EXCEL BIG ON POWER, LOW ON PRICE
FOR: Strong on price, space and performance.
AGAINST: Trim quality, ride and noise let it down.
RATING: *** (out of 5)
The current Hyundai Excel has been a runaway success. So much so that it now sits behind the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon as the country's third best selling vehicle and has pushed Hyundai to the number-five sales position behind the local car makers.
This sales surge is due to a number of factors, including the car's good looks and a relatively big engine and body. But it's the price that really won the car-buying public over.
Its cut-throat, drive-away pricing made the Excel an instant success and forced the competition to either drop prices or face losing sales and market share.
Hyundai was able to put the squeeze on its mainly Japanese competition as they grappled with a strong yen. The local Hyundai distributor bought its cars in the relatively wallet-friendly American dollars.
However, in recent times it's the Japanese yen that has weakened and the American dollar that has proved to be expensive, forcing Hyundai to lift the Excel Sprint's price by $1000 during January.
To soften the blow in this ultra price-sensitive market, Astre introduced a more-powerful, twin-camshaft engine and kept the free air-conditioning and drive-away deal in place.
The 16-valve power plant replaces the single-camshaft, 12-valve engine. The only external evidence of this change is a Twin Cam badge on the car's rump, which replaces the Sprint badge on the base model.
The extra camshaft and four more valves lifts power significantly from the superseded model's 66kW at 5600rpm to 74kW, but the power peak does not come in until 6000rpm.
Torque is a different story, with the peak increasing by just 3Nm to 134Nm - reaching this point 400 revs higher at 4000rpm.
The original model was no slouch and the twin-cam version is even quicker than before, which makes it a good choice if you plan use a power-sapping automatic gearbox.
It's not the most refined engine in its class, producing a fair bit of noise across the rev range. Push it and obviously it gets louder, but it does take on an almost sporty twin-cam buzz.
Although the power and torque peaks are developed higher in the rev range, the twin-cam engine is no "screamer", with little punch down low. You can be lazy with it and the engine is quite happy to pull a higher gear, when less-powerful engines would demand a change down to a lower ratio.
It's a good thing that you don't have to constantly swap gears as the change feel isn't great.
The clutch is fine - its light and progressive - but the shift quality lets it down. It's notchy and feels cheap and nasty. Reverse gear was often hard to find and required a few stabs before it could be found.
The extra power takes the edge off the fuel consumption a little, with the new car using 0.2l/100km more than the previous model on the highway and 0.4l/100km more around the city, according to the Federal Government test. The automatic goes the other way by using an extra 0.4l/100km on the highway and 0.2l/100km in the city.
Its price tag of $14,990 is attractive but it should be noted that power steering is an optional extra. If you don't spend the extra cash you have to put up with heavy steering that will build your bi-ceps when parking. Once the car is moving - even at walking pace - the wheel gets light and is easy to use, although with four turns lock-to-lock it requires a bit of wheel twirling around town.
At speed, it's devoid of feel and loads up a bit around corners. The handling is understeer bland, with the cheap Korean tyres not giving the best grip.
The ride on anything but fairly smooth bitumen is choppy and average for the class.
The driving position is good, although the big, thin-rimmed wheel could be set a little higher.
Interior space is above average and boot space is good. However, the big tailgate, which does not have a handle, requires a hefty shove to close it. It's not that easy if you're on the short side.
Like the exterior, the dash layout still looks modern and well thought out, but the overall feel of the plastic, buttons and controls let you know you are driving something downmarket.
It would be nice if the Excel was a little more civilised but its hard to knock its interior space, price and performance.
Airbags - no
Anti-lock brakes - no
Power seats - no
Cruise control - no
Adjustable steering - no
Air-conditioning - yes
Central locking - no
Power mirrors/windows - no
Security - no
Sound system - AM/FM radio cassette, 4 speakers
Split/fold rear seat - yes
Cup Holders - no
NUTS 'N' BOLTS
HYUNDAI EXCEL SPRINT
HOW MUCH? $14,990 manual, $16,748 auto.
INSURANCE $439 premium $400 excess (AAMI, wholly-owned, 30-plus, rating 1, medium risk suburb).
WARRANTY 3 years/100,000km.
ENGINE 1.495-litre, DOHC 16-valve, four cylinder. 74kW at 6000rpm and 134Nm at 4000rpm.
TRANSMISSION Five-speed manual or four-speed automatic.
STEERING Rack and pinion, turning circle 9.7m, four turns lock-to-lock.
BRAKES Ventilated discs front, drums rear.
SUSPENSION MacPherson struts, anti-roll bar (front); links, coil springs, anti-roll bar (rear).
HOW BIG? Length 4103mm, width 1620mm, height 1394mm, wheelbase 2400mm.
HOW HEAVY? 925kg manual, 952kg automatic.
HOW THIRSTY? 7.6l/100km city, 5.0l/100km highway (manual); Federal govt test. Fuel tank 45 litres, regular unleaded.