[Surferdude]

So, it’s now a bit over 6 months since I took delivery of my 2 litre SX manual.
Do I like it? I sure do. In fact I have to say I love it.

I like the following.

1.   Seating/ driving position which is just right for my 6’2’ frame. Especially like the steering column’s ability to be able to move in and out (had to show the salesman how to do this).
2.   There is comfortably more rear leg room than in my Subarus (Liberty and Impreza) but marginally less than my wife’s 2005 Corolla sedan.
3.   Hyundai Oz has done a great job with the suspension; stiffer, good road feedback and feel, responsive steering and I’m a convert to the progressive steering rate.
4.   I’ve had only good dealings with Hyundai so far.
5.   It’s amazing how often someone has said to me something along the lines of, “how can you fit that long surfboard (9’3”) in there?” Passenger seat laid back, RHR seat laid forward and the board sits on top of the dash and there’s still room between the back of it and the closed hatch.
6.   It’s just simply fun to drive.
7.   Being a part of this forum.
8.   The demister external mirrors
9.   Smoothest and so far most dependable cruise control I’ve ever had.

What Don’t I like.

1.   Gear change is a bit notchy but not so it’s a major problem and to be honest, the harder you work it, the better it works.
2.   The boot light as discussed elsewhere.
3.   Only down side to the suspension is it is exceptionally noisy over bridge expansion joints – but a small price to pay.
4.   Not rapt in the Hankooks (but, hey I had 30 years with Goodyear so I’m always gonna be picky.)
5.   The hatch closes very easily but it doesn’t feel firm as it does it.
6.   Probably the worst thing of all is that I haven’t yet found a good excuse for a really long drive (to Sydney or Cairns or somewhere equally far away). That’s something I’ve got to look forward to.

[agentr31]

6.   Probably the worst thing of all is that I haven’t yet found a good excuse for a really long drive (to Sydney or Cairns or somewhere equally far away). That's something I've got to look forward to.

lol thats not a bad thing! take a few days off work and take a slow run up to cairns!!

[wardfam]

I agree with you Trev , but I'm 6' 2" and i think the seat height could go down a fraction more, i still feel a bit high in the seat , Cheers Craig  

[Dazzler]

Great review Trev (I think the notchy gear change will continue to improve)

[Surferdude]

6.   Probably the worst thing of all is that I haven’t yet found a good excuse for a really long drive (to Sydney or Cairns or somewhere equally far away). That's something I've got to look forward to.

lol thats not a bad thing! take a few days off work and take a slow run up to cairns!!

Don't have any work to take time off from. I'm retired. 8)
Still a bit miserly with my money though (Scottish heritage  ), so I prefer to have a reason to go any distance these days.

[agentr31]

haha yer im a bit tight with money as well

3.   Hyundai Oz has done a great job with the suspension; stiffer, good road feedback and feel, responsive steering and I’m a convert to the progressive steering rate.

Interesting you mention the steering. I also think it's good but... when I get to highway speeds it stiffens to the point of being damned annoying. Frankly, one of the reasons I pump my front tyres hard up is to improve the steering weight at higher speeds.

Steering on a highway/freeway/motorway requires gentle pressure more than actual movement to negotiate sweeping corners or camber changes but I find I need to apply greater than "gentle" pressure which in turn leads to an imperceptible over-correction, with the result that the car often tracks a course that meanders left and right of the direct course. If you know what I mean.

I would describe the (unassisted at speed) steering as wooden! Around the suburbs, excellent. Highway: still good but to me, disappointing.

[eye30]

3.   Hyundai Oz has done a great job with the suspension; stiffer, good road feedback and feel, responsive steering and I’m a convert to the progressive steering rate.

Interesting you mention the steering. I also think it's good but... when I get to highway speeds it stiffens to the point of being damned annoying. Frankly, one of the reasons I pump my front tyres hard up is to improve the steering weight at higher speeds.

The settings can be altered slightly to improve steering feel.

Ask at dealers and see what the say

[bumpkin]

Nice review and as Dazz says the gearchange will get better, mine seems to be smoother everyday at the moment and is almost as good as the Imprezas now, although reverse can still be a tad sticky

[Mutley]

Nice review and as Dazz says the gearchange will get better, mine seems to be smoother everyday at the moment and is almost as good as the Imprezas now, although reverse can still be a tad sticky

Good to hear cos my 1st and 3rd have that notchy feeling. Dealer has my car today and I mentioned this but I thought it was prolly cos it's only 2 weeks old and should get better.

surferdude: How many kms have you done in your 6 months?

[Surferdude]

Nice review and as Dazz says the gearchange will get better, mine seems to be smoother everyday at the moment and is almost as good as the Imprezas now, although reverse can still be a tad sticky

Good to hear cos my 1st and 3rd have that notchy feeling. Dealer has my car today and I mentioned this but I thought it was prolly cos it's only 2 weeks old and should get better.

surferdude: How many kms have you done in your 6 months?

I'll top 9,000 klm this week.
RE the gearchnge, as covered elsewhere, it's only the 1st to 2nd and it's only occasionaly. The quicker I change, the smoothere it is as the revs are better matched. It's not bad enough to go get something done about it. In fairness, the rest of the up changes and ALL the downshifts are extremely smooth.

[2i30s]

my car did the same thing,notchy 1st to 2ND.the dealer couldn't find anything wrong with my car,but amazingly when i got it back from them it hasn't done it again. 

[Dazzler]

Maybe worth a transmission oil change at the 15000 service  (although by then maybe worn in)

[Mutley]

My gearchange is a bit notchy from 2nd to 1st and 2nd to 3rd. Dealer had it today but said it feels like that cos it needs to be bedded in. I just need to wait til I've done more kms! Going on an average of 1500 kms in 2 weeks I'll get there pretty fast! hehe

[agentr31]

lol i thought my 600km in a week was epic!

[ozsnowman]

My gear change is still a bit notchy in the 1st-2nd change when motor/gearbox is cold. When it heats up it's pretty smooth

[eye30]

My gear change is still a bit notchy in the 1st-2nd change when motor/gearbox is cold. When it heats up it's pretty smooth

It's to do with the cable system they use.

If you look in the engine and follow the cables you'll see they don't run straight.  This causes the notchy feel.

My gear change is still a bit notchy in the 1st-2nd change when motor/gearbox is cold. When it heats up it's pretty smooth

It's to do with the cable system they use.

If you look in the engine and follow the cables you'll see they don't run straight.  This causes the notchy feel.

Sorry Eye, don't think this is right. Without even looking at the cables, they are, I assume, bowden cables which by design do not need to run "straight".

My take is that "notchiness" may just be related to the initial pressure required to engage the synchro rings, which should free up with use. Actual "tooth snicking" would more likely be that the "throw" required to fully engage the gears is lacking and that would be rectified by cable adjustment to ensure sufficient travel.

[eye30]

When I had my Accent I had this problem with the gear change.

I had 2 gear boxes and they even replaced all the synco bits and although it got better it was never "smooth".

In the end, after being looked at by a Hy Techi, they came back with the explaination I gave above.

[snowcherry]

hey great review there! i'm at seven months myself

i have quibbles - mostly creaks, and my stereo carked it, hyundai don't seem to acknowledge my creaks or steering concerns.
i'm still settling into the car, would you believe i don't think i've found my ideal seating position yet, i still haven't 'moved into' the car yet either, not yet trying out every single thing in it, only put the back seats down just a couple weeks ago for e.g.. i don't like the tyres (changeable) and road noise, and i do think the steering is not quite right. economy is not as great as i'd like.

however i'm still in a honeymoon phase with my car!
i still catch myself coming out of shops and thinking 'gee thats a sexy car' then feeling chuffed because its mine. i anguish over every chip and scratch. i get into the car and feel a warm glow about my half leather seats and how much i love the gear knob. i love the blue lights and the 'auto'ness' of it all. i love the solid feel of the car and the little growl she has when i accelerate quickly.
i just love this car, faults and all. i'm not a car expert, Snow is only my second car ever in fact, and my first new car.

6.   Probably the worst thing of all is that I haven’t yet found a good excuse for a really long drive (to Sydney or Cairns or somewhere equally far away). That's something I've got to look forward to.

lol thats not a bad thing! take a few days off work and take a slow run up to cairns!!

Still a bit miserly with my money though (Scottish heritage  ), so I prefer to have a reason to go any distance these days.

hah i'll give you a reason! 
come up and tell me what you think of my cars steering, doesn't feel tight to me on the highway but flighty as

[Dazzler]

The wife just asked me where I was going at this hour of the night  

[snowcherry]

you know writing the post i just knew i'd get some smart arse comment
so i was going to add [just the car boys just the car] but then thought perhaps only my mind was dirty and all yours wouldn't be 



 

[Surferdude]

Re my gear change, I have read previous stuff on here about the same issue. I agree it's more likely I'm beating the synchros than an adjustment issue.
As I said, if I give it a bit of stick and pay attention to what I'm doing, it's smooth as..
However, there's also a part of the problem which is just me. For as long as I've been driving, 1st to 2nd, regardless of the car has been more difficult the more I try to do it smoothly.
It's certainly not anywhere nearly bad enough to make a special trip to the dealer.

Re steering noises, when I turn off the sound system I can hear the electric motor whirring at the base of the steering coumn.
There have been a couple of minor rattles/ squeaks but nothing persistent enough to warrant a hunt. Oh! Apart from thet bloody rear seat  belt buckle which can knock on the side of the car when going round corners if it hasn't retracted properly after someone gets out. East fixed.

On another note, I've been working in Brisbane this week helping set up a new tyre shop at Enoggera and took the time to put my car up and rotate the tyres. 9,000 klms up so close enough to 10,000.
There has been an extremely slight tendency to wander left since new. I've been watching the tyre wear and it hasn't indicated any issue.
There's only very minor feathering on the outside of the LHF which is to be expected with roundabouts etc.
However, since the rotation, the car tracks perfectly so the issue must have been a minor conicity problem with one of the front tyres.
One less thing to worry about. And I didn't need to do a wheel alignment.

[agentr31]

i'm not a car expert, Snow is only my second car ever in fact, and my first new car.

my first new car as well lol! *high fives*

you know writing the post i just knew i'd get some smart arse comment
so i was going to add [just the car boys just the car] but then thought perhaps only my mind was dirty and all yours wouldn't be 

*shifty eyes* LOL l thought something else too...