40 years ago the Hyundai Motor Corporation created its first car — the Pony — and it was a dismal failure.
The few cars that were shipped to Nigeria (and a handful of other countries) experienced a host of problems, which included the vinyl peeling off the roof as a result of the harsh African sun.
Korean founder Chung Ju Yung went back to the drawing board and created the Pony II, which was a vast improvement on the model it replaced. Yung vowed that one day Hyundai Motor Corporation would be as successful and influential as Japanese rivals Toyota — and he’s been pursuing this goal in a cut-throat, take-no-prisoners fashion since the launch of the Pony. To illustrate the point, a senior Hyundai employee quoted in a book about the founder said Yung worked 16-hour days, seven days a week for 16 years without taking a single holiday.
Hmm. I wonder how Yung would have fared in South Africa, where union leaders are prone to inciting the workforce to show who’s in control of South Africa’s masses. But, I digress.
Fast forward 40 years and Hyundai has evolved into a motoring brand to be reckoned with. The fact that Hyundai is the fastest-growing global brand should be cause for concern, not only for Toyota, but for any vehicle manufacturer. A senior Toyota employee remarked recently that the Japanese don’t fear Ford, GM or the like, but they do fear Hyundai.
The first impression one gets of the new Elantra is that it is a huge improvement on its predecessor and it looks uncannily like a mini Lexus IS 250. It’s all smooth contours, sloping angles and an overall appearance that is pleasant enough without being risqué.
Inside it’s a comfy, small sedan with all the mod-cons that you expect of a car at this level: dual airbags, ABS, EBD, electronic windows and more.
For now the Elantra is available in 1,6-litre and 2,0-litre derivatives in either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. Motoring scribes were given the opportunity to drive only the 1,6-litre, because Hyundai believes this will prove to be the more popular option.
During our drive around Gauteng I noticed that the transmission was decent enough, but the engine was unnaturally noisy. At 120kph the revs were around the 3 500rpm mark, but it sounded as if it was closer to 4 500rpm or even 5 000rpm. What the engine lacks in finesse, however, it compensates for in performance. The Elantra 1,6-litre was pretty sporty under duress.
Prices range from R159 900 for the 1,6-litre manual, which pushes out 89kW of power and 153Nm of torque, to R179 900 for the 2,0-litre five-speed manual, which produces 105kW of power and 186Nm of torque.
The automatic transmission isn’t an option on the 2,0-litre and Hyundai says that, depending on customer queries, it will consider adding a diesel to the range at a later stage.
The Elantra is a comfortable, safe and capable car that has an impressively high specification level, but I’m not so sure that Hyundai is giving this vehicle the best chance of making an impressive impact on the small sedan market. The pricing isn’t as competitive as some other successful Hyundai offerings, such as the Tucson, Accent and Getz.
While being an ambitious brand that is churning out great vehicles, Hyundai still has a long way to go to match the reputation, resale and reliability of more established brands and it shouldn’t be too hasty in making its products too expensive. Its main selling point has always been that a Hyundai is great value for money. To lose that would be a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, and we wouldn’t want to see that happening to a brand with so much promise.
The Elantra range comes standard with a three-year/100 000km factory warranty and a three-year/60 000 maintenance plan.