1823 miles and 33 days with my new basic 1.6 petrol Comfort model with 15? wheels. Press reception was lukewarm, for example:
--?The appearance is bland.? Only about the same as most modern similar-sized cars, including some BMWs, but optional black side strips set off the flanks.
-?The cabin is dull.? It is unobtrusive but the plastics are good and the fittings excellent, with some nice touches like the double-lidded armrest between the front seats with a small picnic table under the top lid and, below that, a capacious locker for camera, mobile phones etc. with a connection for i-Pods (USB cable supplied). The ashtray is illuminated (there?s posh!). Another nice touch is a parking or credit card holder just inside the lockable glove box. The latter can be cooled but there is a thoughtful warning that condensation might ?spoil your pieces of paper?. More touches include toggle switches in place of knobs or levers for the air controls and a very useful overhead sunglasses holder.
-?Noisy, and the engine booms at 4000 revs.? The engine seems unusually quiet up to 3000 revs. The engine note at 3400/70 mph is such that I keep feeing for a non-existent sixth gear but the main noise at this speed is from wind. The noise at 4000 revs is more that of a rorty sports exhaust and is seldom heard in practice, unless one drives regularly above 87 mph or so.
-?The electrical power steering does not have a linear response.? Not noticeable.
-?The ride is hard.? I would call this ?firm? but better than about 6 other cars I drove about the time, the Seat Ibiza being by far the worst. The basic model has 15? wheels. Some have 16? and I was driven for half an hour in one with 17? wheels, very uncomfortable. The effect must be greater with heavier diesels.
-?It struggles to keep up on the motorway.? Nonsense.
-?Blue dash display figures hard to read in daylight.? True, a daft idea, but there are only two figures normally, odometer and mpg to date.
The seats are comfortable for four but, although there are belts for 3 in the back, the centre seat is more like a soft-padded triple-width armrest or picnic table. 6 airbags are supplied. There are storage nets in the backs of the front seats. The steering wheel is adjustable both ways but with not quite enough reach for me. The ignition key is on the column and may rub against the right knee. There are 6 speakers but these do not, of course, prevent the frequent drop-outs on the two FM bands but the sound is good on CD, although there is no special disc storage.
The boot (?luggage room?) is also illuminated, a bit small for the size of the car but well fitted, with a removable net strung between four anchor points and two shopping bag hooks. There is an internal release on the lid, should one get shut in there by mistake (these Koreans think of everything?) The spare wheel is of the emergency type and the tools are housed in a moulding designed to stop them rattling. Wheels are alloy, with the nuisance of locking nuts but there is no choice and spare ordinary nuts are supplied.
One consequence of the firm suspension is that the car can be cornered with enthusiasm, tighter, faster and flatter than several sports cars I have owned. This is supplemented by ESP. A acceleration is good though not sparkling. Top speed is 120, for those wishing to chance their arm and licence. The gear change is still a bit notchy. The four-wheel disc brakes seem powerful to me but I had never driven a car with four to date. I do mostly medium and long journeys, keep mostly to speed limits, use block changes wherever feasible, have the aircon more on than off (otherwise the front windows mist up) and mpg to date, according to the computer, is 42.2 (although I make it 39 ) giving, if true, a useful range of nearly 500 miles. The exterior lights, which include front and rear fogs, are good. The warranty is for 5 years, unlimited mileage.
The only disappointment is a cheap-looking, after-market rear sensor set, with a feeble speaker which quickly fell off its mounting.
There is otherwise an impression of quality. The car is surprising fun to drive and amazingly well equipped, although one mean touch is the standard provision of only one remote key. (See my thread ?Hyundai i30 ? Daft spare keys arrangement? 7/4/08.) The cars were in short supply at the time and online discounters were offering little to nothing off. I was please to get an effective discount of about 8%, with the best price I expected on trade-in and the balance at 0% over three years. I paid another £130 for GAP insurance for 5 years and £10,000 of cover.
This is my 25th vehicle to date - so hard to find a car one really likes - but I may well keep it for a while.
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25 cars?, in how long?, you must be keeping motor dealers in profit, by yourself.
I keep a car 14 years, wring every once of value out of it , then sell it.
Then get a discounted replacement, ignore the flipperies and bling that are added to entice the gullible. reminds me of when lands were swapped for glass beads!
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