| Think
back about eleven years, and remember motorists
all over Australia sniggering at a new name,
stumbling over its pronunciation and predicting
its demise. "Heye-oon-deye ? Weird name -
it'll never last..." It must be hereditary, or something
in the water, because the previous generation of
Aussies had said exactly the same thing about
Japanese cars.
It admittedly seemed easy
to dismiss those `86 model Hyundai Excels for
their indifferent finish and crude on-road
manners, but the big Korean manufacturer showed
itself to be a fast learner and was soon
producing cars that made it a power to be
reckoned with.
Making full use of the
"value for money" strategy, introducing
driveaway pricing and generally cutting prices to
the bone, Excel has remained its most potent
weapon in the sales war. Which made it all the
more interesting to meet the new Excel LX
5-door.
Literally a face-lift of
the previous model, which if anything suffered a
bit of design over-kill around its intricately
sculpted nose, this has cleaner lines around the
bumper and a fluted hood for an added touch of
class (sorry, the $13,990 driveaway 3-door keeps
its old flat-sheet hood) but both retain the same
1.5 litre engine and transmission that already
powers so many Excels.
There are no drastic
changes inside either, where Hyundai continues
showing far more restraint than in the past when
choosing trim fabrics, using tasteful hues
instead of neon-bright colours.
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Cleaner styling is the new Hyundai Excel's major
distinguishing feature.
Instrumentation in the LX is basic and
uncluttered.
A good-sized hatch, and with easy access.
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| The 5-door LX does
well for interior roominess, with accommodation for four
average sized adults without getting too intimate, and
there is actually some decent legroom. Importantly for
the big-footed among us, it has good space around the
pedals. Acceptable
luggage space too, with a hatch that opens high for easy
access and has a low lip for easy loading of the weekly
shopping.
No surprises among the controls,
which are all sensibly located for ease of use, and Excel
is an easy car to become familiar with.
As the base model, LX is modestly
equipped with wind-up windows, lever-control exterior
mirrors and basic instrumentation. Niceties like a
passenger vanity mirror, or power thingamijigs, are
reserved for the up-spec GLX, but even the LX has air
conditioning.
Power and torque delivered by the
1.5 litre engine are both adequate to get it moving
without struggle, and once mobile it is actually quite a
nippy performer. It develops noticeable body tilt at
speed in corners, but remains well balanced at moderate
speeds and is easily controlled thanks to the standard
power assisted steering.
Despite occasionally being pushed
perhaps a little harder than it would have liked on test,
the LX returned an acceptable average fuel consumption of
9 L/100kms (31 mpg).
Hyundai has come to dominate the
Australian compact 4 / 5 door market, which is now
becoming more hotly contested than ever before, with so
many competitors old and new.
But having carved an extremely
healthy share of the market by emphasising "value
for money", Hyundai won't relinquish its position
easily to the influx of new arrivals. That may be why
even the LX now has air conditioning included in its
"driveaway" price.
 Nuts-N-Bolts
|
| Engine: 1.5
litre (1495cc) inline 4 cylinder, SOHC with
multipoint fuel injection. |
| Power - Torque:
66kW @ 5600rpm - 131Nm @ 3050rpm. |
| Transmission:
5-speed manual or 4-speed auto (optional), front
wheel drive. |
| Suspension:
Front - MacPherson struts. Rear - multilink with
coil springs. |
| Steering:
Power assisted rack and pinion. |
| Brakes: front
discs, rear drums. |
| Wheels - Tyres:
5.0 x 13inch steel - 175/70. |
| Warranty:
Three years / 100,000 kms. |
| Recommended
Retail: $17,990 drive-away. |
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