[sunny310c]

I have test driven the Elantra Diesel MT (the dealer didn't have the AT). The car is absolutely gorgeous to look at and has some awesome features. Certain features like the ventilated seats have to be experienced to fully appreciate them. But like most people here have already said, the drive and feel of the car is not very inspiring. The engine is a bit of a slouch and even after the turbo kicks in, it doesn't quite have the same torque that the Cruze has. To add to that, the extremely light steering and soft suspension don't really inspire confidence, especially at high speeds. As for the cabin, I didn't quite mind the two tone interiors but my wife just hated it. That in it self was a big turn off for her. The rear seats were comfortable and the cabin felt spacious but I have heard some people say that the Elantra's cabin is not very different from the Verna's and that the whole car just feels like a slightly bigger version of the Verna. Anyway, I had mixed feelings after the test drive and while I thoroughly enjoyed the TD of the Cruze (MT & AT), the Elantra's creature comforts & safety features were just too good to look past. I mean, say what you want about the engine, you cannot deny that the car offers VFM. It is a very compelling package.

Originally Posted by kch82

TD drove the Diesel AT again - for wife's final approval This time I thought that the car is not that under powered. It is a little sluggish till 2000 RPM but post that it picks up. I test drove a bit on the highway and the rest in traffic conditions. Though it is loaded with features, but besides the air cooled seats and may be the phone bluetooth connectivity, there was not any major additional feature that the Cruze is not offering. Again this is from a self drive perspective and not being driven around.

I tried the phone connectivity from my Iphone and it was not really impressive - the voice reception was poor to the person on the other end. To my amusement the Hyundai representative asked me to raise my head higher towards the mike (right above the steering on the roof) and then speak. Obviously I would not like to raise my head that much and move my eyes away from the road.

I admit the air cooled seats would be a big advantage in peak summers. But for some reason I felt that I fitted better in the Cruze's driver seat. While driving on higher speeds (around 80-100 km/hr), I did not feel the drive to be that inspiring. The steering wheel felt very light which is not good for confidence and I was conscious about holding it firm so as to avoid it the car swaying. I am not sure how to put it in words, but the car and the drive just felt very breezy and not solid. In the stop go traffic you really do not need all the horses to kick in at once and therefore the lag at lower speeds can be ignored to a certain extent. But again the car seemed to lack the stability and solid feel of its competitors.

I hate saying this, but from a 'janta' perspective this car makes more sense and appears to be more practical. But since this time, I am looking to purchase a car that I can enjoy for self drive and at the same time be pampered with adequate amount of features and luxury.

I need to finally decide between the Cruze AT and Elantra diesel AT by this weekend.

I have been following your posts for a while mate because I am in exactly the same boat as you. Have always loved the Cruze, from the day it was launched and was so sure of buying it till about a month back, when the Elantra was launched. I still love the Cruze, but the Elantra just messed with my head with its looks and that package. Then I read your post in the other thread about the new Cruze expected around Diwali and now am not sure what to do.

Originally Posted by nik_kapur

Im in the same state of mind. I have now decided to wait for the updated cruze to be launched. I suggest you wait as well. Will get Bluetooth, Touchscreen and some additional features in that version. I read somewhere that it will come around Diwali.

I think I will wait as well. I just hope the wait is worth it though.

[TChandraShekar]

Dear Friends. Test drove the Elantra and Fluence. Booked the Fluence E4 Diesel. The Elantra's pluses are only the features and disappointed in rest of the categories. The seats are not comfortable especially the rear seats lack under tigh support. In engine performance both cars felt exactly the same while the Elantra's engine is very noisy on the inside. The car really made me feel nervous at high speeds & danced all over the road. Looks like a stretched Verna. People might confuse it for a Verna on first look. Also I felt this car is not strongly built. Finally very very bad audio quality.
The Fluence on the other hand really impressed me with its rock like solidity. The doors and bonnet felt rock heavy. Wondered how such small engine perfomed well enough for such a heavy car. The car is really planted to the road at all speeds. No drama at all. And the way it handled our bad roads is just fantastic. The seats are very comfortable. Good in features also. Looks elegant and neat.
But Elantra's waiting period is 2 months but Fluence is available within 10 days. I dont get how each and every Hyundai now a days is a hit.

[Adit]

Originally Posted by TChandraShekar

Dear Friends. Test drove the Elantra and Fluence. Booked the Fluence E4 Diesel. The Elantra's pluses are only the features and disappointed in rest of the categories. The seats are not comfortable especially the rear seats lack under tigh support. In engine performance both cars felt exactly the same while the Elantra's engine is very noisy on the inside. The car really made me feel nervous at high speeds & danced all over the road. Looks like a stretched Verna. People might confuse it for a Verna on first look. Also I felt this car is not strongly built. Finally very very bad audio quality.
The Fluence on the other hand really impressed me with its rock like solidity. The doors and bonnet felt rock heavy. Wondered how such small engine perfomed well enough for such a heavy car. The car is really planted to the road at all speeds. No drama at all. And the way it handled our bad roads is just fantastic. The seats are very comfortable. Good in features also. Looks elegant and neat.
But Elantra's waiting period is 2 months but Fluence is available within 10 days. I dont get how each and every Hyundai now a days is a hit.

@TChandraShekar: Did you by any chance consider Chevrolet Cruze? I think its one of the best cars in this segment...

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by TChandraShekar

Dear Friends. Test drove the Elantra and Fluence. Booked the Fluence E4 Diesel. The Elantra's pluses are only the features and disappointed in rest of the categories. The seats are not comfortable especially the rear seats lack under tigh support. In engine performance both cars felt exactly the same while the Elantra's engine is very noisy on the inside. The car really made me feel nervous at high speeds & danced all over the road. Looks like a stretched Verna. People might confuse it for a Verna on first look. Also I felt this car is not strongly built. Finally very very bad audio quality.
The Fluence on the other hand really impressed me with its rock like solidity. The doors and bonnet felt rock heavy. Wondered how such small engine perfomed well enough for such a heavy car. The car is really planted to the road at all speeds. No drama at all. And the way it handled our bad roads is just fantastic. The seats are very comfortable. Good in features also. Looks elegant and neat.
But Elantra's waiting period is 2 months but Fluence is available within 10 days. I dont get how each and every Hyundai now a days is a hit.

You may want to consider the Jetta CL. Since you already like the 'euro tarits' in a car (handling,planted feel,quality quotient etc.), you'd appreciate the Jetta a lil more as well. Agreed that its 1 lakh costlier than Fluence, but that will get offset by 50k (corp disc. standard fare) and some other disc you may squeeze as well. So, for 50k more, you get a 2.0 L engine and brilliant gearbox combo. Worth a thought

BTW, the FLuence is a fantastic car. I'd prefer it over the Elantra too. Althogh I really appreciate the way Hyundai has upped its quality and design game in the last few years. Prior to that, I used to dismiss Hyundais as 'bloody Koreans'

[TChandraShekar]

Originally Posted by Abhi_Automobile

You may want to consider the Jetta CL. Since you already like the 'euro tarits' in a car (handling,planted feel,quality quotient etc.), you'd appreciate the Jetta a lil more as well. Agreed that its 1 lakh costlier than Fluence, but that will get offset by 50k (corp disc. standard fare) and some other disc you may squeeze as well. So, for 50k more, you get a 2.0 L engine and brilliant gearbox combo. Worth a thought

BTW, the FLuence is a fantastic car. I'd prefer it over the Elantra too. Althogh I really appreciate the way Hyundai has upped its quality and design game in the last few years. Prior to that, I used to dismiss Hyundais as 'bloody Koreans'

Thank you for your suggestion. The Jetta is much better than the Fluence. But I need a car urgently in less than a month. Jetta's waiting period is more than 3 months. Thats the only reason I did not consider it.

Originally Posted by Adit

@TChandraShekar: Did you by any chance consider Chevrolet Cruze? I think its one of the best cars in this segment...

Yes. The Cruze is a fantastic car. But I need a very comfortable rear seat and the Cruze has limited leg and head room. Also the low ground clearance of Cruze is a problem with bad roads in our area. Finally Chevy's after sales is pathetic in my city. Beacause one my relatives who brought the earlier model are really suffering with availability of spares.

Mod team note: Back to back posts, please use Multi Quote (Quote +) instead.

[amidoc]

Originally Posted by TChandraShekar

Thank you for your suggestion. The Jetta is much better than the Fluence. But I need a car urgently in less than a month. Jetta's waiting period is more than 3 months. Thats the only reason I did not consider it.

hi how looking at the laura. good discounts are available on both he petrol and the diesel. you can also look at the automatic version

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by TChandraShekar

Thank you for your suggestion. The Jetta is much better than the Fluence. But I need a car urgently in less than a month. Jetta's waiting period is more than 3 months. Thats the only reason I did not consider it.

Depending on the color you may get delivery faster. I had to wait 5 months to get a white CL jetta. Call the dealer and ask if he has any CL readily available.

[TChandraShekar]

Mod team note: Back to back posts, please use Multi Quote (Quote +) instead. Thanks

Originally Posted by amidoc

hi how looking at the laura. good discounts are available on both he petrol and the diesel. you can also look at the automatic version

Hi. Thank You. Personally I don't like the rear view of Laura. It looks boring now a days. But I might consider it if they are giving serious discounts. Actually I called the local Skoda a month back and he did not mention any discounts. I might need to ask them again. Kindly let me how much are the discounts if you are aware of it. Thanks.

Originally Posted by shivasuma

Depending on the color you may get delivery faster. I had to wait 5 months to get a white CL jetta. Call the dealer and ask if he has any CL readily available.

Hi. I did call the local VW guys and they have a white trendline ready. It costs 18.30 lakhs on road. Its too basic for that kind of money. What do you say? And white or silver comfortline has a waiting period of minimum 3 months.

[shivasuma]

Originally Posted by TChandraShekar

Hi. I did call the local VW guys and they have a white trendline ready. It costs 18.30 lakhs on road. Its too basic for that kind of money. What do you say? And white or silver comfortline has a waiting period of minimum 3 months.

Trendline is too basic. Comfortline offers the best VFM amongst the variants. If its only driving pleasure you are looking for (not too worried about features), then TL might be fine, but I would say go for the CL.

[drasitkhanna]

Originally Posted by TChandraShekar

Mod team note: Back to back posts, please use Multi Quote (Quote +) instead. Thanks



Hi. Thank You. Personally I don't like the rear view of Laura. It looks boring now a days. But I might consider it if they are giving serious discounts. Actually I called the local Skoda a month back and he did not mention any discounts. I might need to ask them again. Kindly let me how much are the discounts if you are aware of it. Thanks.



Hi. I did call the local VW guys and they have a white trendline ready. It costs 18.30 lakhs on road. Its too basic for that kind of money. What do you say? And white or silver comfortline has a waiting period of minimum 3 months.

Your dilemma and dislikes seem to mirror mine... the rear of Laura is boring and the whole look is quite dated ( very old look and Taxi like from a European point of view), while the VW is unnecessarily expensive so out of reach. It's quite irritating , considering VW is the commoner's car(FOLKS WAGON literally ) in Germany while the POSH cars are the BMW and Porsche.. Build and ride Q aren't the only things , I need a good complete package("jack of all trades" as someone said some time back), so I have settled for the Elantra.

ALTHOUGH.. just one last Q remains . SX PETROL or DIESEL ?
My running is around 50 km a day and I have smaller diesel ( a Hyundai -- i20 !)
for running around. ( I guess HYundai should give me a medal or something for being a Fanboy !!)

[amidoc]

you can get upto a lakh for diesel and over 2 lakhs for petrol but 2011 version

[nilambuj]

Interesting news about Hyundai Elantra, not sure if this is true!! A severed ear for all that safety?

http://content.usatoday.com/communit...1#.UFfsu4lhic0

[vkaul1]

Originally Posted by drasitkhanna

Your dilemma and dislikes seem to mirror mine... the rear of Laura is boring and the whole look is quite dated ( very old look and Taxi like from a European point of view), while the VW is unnecessarily expensive so out of reach. It's quite irritating , considering VW is the commoner's car(FOLKS WAGON literally ) in Germany while the POSH cars are the BMW and Porsche.. Build and ride Q aren't the only things , I need a good complete package("jack of all trades" as someone said some time back), so I have settled for the Elantra.

ALTHOUGH.. just one last Q remains . SX PETROL or DIESEL ?
My running is around 50 km a day and I have smaller diesel ( a Hyundai -- i20 !)
for running around. ( I guess HYundai should give me a medal or something for being a Fanboy !!)

Excellent, you seem to have nailed down your final choice. And yes the Elantra does look like good VFM

Now regarding your Petrol vs Diesel dilemma - I understand your intent is to use the i20 for the runarounds & are OK with a petrol. Based on what I read from tsk1979s review of the short drive he had in the petrol seems like a very refined engine with a linear power delivery. Take a test drive & get a feel for yourself. The 1.8 petrol I feel might give you a better driving pleasure as compared to the 1.6 diesel especially considering that the petrol being a non-turbo would have minimal / no lag.

[drasitkhanna]

Originally Posted by vkaul1

Excellent, you seem to have nailed down your final choice. And yes the Elantra does look like good VFM

Now regarding your Petrol vs Diesel dilemma - I understand your intent is to use the i20 for the runarounds & are OK with a petrol. Based on what I read from tsk1979s review of the short drive he had in the petrol seems like a very refined engine with a linear power delivery. Take a test drive & get a feel for yourself. The 1.8 petrol I feel might give you a better driving pleasure as compared to the 1.6 diesel especially considering that the petrol being a non-turbo would have minimal / no lag.

Thanks , now I just need some guru type to give me a differential on the two cars driving and , if possible get a TD for myself !!

[drasitkhanna]

Just confirmed with Chevrolet dealer (Shiva motors) that there is no plan for any further modifications in the Cruze( had read about a touch screen audio + 2.2 litre upgrade coming).. So that lays to rest my ambitions for a Cruze...

And can anybody tell what would be the best time to book an Elantra( or any car for that matter) ? A HYundai guy asked me to wait for festive season offers, although I am not too sure there will be any on Elantra. I can wait if there's any such thing.