2012 Hyundai Elantra Advice Needed

[dyllindd]

Hi Everyone,

I currently drive a 2007 MB CLK500. I am looking to move to a cheaper vehicle as the Petrol price and work driving (Big 4 Consultant) is really taking a toll on my budget. I am considering a 2012 Hyundai Elantra 1.8 GLS Auto.

I know that it won 2012 compact saloon of the year, however I want the real world opinions.

How is the reliability and fuel consumption? Also, are spare parts easy to find? I am just concerned about the Hyundai Auto Transmission but would love one for all the traffic everyday.

I am an avid DIY'er and have maintained all of my cars up to date. But I have never had a vehicle out of the Hyundai stable. So just need your opinions on the vehicle, please.

Thank you

 

[PhireSide]

I believe @Hamster used to own one around that model year, hopefully he will chime in soon!

I myself have a 2011 i30 1.6 that has been uber reliable thus far with 243'000km on the odo. The 1.8 in auto guise might be a bit heavier on juice than expected so keep that in mind or check similar models on www.fuelly.com for real-world stats as opposed to inflated manufacturer figures.

Good luck.

 

[Hamster]

Indeed I did (GLS Auto). Best car I ever owned, hands down. The only extras I added was Smash and Grab and leather seats, it came with almost everything else. I traded it in for a Jazz about a year ago and I'm considering getting the new Elantra at the moment. After a car like that the whole B-Segment is ruined.

The only issue I ever had was the steering wheel flaking. Gave Hyundai a call and had a new one about 3 or so weeks later (if memory serves anyway).

The auto box is smooth for the regular every day driver. I'm sure some petrolhead will tell us different but hey, this is not a petrolhead car. It's a very comfortable and effortless ride especially in town.

Fuel consumption: in town it was in the 8's, best was close to 6. I only ever tracked half the mileage but - http://www.fuelly.com/car/hyundai/elantra/2012/hamster/135501

 

[dyllindd]

Indeed I did (GLS Auto). Best car I ever owned, hands down. The only extras I added was Smash and Grab and leather seats, it came with almost everything else. I traded it in for a Jazz about a year ago and I'm considering getting the new Elantra at the moment. After a car like that the whole B-Segment is ruined.

The only issue I ever had was the steering wheel flaking. Gave Hyundai a call and had a new one about 3 or so weeks later (if memory serves anyway).

The auto box is smooth for the regular every day driver. I'm sure some petrolhead will tell us different but hey, this is not a petrolhead car. It's a very comfortable and effortless ride especially in town.

Fuel consumption: in town it was in the 8's, best was close to 6. I only ever tracked half the mileage but - http://www.fuelly.com/car/hyundai/elantra/2012/hamster/135501

Thanks Hamster. Im currently on 17L/100km in town and 12L/100km on the Highway.

May I ask, how is the car maintenance wise. For parts and service? Reason I ask is that Im probably going to take a significant loss on the vehicle in the finance shortfall.

 

[Hamster]

Thanks Hamster. Im currently on 17L/100km in town and 12L/100km on the Highway.

May I ask, how is the car maintenance wise. For parts and service? Reason I ask is that Im probably going to take a significant loss on the vehicle in the finance shortfall.

Can't tell you that. It was on a 5 year service plan an I had it for about 4.5 years.

Never needed to have the brakes or anything replaced. Best is to phone a Hyundai dealership and ask them. I can imagine, depending on the mileage, that the cam belt replacement will happen soon.

Also, like you mentioned, if the autobox should go it'll be out of warranty which could end up being very expensive. But that's true for any car.

 

[PhireSide]

Speaking under correction but I believe the 1.8 Nu engine uses a timing chain rather than a belt, so that is one less expense to have to deal with when the time comes.

You can get most Hyundai parts for cheap. The dealers quoted me R1800 for a pair of drop links a while back. I found the same parts at DAR Automotive for R580 a set. The parts seem to be pretty easy to find too, and http://koreanboyz.co.za/ may be able to help out as well if you are in the area.

 

[chickenbeef]

The old lady is looking at getting a "new" car and this seems to be the best bang for buck option (less than 5 years old and in the R130k - R140k range).

The auto box is a bit lazy in manual mode (the gear shifts are quite slow), doesn't really matter though as it isn't a performance car. In auto mode it's quite smooth.

We had a look at 4 so far and were quite impressed - just haven't found the right deal as yet in terms of condition and price Hoping more will be available on the secondhand market soon as the service plans would have expired this year.

I think the 2011 models had the flaky steering wheel issue, 3 of the 4 we test drove were 2012 models and the steering wheels were fine. Also from looking at ads everyday I can pretty much tell which is a 2011 model just by looking at the pics of the steering wheel. There are also numerous reports online about the issue.

Fuelly show's an average fuel consumption of 7.5L/100KM which isn't too bad. The auto would probably be in the ~8L/100KM range