My Hyundai Getz 1.5 CRDI MT ownership review: My Road Rocket

We kept the car for 4.5 years, with me being the primary driver. I still miss the car even now (12 years later).

BHPian JoseTheScorpion recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Car Details
Hyundai Getz crdi 1.5 GVS MT (Midnight Grey colour)

A little History
The two cars we had before Getz, were the M800 and the Santro.

You can find the complete details in the below links:

M800 – https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...uti-800-a.html

Santro - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...fore-xing.html

Well, things started to get interesting after the year 2008, with me having a good experience of driving and with a zero-accident record(touchwood), my Dad and me were both on top of the world. Dad was happy as he got a free driver, car cleaner, car scratch remover…etc. Basically, he didn’t need to take any tension for any matter relating to the car.

I was happy as I loved to do all these things. Taking 1-2 hrs to clean the car, using home remedies to remove scratches, using coconut oil(it really works), taking the car to service and staying there to observe everything being done to the car. Thinking I am an expert driver, I almost started to drive in a rash manner. Dad, also stopped saying anything to me, seeing that I have a good control on the car and of course, when he is in the car, I used to drive like a gentleman.

How did Getz come to life?
So now, suddenly after 8 years, of upkeeping the car in pristine condition, with a few scratches and dents (Thanks to Dad ), I somehow got bored of the car. We also incurred some heavy service costs, like change of clutch, AC overhaul. Etc. Also, me, my elder brother, my mom and Dad, all were working, so financially we got a little comfortable, therefore the boring angle came to picture.

Well, I wanted to upgrade to the Verna which was recently launched, but my Dad was like, it’s too big and bulky for the limited parking space we had. So, obviously the next best thing for either the Getz or Accent. I was so happy with Hyundai, that I didn’t even look elsewhere. Also, the CRDI technology was making headlines, with Verna’s excellent pickup and good mileage discussions, in most auto magazines. Seeing that the 1.5 CRDI engine was now fitted to a smaller hatchback (Getz), I was very much interested to check out the acceleration. Also, most of the auto journalist had named it the “poor man’s Ferrari” or “Road rocket” with the ability to reach 0-60kmph within 4.5 seconds, it was “FAST”.

Though I didn’t get a chance to test drive it, I was lucky to sit in one of my friend’s Getz CRDI. I was head over heels for the car. It was a little expensive (6lakh for a hatchback? in 2008) and Dad needed some convincing, but lucky me!, we did buy it eventually. We had a lot of issues with the loan approval which caused a 2-month delay.

Had many other plans, for long drives, but I was young and had to take permission for all long drives, so couldn’t do the Delhi-Leh and Delhi-Kerala dream drives.

Likes
• Ride quality, if you have not sat in a Getz, you will never know. Its has a magic carpet feel. Every Getz owner will surely agree
• Performance – 0 to100 in 8.5 secs. Is there anything else to say? The Jet-thrust effect(235NM torque @1900 RPM), which banged your head to the headrest each time I accelerated.
• High speed stability – Phew!!
• I loved the “Getz Prime” look, not the older “Getz”, it had a boxier look.
• Space inside, headroom, legroom, shoulder room, it had easily more space than any other car in its segment or even higher.
• The gears were silk, never drove another car with such a nice shift feel.
• All round visibility, as the dashboard and steering was low and the driver always has a bird eye view.
• 4-star safety rated car in 2008 was a big thing.
• The only Hyundai Jeremy Clarkson liked and also compared it to the VW Golf.

Dislikes
• Brakes. It had the brakes of a scooter, used to overheat in minutes. Off course I was cruel to them as well.
• FE – well can’t complain on that, but other diesel cars, like swift and Punto were getting much higher (18+kmpl)
• It had a blistering pickup in a straight line, but its dynamics were poor, I had a close shave many times, on turns and high-speed lane changes.

I am also attaching a video of my road rocket – Smoothy(Pet Name). In the video, I have shared some funny incidents and how I convinced my family to buy this road-rocket.

https://youtu.be/l3JwO8wjKlY?si=T5z6JmhmEUTu059J

And now coming to all the photos

Delhi - Ahmedabad trip 2009 - (the young me)

Somewhere near Jaipur

Lunch break

Snack break

Random pic

before and after trip

30k kms up

Delivery day pics, year 2008. I was so excited, that both me and Dad forgot to take pics with the car. I ended up taking only the car's pics. Loved the colour.

Gifted new shoes to Smoothy after 40k kms (Yokohama) front
Attachment 2686636

Gifted new shoes to Smoothy after 40k kms (Yokohama) rear

The best stereo fitted to any of my cars

Perfect idle RPM

The following pics are after I sold the car. The new owner was so happy to own Smoothy, that he gifted the car new alloys and shared the pics with me.

ISSUES

• No major issues. Once, I think, the power steering fluid leak started from under the steering wheel, but it was fixed by Hyundai A.S.S. on the same day.
• Brake pads were a regular change for my driving style, so it was basically my fault and not the Smoothy's fault.

We kept the car for 4.5 years, with me being the primary driver. I still miss the car even now (12 years later). It had an X factor which I cannot explain and have not seen in other cars that I have owned. We bought the car for 6lakhs in Delhi and sold it for 3.6 Lakhs after using it for 4.5 years, which sounded a good deal if you ask me.

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