[GTO]

To put it in perspective compare it with Civic V (Which was my next best choice along with top end magnum) which ex showroom is at 12.8lk. So I am paying 1 lakh premium over civic. It's not a fair comparison as they are in different segments but still close in terms of price.

The Embera common-rail is a stonking machine! A diesel D-segmenter doesn't get much better than this. Great choice of car and colour. Another major advantage over the Civic is the interior space and comfort....that back seat is a nice place to be in.

[dadu]

Congratulations on the ownership, do keep us posted on your delivery and running experiences

[vnabhi]

Congrats! It's a great looking car, indeed, and the new Accord seems to have copied its design.
The interiors however look the same as my pal's black petrol 2005 version (first car in Hyd). But nothing in that segment can beat the rear seat comfort and roominess of the Embera.

[d_himan]

Superb choice! IMHO, the Embera has superb road presence, way better than the old Accord. Incidentally, while I was doing 170 kmph in a deserted stretch of the Kolhapur-Belgaum NH recently, an Embera CRDi 'WHOOSED' past - don't doubt Hyundai's top speed claims! or maybe mr.pete graced it!

[Ricky_63]

Nice to see the interest generated by a highly under-rated car. hope it will now get it's due !!! Needless to say you will be a priority customer at the hyundai dealership/workshop.

Enjoy & do post a report of your views, so we may all be made aware of the "real Embera" !!!!



Cheers

[sameer_dg]

Congrats.a full photo shoot would be nice

[rohitrk]

Thanks folks for all the wishes. Team BHP has a lions share in deciding on this car. I know there is no ownership report or long term reports on this forum but lot of discussions around performance, reliability, service cost etc played a great role in this decision. One more point to mention, I have seen lot of earlier discussion regarding “Embera CRDi vs Laura..” most of the folks choose Laura though they though Embera was better value for money. I think I would have done the same thing if I did not have the requirement of “D” segment car for it’s size (I really don’t care too much about D segment car for status point of view).
This purchase decision is exactly in that direction of the latest hot topic started by GTO regarding “Replace the car after 5 yeas or..”.
I really don’t care about the re-sale value as I plan to keep this car for at least 8(1.5 lk kms) years. I have 4 years 80k warranty during which any major issues if there any should get resolved. After that I may have to face higher maintenance cost that should be fine as Hyundai parts and services is probably 2nd after Maruti.
Now coming back to my test drive.
It was almost impossible to get Embera CRDi for test drive. Typically dealers offered their GM’s car for test drive. These are usually petrol. I had test driven that too. The patrol car is really powerful beast but at the cost of low FE. But the engine response is something you just won’t expect from such a large car. Now my experience is in the comparison with Camry 2.4L that I had owned in US.
For the CRDi test drive Car lease company arranged their own car fleet car as no dealer in Pune could arrange me a car for the test drive. (One needs to be really committed to buy this car ). After almost 15 days since I started this inquiries I was able to test drive the car I was planning to buy. I will be comparing this lot with Laura ambiante and magnum top end as they are very close in terms of price(Magnum is more VFM) and performance numbers.
Since it was lease car beige the leather interiors were darkened a bit. The cobalt blue car had 34k on odometer. The CRDi diesel clutter was audible less than Laura but more than Magnum. Sit inside close your doors , the door thud is not as promising as Laura but better than Magnum. Oh! Did I switch off the engine? I could hear no diesel clutter inside, sound insulation is way better than Laura and Magnum. Now I engage 1st gear and expect no response based on all the test reviews, but car takes off just by releasing clutch. Car does not jump for start a sprint or anything but can move comfortably in city traffic. Now to give comparison Laura is best in this, Magnum comes second while Embera scores third. This initial pickup is definitely better than verna CRDi.
Now I in the middle of thick traffic waiting to get to NH4 bypass. With it’s size and length I did not face any problem keeping my line in the traffic. There is broken tarmac along the way , I made sure not to slow down instead maintained by 30km/h speed , the car just glides over the broken surface. (Score card Embera , Magnum, Laura). Finally reach to the bypass where I could really test what’s she is capable of doing. I make sure to change gears only at 3K , the engine is smooth I do not feel the rough feel I get with laura, here Magnum and Embera ties equal. But I am thinking where did all those 140 horses disappear? I don’t feel the rush I felt driving magnum. In Laura I did not like pusing the engine due to slight rough feel. What could be wrong here? Then I realize suddenly I am doing 100 already. The car just made the whole acceleration so much smooth that I just did not feel the rush at all!!
I had done 100 on the same patch with magnum and I could feel that I am doing 100. Looks like I will have to take this one on Expressway to really unleash all those horses. Now I shifted to 4, 5. Just out of curiosity shifted to 6th. At 100 I could curze but could not accelerate. So the 6th reserved only for Expressway runs. I did couple of 20-80 runs and realized that you need to be at least 2K rpm to make a clean gateway. Otherwise there is just no juice. (Here Laura trumps, Magnum, Embera). Make sure you are in right gear and she will fly. There is another car which is worst then Embera in this maters same engine almost same tune, yah you guessed it right Captiva. Captiva is even worst with it’s heavier body even aggressive turbo tuning. In the end we have to pay the price for large turbo chargers. Though they produce massive power about 2k rpm but offers poor response below that. Did some high speed breaking , quick lane shifts she held her line well. Could not do high speed turns as there is no such road section available.
During the test drive I played with the factory fitted audio setup, just average nothing impressive about it. Wood clad steering almost look alike to Altis. Not so great faux brush steel door handles. Gear box one of the best I have used. Bonnet and trunk has gas struts which open on their own , neat touch. Massive trunk with power point inside trunk. Rear seat is kike comfortable sofa. I just turned back for a second during my test drive. I could see my wife sitting way far back, for a instance I almost felt like a limo driver driving his memsab around.
Overall the whole car experience was like typical large American cars that I have rented for long drives in US, big, comfortable, soft suspension setup, good power but driver is isolated from the road experience unlike Japanese cars.
This is the car I want to use for my long (1000 kms+) trips with 80% usage on national highways. At the end of my test drive I realized that this is the only car available for my requirements in the price range I am ready to pay for.

[DocG]

Congrats...I have learned to respect the new Sonata [Hated the old one]

A friend of mine who owns 4 Accords amongst many other cars also has a petrol Embera, and while he doesn't care about FE, he couldn't stop raving about the VFM aspect or the features this car has.

I believe there are rear AC vents as well? That's something incredible for a car of this price point...

Enjoy your new ride
cheers:

[snaronikar]

Congrats on the new car. The rpm meter is showing around 1K mark. Was the car started when you took the pic? Put a Pete's and you will enjoy the performance also though you may loose a couple of kms in FE.

[snaronikar]

Nice test drive report of the car. Do post us the initial experience and running experiences.

Do post the pics of FR, Side views (RH & LH).

[rohitrk]

Using the latest feature announced by mods. Folks have been asking for the more side profile and overall better shoot. Since the earlier shoot was done in hurry on my mobile , I will be able to post better snaps when I take the delivery that's planned on 21st Sept. For now enjoy the video recorded on my mobile and uploaded on Utube.

YouTube - Unloading Embera CRDi

[rohitrk]

DocG, Embera has rear blowers but unlike Jetta, Laura(Where the blowers are between front seats) embera has blowers below fron seats.

snaronikar, Wow you have really looked the snaps in detail to spot the RPM reading. Yes the car was running , I wanted to check in cabin diesel clatter.

I had posted the UTube video link , not sure why the lpost is not visible yet.

[HappyWheels]

The machine looks WOW!

Please do post some front photos, as well.

Good to know that you were very clear and not moved around by other discussion.

Wishing you many (many) miles of happy motoring!

[greenhorn]

ICE ICE Upgrade!

Frankly, a casetter player should have no business inside a brand new car. wonder what they were thinking. Get a better HU and speakers mate

[Aditya]

Excellent. The Embera CRDi is among my favourite cars. It has its faults. The brakes aren't great, the handling on a winding country road leaves a lot to be desired and the quality of the interiors is not as good as a Jap or German car. What I loved was the stonking engine and performance, the ride and the comfort. The car also looks very good and is decently equipped.