The Hindu : Business : Hyundai Getz aggressive

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 13, 2004

Business

Business

Hyundai Getz aggressive

THE FORMAL launch of the Hyundai Getz in Delhi on Friday takes the `feeding frenzy' among auto manufacturers to a brief plateau what with the earlier launch of the Bajaj Discover and the Honda Unicorn motorcycles and the imminent launch of the Tata Marina and the Ford Fusion.

The 3810 mm long Getz is in the B plus segment in terms of length, but is truly `smack bang' in the C class in terms of interior room, comfort, refinement and performance. In terms of all these it is at least a match for the Ford Ikon, the Maruti Esteem, or the Tata Indigo and even its own sibling, the Accent. I suspect that the Tata Marina, the station wagon derivative of the Indigo, will fare no better when it is launched on September 14. For example, realising that the length of the wheelbase is an important measure of interior room, particularly for rear passengers, at 2455 mm it is slightly longer than the Indigo and even the Accent or the new Honda City and more than 80 mm greater than that of the Esteem! Only the Ford Ikon, built on the stretched platform of a former European Fiesta, betters it in this regard.

On the other hand, its rear width of 1665 mm makes it comparable to the Accent, whose `shoulder width' is better than that of the Ikon, while the Honda City, at 1690 mm, is the leader in this group.

Distinctively attractive European styling makes the Getz the group leader, but ironically shows up the dated looks of the Accent. Incidentally, its modern front end is much more `pedestrian, particularly child friendly' in collisions than its rivals, thereby potentially reducing the mayhem on Indian roads.

Designed and built to the currently high European standards, the Getz is easily the best in class especially if the ABS (anti lock braking system) option is selected — and this is as applicable for its occupants as it is for other road users.

It is only with respect to luggage space that the Getz is inferior to its `three box' rivals, but how often does the typical `C-Class' car have a full load of five passengers and their baggage? In most other conditions, innovative packaging and split (60/40) folding rear seats are a perfect combination.

The four cylinder `Alpha' engine is not Hyundai's most modern, but is powerful and responsive and expected to be frugal as well, although no match for the new City in that respect. Talking of power, the 1341 cc Hyundai unit is more powerful, at nearly 83 hp, than the 1497 cc Honda mill, but the latter's peak is developed at a point 500 rpm lower, while its maximum torque is nearly 10 Newton metres more. On balance, the Honda engine is better but comes in a much more expensive package.

All in all, the competitively priced Getz is certain to set the `B plus and C' Indian car markets on fire. This segment is going to see even more action thanks to the massive price reductions that Ford and Hyundai have made to the Ikon and Accent recently, but this column would prefer to see the `sub 4 metre' class gain market share at the expense of their larger `3 box' brethren.

C. Manmohan Reddy

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