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S. Muralidhar

HYUNDAI'S pre-eminence as a manufacturer of good quality cars despite the fact that many of the company's products are not good-looking in the conventional sense of the term is in stark contrast to market expectations of the past three-four years. Of course, the consumer's tastes and design preferences have also been changing rapidly over the years, but there are still a few cars in Hyundai's stable that seem to be attractive only to Asians.

Yes, Hyundai does have cars like the Matrix that exude European charm and have been designed by the premier Italian design house — Pininfarina, but it also has cars like the Atos, which, at first sight, nearly border on being misshapen. But, uncannily, it is the more odd looking ones that have been successful in India. The Hyundai Atos, which was, with a few design changes, launched as the company's first car in India has met with spectacular success in the market.

The Sonata also took some flak for its design being a bit on the side of excess, though overall it was appreciated for being one of the most elegant in its price and size class. The Santro Xing and now the new Elantra are also strikingly different visually and though they seem odd at first glance, become endearing once you get used to the design.

Blend of Europe and Asia

The new Elantra is the epitome of the new face of Hyundai's design theme. A mélange of the straight (nearly staid) lines that European customers seem to prefer and the quirky, yet sinuous, curves of the Orient, this design theme has been changing consumer perceptions worldwide about Hyundai's cars. The greater acceptance of two of Hyundai's luxury mid-sizers — the Elantra and the Sonata — in the key American market is a indicator of this change in the car buyer's mind about Hyundai's new age design and styling cues.

To back that change in preferences, Hyundai has also ensured a consistent improvement in quality. No wonder then that in the latest J. D. Power and Associates' Initial Quality Study (IQS) Nameplate ranking, announced earlier this week, Hyundai has been rated the most improved nameplate with an improvement of 29 per cent, moving from 23rd position in 2003 up to seventh position in 2004.

The Elantra comes to Indian shores after a fairly successful resurgence in sales in the US and European markets. The redesigned Elantra was first manufactured and unveiled in May last year for the Korean market and has outperformed initial estimates in many of the other markets that it has since been launched in.

Quirky, but likeable design

Like we said, the Elantra's styling strikes you at first as being odd. The plunging bonnet grille with chrome-lipping, the clear-lens combination headlamps with matte-black housing (instead of the usual multi-reflector type) and individual low beam, high beam and turn indicator lamps, are all distinctive, but are also features that will make the car's exterior design a bit more difficult to fall in love with. In contrast, the fluid lines of the Toyota Corolla's exterior is not as distinctive, but is more likeable and unpretentious. That aside, the Elantra has generous exterior and interior proportions, but still manages to look compact due to near notchback design.

The clear lens, combination rear lamp clusters gel well with the short boot and add a touch of class to the car's rear design.

Aggression is writ clearly across the Elantra's face. The design seems to give it that "Want to take me on?" kind of looks. This could be typically the kind of design that the young car buyer will identify with, but the older chauffer-driven type customers in this segment may think that the car's design is too "on the face".

After all, the cars that are competition for the Elantra like the Toyota Corolla, the Skoda Octavia and the Mitsubishi Lancer are all good-looking in the conventional sense and feature straightforward design themes that are even clearly reflective of their parentage.

But if the Hyundai Elantra's design does not appeal to the stiff upper-lip gentleman, the features-to-value equation surely will. Knowing that the customer, even in this segment, wants to get the "most bang for his buck", Hyundai has packed the Elantra with electronic gadgetry and loads of active and passive safety features that the competition has not thought of offering in their cars.

Positioning and pricing have been the key factors for the success of Hyundai's products. In the case of the Elantra, too, Hyundai has positioned it squarely in the cusp between the C and D segments. Pricing wise it is in the higher end of the C segment, at the same time it is as feature rich as the average D segment sedan.

Balance of performance and comfort

With the competition in mind, Hyundai is offering two engine options for the Elantra. The two engine options being offered are a four-cylinder, in-line 1,795cc, double overhead camshaft (DOHC) petrol engine and a 1,991cc, common rail direct injected, 16-valve, single overhead camshaft diesel burner. The two-litre CRDi engine is the less powerful of the two pumping out 112.2PS at 4,000 rpm. The 1.8-litre MPFI petrol engine generates a maximum power of 127PS at 6,000 rpm, which puts it on a par with the 1ZZ-FE, 1.8 litre, VVT-i engine of the Toyota Corolla. However, the diesel engine is the more "torquey" of the two Elantra engines.

The CRDi engine also lives up to its reputation as refined performer. Together with the excellent NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) packaging, the diesel Elantra does not give away the difference in noise levels with its petrol driven sibling except at the high rev range. However, both the engines are just a shade sluggish in the low rev range and in the first two gears. Into the third and at higher rev ranges, the power available on demand is more than adequate.

Both these engine options are available with a five-speed manual gearbox currently. A four-speed automatic transmission option may be offered at a later date. The gearshift stick is short and is topped by an elegant, leather wrapped round gear knob with matte-silver garnish.

However, though the transmission is smooth, the slotting is prominent and the shorter shift stick gives it the feel of a longer throw into gear.

Suspension is independent MacPherson strut with gas-filled shock absorbers and coil springs in the front and dual link type with coil springs at the rear. Anti-roll bars have been fitted at both ends.

The suspension has been stiffened to handle Indian road conditions and to also provide for the low-slung riding position. The road clearance for the Elantra, unlike in the case of the Toyota Corolla, has not been raised to take on the speed-breakers on our roads. But the suspension does an excellent job of assisting the car's handling dynamics.

In fact, along with some of the other safety features such as the anti-lock braking system (ABS) with brake assist system (BAS), the electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and traction control, handling the Elantra is amazingly easy on the driver. Putting the car through the winding Ghat sections of NH 17, while test-driving it on the 400-km stretch from Mangalore to Goa, felt surprisingly sprightly. We did not feel the effort of driving as big a car as the Elantra. The car also came up with a nimble performance in the city. The greater control that the driver gets in the Elantra has also been improved by the effective power-assisted rack and pinion steering column.

Hyundai has also ensured that the Elantra's safety features assisted by increased electronics is much ahead of the competition. Safety features other than the ABS with BAS and EBD, include dual (driver and passenger) airbags in the front, projection type fog lamps, a clutch lock, impact sensing door locks, electro chromic internal rear view mirror that darkens to soften the impact of high beams on the driver's eye and ventilated disc brakes for the front wheels and solid discs for the rear. The front ventilated disc brakes also come with a brake pads wear warning device.

The dual airbags are depowered for safer and softer inflation. The Elantra's cabin has also been fitted with a passenger presence detector (PPD) that ensures that there is no unnecessary deployment of the passenger airbag in the event of a collision. Similarly, the EBD also ensures the precise distribution of braking force to the four wheels depending on the distribution of weight in the car and the amount of slippage that any one of the wheels is experiencing.

Luxurious interiors

The interior of the Elantra is luxurious, yet simple, with the instruments and controls neatly laid out for easy identification and use for the driver. The fake wood garnish on the centre facia, the four-spoke steering wheel and the multi-colour display instrument cluster are eye-catching features. However, "honk-happy" Indians may find the stiff plastic on the steering wheel difficult to use and the leather used to wrap the steering wheel is also too tight and smooth and tends to slip at times.

Numerous storage options have also been featured starting with the illuminated glove box and ash tray, the overhead sunglass case, the twin storage compartments in the front centre armrest and the ticket holder positioned high on the centre stack.

Other innovative storage options are a trunk cargo net, a spare tire storage tray, meshed storage pockets located on the backrests of the front seats and a shopping bag hook.

Some of the other convenience features in the Elantra include a glass antenna integrated into the rear windscreen, electrically adjustable outside rear-view mirrors, a dashboard power outlet, rear defogger with timer, high-end audio system with a 8-CD changer with six speakers, dual height adjustable driver seat and an air quality system. Some of these features are available only in the higher trim GLS variant.

Great value, but...

Priced at Rs 8.7 lakh for the lower trim GT variant and going up to Rs 10.5 lakh (both ex-showroom) for the CRDi variant, the Elantra is (as is always from Hyundai) good value for money. What the Elantra lacks in brand image is more than made up by the compelling value that it packs. The competition ( the Mitsubishi Lancer, the Chevrolet Optra and the Skoda Octavia) will have a tough time beating this combination of features at this price.

But for the Elantra it will still be an uphill task to take on the might of the Corolla brand in the minds of the informed car buyer in this segment.

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