[.anshuman]

The car: Elantra CRDi late 2006, 127000kms done.


Why Elantra? Why not Octavia/Civic?

Nov2007: After driving weak diesel Indica and a thirsty petrol Accent for years and 150k kms each my preferences were clear, First of all it had to a Diesel, it had to be fast, it should be involving to drive and it should be loaded.

I loved Civic but it was petrol, Octavia was diesel but was cramped, slower, louder and the base version did not offer much equipment plus the it was heavy to maintain.

Verna was considered but bouncy ride, light steering and poor handling turned me off. My friends owns one i have driven it for thousands of kms but i never liked this car except the Engine.

Only options left were either Elantra and Magnum, i drove both the cars i liked Elantra much better. Now the bad news Elantra was discontinued, I loved this car so much i was ready to buy a used car. Now my Uncle had a less than a year old absolutely brand new Elantra, but he was not ready to sell, A lot of tries later i convinced him to buy a Embera CRDi and this Elantra was all mine.



What i love about this car:

• Rev happy CRDi engine is absolutely a gem
• Very good Ground clearance
• Super High speed stablity
• Very flat and consistent high speed ride
• Tall gearing makes it very relaxed on highways
• Decent handling
• Fully loaded, Everything from TCS to ABS to Airbags onboard.
• Unreal braking performance
• Jerk free engine, Unlike Verna
• Spacious interiors
• Cheap to maintain
• Very good build, can take any amount of abuse and yet remains rattle free

What i did not like

• Steering feel spoils otherwise quite involving drive, though its weighs up adequately at speed.
• Spongy brake feel
• Low seating not so comfortable at rear
• Hard and slippery leather seats not to my taste
• Turbolag just like every other diesel car

Engine and Performance
The 1991cc Turbocharged intercooled common-rail direct injection diesel engine offers a very healthy torque of 249.8nm of torque from 1800-2800Rpm and 112.16bhp@ 4000Rpm. This engine was not designed by Hyundai but it bought from Detroit Diesel. It was one of first few CRDi engines to be offered in india after Accent CRDi, which had a 3cylinder version of this same engine.

The turbolag just like every turbo diesel is very much present and it annoys at times but mostly manageable unless you demand it to gather speed from 40-50kph in fifth gear. The engine is lazier below 1800 rpm but once the 1800Rpm barrier is crossed it pulls very well in all the gears. This engine unike Multijets has very good spread of power, it does not lose punch till 4000 rpm. Just like all other Hyundai diesel its a free revving engine and does not stressed near redline. This car goes all the way to speedo indicated 200kph and hits redline in Fifth gear.

The gearing is quite tall (though not as much as Embera or Cruze) sometimes it feels odd driving in lower gears in city but on highways the same taller gearing makes the cruising a pleasure. The 100kph in Fifth gear = Very relaxed 2000 rpm. Rarely on the highway at speeds above 80kph i find a reason to drop a gear, these modern diesels just love the top gear. The best way to enjoy the torque upshift early.

The engine now at 127000kms still feels as good as new, the FE and
performance is as good as when it was brand new.





Ride and Handling
This is the only Hyundai car sold in india with stiffer suspension, The result is not so great low speed ride, The ride gets better with speed and it does not feel bouncy unlike other Hyundai cars.This car does not like the deeper potholes, at times it crashes into them.

The composed high speed ride along with superb high-speed stability, torquey engine and taller gearing makes it a very good tool to cover highways.

Handling is decent with very good grip levels, though front heavy feel can be felt. The steering though adequately weighted does not feel so great, i feel it be slow.

One of the best part about this car are the brakes, its came with ABS and all wheel discs. The stopping power on the highways is very good and most of the times the ABS does not need to interfere, The brakes can be modulated very easily but the brake pedal has a spongy feel which takes some time getting used to.





Interiors and Equipment
The space in Elantra is very good, the front seats can be pushed all the way back. The drivers seat offers wide range of adjustments with lumbar suport adjustment as well. The low stance of the car makes the seating very low and in the rear the knees up position for taller passengers isnt the most comfortable. The shape of seats is very good, this car came with leather seats as standard, they are very easy to maintain compared to the fabric seats. I do not like the hard and slippery leather seats much, i would have preferred a softer material.

The equipment list is pretty good. This car also came with Automatic Climate control, i keep it fixed at ~24c all the year round. It proves very convenient in winters. The AC is very powerful, it takes much lesser time to cool compared to my other car Punto and my previous car Swift.

The OE audio system was poor, I the OE headunit with Pioneer p5000, Infinity reference Front component speakers powered by a JBL 2channel amplifier have been installed in the place of pathetic OE speakers. I also shifted the Sub-woofers from my previous car Pioneer premier 3004spl powered by two monoblocs to this car. I am not exactly a ICE guy, this setup is enough for me.





Fuel Efficiency

Highway with heavy foot-14-15kpl
Highway with light foot- 16-18kpl
City heavy foot- 11-13kpl
City light foot- 14-16kpl


Ownership Experience

My Elantra has done around 127000kms. The ownerships experience till now has been trouble free with no major problems. A service at 10k kms interval costs around 4-5k Rupees on an average.

The car was serviced at specified intervals at Superon Hyundai, Gurgaon. The quality of service here is excellent, the staff here is very good. They accept my car even on some busiest Sunday afternoon without appointment and still deliver the car on time. I never had to leave my car in workshop overnight. Driving a discontinued car i never like it, most spares are available off the shelf, the rare ones are arranged real quick. I rate Superon and Hyundai india 10/10 for service support.




Trouble so far
The clutch and pressure plate gave up at 62000kms, Replacement job cost me ~15k all included.

The rubber parts in Suspension, tie-end joints, one leaking strut changed at 1,00,000kms Cost:~15k Rupees

The AC coil failed twice, within one year interval after warranty was over. Cost:~4k Rupees each time.

The blower fan relay has given up now, part arranged within 4 days. Cost:~4k Rupees.




The car now at 127000kms on the odo still has the new car feel, even after a lot of abuse the car does not rattle. The only thing that speaks of its age is the odometer.

[Aarman_008]

Hi Anshuman,

Nice review with detailed pictures of the Elantra. This is one another car that was not properly marketed by Hyundai which resulted in poor sales figures and ultimately led to discontinuation of the model.

I have driven the Elantra once and thats when I really started loving these CRDi engine and found it much more refined than the 3 cylinder Accent CRDi engine.

Congrats and Enjoy your ride.

[extreme_torque]

Nicely put report! A very underrated car especially the discounted rates it sold for at the end of its time.

[phamilyman]

Kicka$$ report of a truly kicka$$ car ( I still recall Tadu's logs )

[jkdas]

One of the most under-rated car's sold in India. Some are lucky to have it. The same engine is found in many cars in various tune; this should have been the most powerful national engine

Good job with the ownership experience

A question: why didnt you try Pete's ?

[narchennai]

Thats a great review ANSHUMAN.. I too own a Feb'2006 CRDI with 60k in the odo now, its still going great and the only cost that i incurred is that of a suspension change job at 50k which costed 20k. Its a superb INDIAN CAR indeed.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Aarman_008

Hi Anshuman,

Nice review with detailed pictures of the Elantra.

I found it much more refined than the 3 cylinder Accent CRDi engine.

Thanks a lot, Yes Elantra is much more refined and reliable than Accent CRDi.

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

Nicely put report! A very underrated car especially the discounted rates it sold for at the end of its time.

Thank you Sir, Yes i agree, the last stock of Elantra went for as much as a top end ANHC.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Kicka$$ report of a truly kicka$$ car ( I still recall Tadu's logs )

Thanks Hitanshu, Elantra surely is a kicka$$ car, the only ones who criticise it are the ones who have not driven this car properly. Its a perfect allrounder.

Originally Posted by jkdas

One of the most under-rated car's sold in India. Some are lucky to have it. The same engine is found in many cars in various tune; this should have been the most powerful national engine

Good job with the ownership experience

A question: why didnt you try Pete's ?

Thank you Sir, I agree Elantra is the most underrated car, This engine in a different state of tune with VGT powers Sonata Transform now rated at ~150bhp.

I almost bought a Pete's box from a fellow bhpian, but i dropped the plan last moment as the car has become older now, reliability is of utmost importance to me now.

Originally Posted by narchennai

Thats a great review ANSHUMAN..

I too own a Feb'2006 CRDI with 60k in the odo now, its still going great.

Thanks and Congrats on being a fellow Elantra owner, 60k is quite low mileage for Elantra. My friend owns one with 200k+ on the clock and its doing great.

My Service advisor says he has never seen a Engine job on Elantra, though gurgaon has quite a lot of Elantra and a lot them come them for Servicing.



I have skipped some parts just to keep the review short, will post soon.

[simply_sunny001]

congrats Anshuman,

thats a wonderfully maintained car and no doubt Elantra Crdi is an all rounder.

i think i have seen this car at least 2-3 times around B'garh going towards rohtak/hisar.

is that you ?

[ph03n!x]

A beautiful report on a beautiful car- those who think Hyundai Diesels wont last 100000 on the clock, think again

Another underdog from the Hyundai stable, one whose glory was sung after demise... Long live Hyundai Diesels

[Fordmanchau]

A very nice put detailed report with pictures of the car thrown in at regular interval!!
Congratulations for having owned a Elantra.An Elantra with 200K kilometers on odo was unheard of. Great that the car has turned out so well .

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

congrats Anshuman,
thats a wonderfully maintained car.

i think i have seen this car at least 2-3 times around B'garh going towards rohtak/hisar.
is that you ?

Thanks a lot, Yes I am a regular on NH-10, that was me driving.

Originally Posted by ph03n!x

A beautiful report on a beautiful car- those who think Hyundai Diesels wont last 100000 on the clock, think again

Thank you, The only Hyundai Diesel sold in India with reliablity issue was Accent CRDi.

Originally Posted by Fordmanchau

A very nice put detailed report with pictures of the car thrown in at regular interval!!
Congratulations for having owned a Elantra.An Elantra with 200K kilometers on odo was unheard of. Great that the car has turned out so well .

Thank you.

[ph03n!x]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Thank you, The only Hyundai Diesel sold in India with reliablity issue was Accent CRDi.

Yup.. and that's the one that caused a perception that so many still have about Hyundai Diesels

[RX135]

Your car seems to be really neatly maintained. Looks nice!

I have read a lot about Elantra's abilities on several threads.

3-4 years back, I had encountered an Elantra CRDi somewhere near Solapur on empty winding road. We had a bit of "fun", during which, there were 2-3 distinct occasions, when the car had to brake and its rear end skidded bit out of line. I could notice that, the driver gave up on pushing the car after 3rd incident.

I don't know if that is characteristic of Elantra (heavy diesel nose?) or was it just that, that particular car had very poor rear tyres leading to loss of grip.

@.anshuman, what is your take?

[sushanthr77]

Lovely report there! Brilliant car for Indian conditions. You seem to have maintained it very well. Looks good to run a lot more!

Got your reasoning for not Peting this car but what about the Punto ;-) ? Any particular reasons for not plugging the chip?

[unni.ak]

Great report. You have taken good care of the car. Elantra remains one of my fav cars. The lovely diesel engine, the stability at high speed, if only it was marketed better. I'm sure the car will serve you well for a long time to come.