compressor has intertia, so it sometimes take couple of seconds to overcome the inertia and gets the turbo spinning fast enough. If the engine rpm is already above 2000, the turbo is spinning fast enough, and if you floor the throttle, it will provide that grin inducing acceleration as the turbo is able to provide max boost almost instantly.

So if you are cruising, and the engine rpm is below 2000 rpm, there will be a slight delay before the car starts accelerating. That is referred to as the turbo lag, and the car will start accelerating fast only after the turbo starts providing sufficient boost, as explained earlier.

Lets look at the other problem. At what rpm do you upshift? The engine idles at around 1100 rpm. And redlines around 4500 rpm. Lets look at the power and torque characterestics. The torque peaks very early, at around 1800 rpm, stays almost flat till 3000, and slowly drops until 3750. And then it is a steep drop down. The bhp starts incresing right from the moment the turbo starts providing boost, and keeps increasing linearly till almost 4000.

The elantra gear box makes it easy to calculate the right upshift rpm. For most upshifts, the engine will drop 1000rpm in the next gear. If you shift up from 3rd to 4th at 4000rpm, once the car is in 4th, the rpm will be 3000.

All this provides for 2 ways of up shifting for the Elantra CRDi.

If you are largely cruising, shift at 3000. The rpm in the higher gear will be around 2000. That leaves the car right at the start of the meaty torque band, and leaves it rightly poised for either cruising, or if required, responsive to throttle inputs as well.

If you want all out acceleration, shift right after 4100. Because anything higher, there would be a sharp drop in bhp, and probably the turbo rpm (that is not the engine rpm) redlines there as well. So if you upshift around 4100, rpm in the higher gear will be just above 3000. Perfect since it gives you the most meaty part of the BHP curve, and leaves enough space in the higher gear to keep accelerating away.

I know I might not have cleared this up fully. If you have doubts, please ask away. Even if I dont know the answers, I am sure there are so many folks here who actually build turbo charged cars, at least they will know the answers.

naveendhyani · 31st August 2006, 11:51

elantra was always a good ride barring its looks. but thats personal (no offences to nybody). but from what i have heard from people who own the car, they seem to quiet happy with the performance.

Sreenivas · 11th September 2007, 14:12

Very nice Review ,,,,,, more inclined in buying elantra now

mclaren1885 · 12th September 2007, 01:59

IIRC, I guess I have driven this very car the most after Tadu among TBHPians. And going by the fact that I have driven and sat passenger for the last year or so I would say its really a HIGHLY underrated car.

Tadu, I really did not know you were this good at penning down your reviews. Specially after being nicknamed the "silent member"

. Fantastic review and I could relate to every word you said. And maybe some more.

My take on this car?
Fabulous engine, bettered with Pete's. I am told K&N stock replacement filter helps. Also I think Tadu forgot to mention the fact that the car has a proper Cold Air Intake.

Once you get used to the front end heaviness its a gem of a handler. It reaches speeds upto 220kmph with AC ON all the time. And the best part is it stops in a flash. One car on which I loved the ABS. And the positioning of the gear knob is to die for.

Seats are very comfy. But it takes time to get the right setting. One thing I too found to my disliking was the rather thin steering wheel.

To sum it up, I can hardly think of any gripes with this car at all. And since I have met Tadu, I have fallen in love with this car so much that its been decided at home that if we were to buy a bigger car than the Baleno it would HAVE to be the Elantra. Its quick, its safe, its looks like a family car, it doesn't guzzle gas, service & maintainance is quite cheap. What more could one ask for.

The ICE, the engine, Pete's and the mans love for the car make this car one of my favourite cars and easily makes it into this ELITE (Which TBHP members modded car is the most sought after?) (clickable) list of TBHP cars. Tadu, looking forward to more fun filled highway drives and track days in the near future.

w 12 · 12th September 2007, 08:41

A very good review.

But Hyundai sold just 2 elantras all over India during August and just 9 in july !

Why is the market giving such a nmajor thumbsdown to this supposedly good car ?

Vid6639 · 12th September 2007, 08:56

I guess it's because the car is no longer in production. They stopped the CRDi production quite a long while back. They still had the prices for the Petrol Elantra GT but I think now even that has ceased production.

It wasn't really burning up the sales chart, I guess hyundai thought it better to stop production and get teh new Elantra.

The 9 units must be the old stock at teh dealers sold at a fairly good discount.

reignofchaos · 12th September 2007, 09:39

The Elantra CRDi was the car that I intended to buy initially as that engine is one scorcher. Coupled with that its the only Hyundai car that is well sorted out in terms of handling. Unfortunately Hyundai stopped building the two high end variants and just had the base model available when I went to buy it. Pretty unfortunate as it was a gem of a car. Initial reports of the new car indicate that its lost its edge in terms of handling.

The petrol engine was sad but the diesel was an incredible machine. The very same block exists in the magnum now in a different state of tune with probably a larger turbo.

wanderernomad · 12th September 2007, 10:20

Elantra is my all favourite diesel and always wanted to buy one but ....... as wishes go....lolz. Great car and wish tadu a lot of happy motoring kms.

diabloo · 12th September 2007, 10:38

Yet another underrated car ! Pity that it didn't receive the kudos it deserved since it wasn't a Honda.

vkochar · 12th September 2007, 10:56

I have always loved the Elantra and reading all this makes me more inclined to buy one. BUT then I have heard that Elantra is not being manufactured any more. No sense in buying one in that case. I only hope now Hyundai launches the all new Elantra ( around 10 L ) , will certainly be interested in buying one.

kpzen · 12th September 2007, 11:00

Tadu.
How about updating this thread? I'm sure u must have logged on many kms after your last update on this thread. I think i saw odo with 60k kms in the Yelagiri trip video.
Hyundai hasn't been able to make many Elantra fans but u have so please keep updating us about the fantastic car u got.

Gangsta · 13th March 2008, 20:14

very very nice review mate. I bought Elantra CRDi (2nd hand) 33k Done. ABS + EBD + BAS + TCS + AirBags. Wow!! I had never driven a car. Powerful engine and most of all I'm in love with the handling of this beast at high speeds.
I had done around 205 kmph stock (but after 190 kmph it took 10-15 odd seconds to reach 205 kmph. and now planning to install pete's + CAI + universal twin conical green filter.
I was damn happy to run my accent 1.6L on highways (green filter + exhaust mods), it was fast but Elantra? now i feel my Accent as if it is a toy. I always wanted to have a diesel beast with good gear box. I had 2 choice.
1. Verna
2. Elantra
Verna, superb engine. o0o0o lala Verna on highways with Soft Suspensions, So opted for Elantra CRDi with hell lot of features in it which Verna don't have. Braking Superb, Handling Very Good Especially at high speeds, Engine Torquish i.e a real cruser.
I was having an option for Magnum. But read on forums, about it's gearbox issues and Elantra have much better handling than magnum.
Oh yes, Elantra is sluggish in city driving, But highways? I'm in love with it, my love will rise more and more after Performance Mods. hehe

benbsb29 · 14th March 2008, 11:49

Tadu, i didnt even know this thread existed. Wonderful write-up, and having travelled in your car on the TBHP meets, i can vouch for all you have said. 200kmph on the speedo with the A/C ON. I have seen it to believe it.

jkdas · 14th March 2008, 12:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Tadu, i didnt even know this thread existed. Wonderful write-up, and having travelled in your car on the TBHP meets, i can vouch for all you have said. 200kmph on the speedo with the A/C ON. I have seen it to believe it.

I have seen it in action overtaking Ikon 1.6, stage 1/2 balenos etc

31st August 2006, 11:08	#31
Venom_rider BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Chennai Posts: 242 Thanked: 256 Times View My Garage	Awesome review there... A very Good read indeed. Started to like a lot of things about the car now... But the front grill... Not too sure about that. Just wondering how it would be race the C220 of GTO's and this beast!!!
	() Thanks

31st August 2006, 11:31	#32
tadukuttan BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 241 Thanked: 24 Times	Driving Turbo Diesels - How to get the best out of the Elantra. Had couple of folks PM me with questions which go like "My car does not seem to be as fast as yours", or I dont know what the petes box does for me, I cannot feel any difference, etc. So before I get accused of making all this up, clarifications are required. Wanted to explain as best as I can how to get the best out of the Elantra. And some of these tips apply in general to other turbo diesels as well. Anybody with ideas/experience with this, please feel free to chime in. And I am not sure this is the right place for this info, moderators, please feel free to move this to any place where it fits. Now, I feel one of the first things you need to see are the curves. Ok, not as interesting as the "other" kind of curves, but still absolutly required if you want to extract the best out of the car. And the curves of the Elantra are below, and it is from the PSI motorsport site - Standard : 113 HP 83 kW 255 Nm PSI (RED): 131 HP 96 kW 305 Nm For people moving from a petrol to a diesel, or even trying to test drive this diesel after having a petrol for daily use, the first thing to understand is, power comes in really early, and ends really early too. To be precise, 1750 - 4250 is the usable rpm range. Compare that to some high performance petrols, where the power band might start after the engine crosses 4000 rpm. Before we move further, we need a spot of turbo knowledge. Turbos are driven by exhaust gases. And it consists of a turbine, and at the other end of the turbine shaft, a compressor which actually pressurizes the air going into the engine intake. Unlike a super charger, the power output from a turbo engine is not really linear. When the engine is idling, it does not produce enough exhaust gases to spin the turbo fast enough to produce sufficient boost. Two things need to happen before the turbo boost comes on. One, the engine rpm needs to rise so that it produces enough exhaust gases to spin the turbo to its usable boost range, and two, the turbo/compressor has intertia, so it sometimes take couple of seconds to overcome the inertia and gets the turbo spinning fast enough. If the engine rpm is already above 2000, the turbo is spinning fast enough, and if you floor the throttle, it will provide that grin inducing acceleration as the turbo is able to provide max boost almost instantly. So if you are cruising, and the engine rpm is below 2000 rpm, there will be a slight delay before the car starts accelerating. That is referred to as the turbo lag, and the car will start accelerating fast only after the turbo starts providing sufficient boost, as explained earlier. Lets look at the other problem. At what rpm do you upshift? The engine idles at around 1100 rpm. And redlines around 4500 rpm. Lets look at the power and torque characterestics. The torque peaks very early, at around 1800 rpm, stays almost flat till 3000, and slowly drops until 3750. And then it is a steep drop down. The bhp starts incresing right from the moment the turbo starts providing boost, and keeps increasing linearly till almost 4000. The elantra gear box makes it easy to calculate the right upshift rpm. For most upshifts, the engine will drop 1000rpm in the next gear. If you shift up from 3rd to 4th at 4000rpm, once the car is in 4th, the rpm will be 3000. All this provides for 2 ways of up shifting for the Elantra CRDi. If you are largely cruising, shift at 3000. The rpm in the higher gear will be around 2000. That leaves the car right at the start of the meaty torque band, and leaves it rightly poised for either cruising, or if required, responsive to throttle inputs as well. If you want all out acceleration, shift right after 4100. Because anything higher, there would be a sharp drop in bhp, and probably the turbo rpm (that is not the engine rpm) redlines there as well. So if you upshift around 4100, rpm in the higher gear will be just above 3000. Perfect since it gives you the most meaty part of the BHP curve, and leaves enough space in the higher gear to keep accelerating away. I know I might not have cleared this up fully. If you have doubts, please ask away. Even if I dont know the answers, I am sure there are so many folks here who actually build turbo charged cars, at least they will know the answers.
	() Thanks

31st August 2006, 11:51	#33
naveendhyani BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 542 Thanked: 9 Times	elantra was always a good ride barring its looks. but thats personal (no offences to nybody). but from what i have heard from people who own the car, they seem to quiet happy with the performance.
	() Thanks

11th September 2007, 14:12	#34
Sreenivas BHPian Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 55 Thanked: Once	Very nice Review ,,,,,, more inclined in buying elantra now
	() Thanks

12th September 2007, 01:59	#35
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	IIRC, I guess I have driven this very car the most after Tadu among TBHPians. And going by the fact that I have driven and sat passenger for the last year or so I would say its really a HIGHLY underrated car. Tadu, I really did not know you were this good at penning down your reviews. Specially after being nicknamed the "silent member" . Fantastic review and I could relate to every word you said. And maybe some more. My take on this car? Fabulous engine, bettered with Pete's. I am told K&N stock replacement filter helps. Also I think Tadu forgot to mention the fact that the car has a proper Cold Air Intake. Once you get used to the front end heaviness its a gem of a handler. It reaches speeds upto 220kmph with AC ON all the time. And the best part is it stops in a flash. One car on which I loved the ABS. And the positioning of the gear knob is to die for. Seats are very comfy. But it takes time to get the right setting. One thing I too found to my disliking was the rather thin steering wheel. To sum it up, I can hardly think of any gripes with this car at all. And since I have met Tadu, I have fallen in love with this car so much that its been decided at home that if we were to buy a bigger car than the Baleno it would HAVE to be the Elantra. Its quick, its safe, its looks like a family car, it doesn't guzzle gas, service & maintainance is quite cheap. What more could one ask for. The ICE, the engine, Pete's and the mans love for the car make this car one of my favourite cars and easily makes it into this ELITE (Which TBHP members modded car is the most sought after?) (clickable) list of TBHP cars. Tadu, looking forward to more fun filled highway drives and track days in the near future. Last edited by mclaren1885 : 12th September 2007 at 02:02.
	() Thanks

12th September 2007, 08:41	#36
w 12 BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 402 Thanked: 26 Times	A very good review. But Hyundai sold just 2 elantras all over India during August and just 9 in july ! Why is the market giving such a nmajor thumbsdown to this supposedly good car ? Last edited by w 12 : 12th September 2007 at 08:43.
	() Thanks

12th September 2007, 08:56	#37
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,730 Thanked: 43,483 Times View My Garage	I guess it's because the car is no longer in production. They stopped the CRDi production quite a long while back. They still had the prices for the Petrol Elantra GT but I think now even that has ceased production. It wasn't really burning up the sales chart, I guess hyundai thought it better to stop production and get teh new Elantra. The 9 units must be the old stock at teh dealers sold at a fairly good discount.
	() Thanks

12th September 2007, 09:39	#38
reignofchaos Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,542 Thanked: 2,450 Times View My Garage	The Elantra CRDi was the car that I intended to buy initially as that engine is one scorcher. Coupled with that its the only Hyundai car that is well sorted out in terms of handling. Unfortunately Hyundai stopped building the two high end variants and just had the base model available when I went to buy it. Pretty unfortunate as it was a gem of a car. Initial reports of the new car indicate that its lost its edge in terms of handling. The petrol engine was sad but the diesel was an incredible machine. The very same block exists in the magnum now in a different state of tune with probably a larger turbo. Last edited by reignofchaos : 12th September 2007 at 09:42.
	() Thanks

12th September 2007, 10:20	#39
wanderernomad Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Chandigarh Posts: 2,534 Thanked: 1,276 Times View My Garage	Elantra is my all favourite diesel and always wanted to buy one but ....... as wishes go....lolz. Great car and wish tadu a lot of happy motoring kms.
	() Thanks

12th September 2007, 10:38	#40
diabloo BANNED Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Bengalooru Posts: 1,480 Thanked: 17 Times	Yet another underrated car ! Pity that it didn't receive the kudos it deserved since it wasn't a Honda.
	() Thanks

12th September 2007, 10:56	#41
vkochar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Delhi / Agra / London Posts: 2,146 Thanked: 819 Times View My Garage	I have always loved the Elantra and reading all this makes me more inclined to buy one. BUT then I have heard that Elantra is not being manufactured any more. No sense in buying one in that case. I only hope now Hyundai launches the all new Elantra ( around 10 L ) , will certainly be interested in buying one.
	() Thanks

12th September 2007, 11:00	#42
kpzen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Faridabad Posts: 5,610 Thanked: 1,876 Times View My Garage	Tadu. How about updating this thread? I'm sure u must have logged on many kms after your last update on this thread. I think i saw odo with 60k kms in the Yelagiri trip video. Hyundai hasn't been able to make many Elantra fans but u have so please keep updating us about the fantastic car u got. Last edited by kpzen : 12th September 2007 at 11:01.
	() Thanks

13th March 2008, 20:14	#43
Gangsta BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Delhi Posts: 624 Thanked: 20 Times	very very nice review mate. I bought Elantra CRDi (2nd hand) 33k Done. ABS + EBD + BAS + TCS + AirBags. Wow!! I had never driven a car. Powerful engine and most of all I'm in love with the handling of this beast at high speeds. I had done around 205 kmph stock (but after 190 kmph it took 10-15 odd seconds to reach 205 kmph. and now planning to install pete's + CAI + universal twin conical green filter. I was damn happy to run my accent 1.6L on highways (green filter + exhaust mods), it was fast but Elantra? now i feel my Accent as if it is a toy. I always wanted to have a diesel beast with good gear box. I had 2 choice. 1. Verna 2. Elantra Verna, superb engine. o0o0o lala Verna on highways with Soft Suspensions, So opted for Elantra CRDi with hell lot of features in it which Verna don't have. Braking Superb, Handling Very Good Especially at high speeds, Engine Torquish i.e a real cruser. I was having an option for Magnum. But read on forums, about it's gearbox issues and Elantra have much better handling than magnum. Oh yes, Elantra is sluggish in city driving, But highways? I'm in love with it, my love will rise more and more after Performance Mods. hehe
	() Thanks

14th March 2008, 11:49	#44
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 9,969 Thanked: 13,231 Times View My Garage	Tadu, i didnt even know this thread existed. Wonderful write-up, and having travelled in your car on the TBHP meets, i can vouch for all you have said. 200kmph on the speedo with the A/C ON. I have seen it to believe it.
	() Thanks