^^^ That's ONE opinion. Fortunately, not the opinion of most ET owners. You know, people that actually own the car, not just kicking tires.

Hyundai "sucking wind"? Crawl out from the rock you are under. Hyundai is one of the top (if not the top) selling car companies right now. Sales are UP. They are doing MUCH better than most car companies.

Why should buy a Touring? Because it's a great car with a great warranty for low money. That's way. My only gripe with the Touring is the choice of the 2.0L Beta engine. I think the the 2.0L or 2.4L Theta would be a better choice.

 

Well said sir. I completely agree with you on the Beta engine. But it's what I have and at some point down the road (after the warranty is over and done) I will look to have it breathed upon.


Memoryrose:- Don't listen to other people's opinions on the vehicle, go to your nearest dealer and check it out. It could be the one you are looking for. Also compare it with similarly sized vehicles or smaller for that matter and cost much more. At this point in time, this is where you get your bang for your buck. And the buck stops here.

 

I won't get into the existential nature of your post but I would rather get into the negatives that "u" see.

In the U.S. it is a new model, however this car is known as the Hyundai i30 CW. It has been sold in other markets for two years now. So most of the glitches have been ironed out.

The suspension is not quite as long as a WRX but it does its job. Yes, in pot holes the suspension easily bottoms out, but why would you want to be driving at speed through pot holes in the first place. Also, with the front and rear anti roll bars, the car is actually a hoot to drive.

IMHO in the last 7 weeks of hard driving, I have not come across any sounds emanating from the interior other than from the stuff I put in the car. ie no squeaks or rattles.

There are parts of the dash that are indeed hard, but they house the stereo, storage space and A/C controls. Also the area behind the steering wheel is also hard plastic, but the rest of the dash is actually a soft touch plastic/rubber hybrid and is quite the revelation compared to the other cars I sampled in my search. I enjoy the tactility offered in my car.

I happen to think the stereo is quite nice ( and this rebuttal is not from the car owner's mentality) It may not be BOSE quality but the bass that comes out without a subwoofer is actually rather decent. Also, the stereo system comes with independent tweeters. If you intend upon keeping the volume level set at 30, then it is likely that you would want to go with a more powerful amplifier and better speakers.

The trunk area plastic on the 5th door actually does mark rather easily but I hope to get an interior detail soon enough to, hopefully, erase those marks.

Before I installed a K&N filter, I got 31 mpg on the highway and after I've been averaging 33 mpg (as per the meter, I need to do the actual figures one of these days...also my commute includes 22 miles each way of the twisties and extreme elevation changes )

Lastly, yes the transmission could use a 6th gear. At 80 mph in 5th, my tachometer needle indicates that I'm at nearly 4000 rpm. This is about where the engine gets pretty buzzy. At that point though, I just pump up the tunes and enjoy the ride.

Happy hunting.

 

I purchased my Touring the second week of July and have 3500 miles on it. I spent a lot of time looking over vehicles. I needed a vehicle with better gas mileage and plenty of room. I checked the Ford Focus, Fusion, Chevy Impala (my first car), Chevy Colbalt, Sonata, Toyota Corolla and decided this car was for me. IS IT PERFECT NO.

Yes, it could use a 6th gear for better gas mileage and less wear and tear on the engine. I can do 80 mph and still get 33 mpg. I drive 35 miles to work in stop and go traffic and if I don't push it I can get over 30 MPG. That is awesome.

Yes, there are some items that are cheap in this vehicle. Carpeting (oh, is that stuff carpeting?). Things can get marked up on the inside. That is why you take care of it and I bought the protection package (inside and out).

This is my first purchase of a new vehicle in 17 years. I had company vehicles with my old job and didn't need a new vehicle. Started new job and now I need it. I spent a lot of time looking. Overall I am 97.5 happy with the vehicle. Is it perfect? NO. I would have liked to spend a few k's less but I got what I wanted. A new model that probably won't be outdated by the time I pay it off. This will go to one of my children after I put 100k on it and they will still be able to drive it for awhile.

HAPPY CUSTOMER. Oh, I should have bought a V8. LOL.
Have a Good Day.
TigerOne

 

Hey, what is the K&N Filter you were talking about?
Thanks..
TigerONe

 

The K&N drop in air filter is something that I've been putting into all of my cars. It takes the place of the paper filter that comes from the manufacturer and amongst other things is environmentally friendly, reuseable and helps pump in more air into the factory airbox.

For more details check out the following link:
K&N Air Filter

 

Just thought i would throw my 2 cents in on the 2.0 Litre.
All you have to do it take a 1.8 Litre Vibe/Matrix, same car.
For a drive. That's what i looked at first, before i bought my touring.
And talk about lack of power, it was scary trying to pull in to traffic with them, I took it back to the dealer, and told him, it was a POS, in the power department.
and it was 2 much $$ to upgrade to the 2.4 in those cars.
So on thats note, for what i need it for, the 2 litre is great, I'm not trying to set 1/4 mile times, but if i need to pass a slow car i can, without much trouble. and i can merge in traffic without worrying if i am gonna get a car up the backside.
Peace

 

As a previous Vibe owner I know them quite well. They are not a "POS" and while they won't be setting any acceleration records, they are far from being as slow as you make them out to be. For the record:

2009 Vibe 1.8L 5-speed manual (source):
- 132 hp @ 6000 rpm
- 128 ft-lbs torque @ 4400 rpm
- curb weight = 2856
- power to weight ratio = 21.6 lbs/hp
- 0-60 = 8.5 sec

2009 Touring 2.0L 5-speed manual (source):
- 138 hp @ 6000 rpm
- 136 ft-lbs torque @ 4600 rpm
- curb weight = 2937 lbs
- power to weight ratio = 21.3 lbs/hp
- 0-60 = 8.1 sec

The 2 are virtually identical.

 

Maybe it was just the one it took for a test drive, You can throw whatever stats you want, it was garbage, but also it was an Automatic, So i did ask him to get me a standard to try, But while i was waiting for one to show up, I found the touring, And it was won the battle, Cost wise.

 

You can throw whatever opinion you want, it is garbage because you are comparing apples to oranges. You can't compare an automatic Vibe to a manual Touring.