Faults:

Lately my excel has been breaking down. Not all the time, but some of the time, I will come to a set of red lights, stop as usual and the engine will just shut down. When this first started I could just start the car back up again, now it will only start after ten minutes or so.

The last time this happened, I looked under the hood and heard a rather quick and loud clicking sound around the battery area. But once I turned the car off it stopped, but when turned back to on it started again.

Does anybody have a clue what is going on? I have taken it to two mechanics and the Hyundai dealer and they both said the same thing, it has to get worse to get better.

General Comments:

It's a great little car I love it. Apart from it breaking down. It handles like a dream once it gets going!

Faults:

Dash board cracked, replaced under warranty.

Indicator switch failed, replaced under warranty.

Steering wheel plastic perished, steering wheel replaced under warranty.

Front passenger seat spring release busted, replaced under warranty.

Console illuminating lights dimming.

Stereo speakers perished after 2 years of use.

Timing belt broke, piston #2 thrown, needed overhaul at 200,000 kms.

Paint on rear bumper fading badly.

General Comments:

This is a great little car for individuals and young families with a small budget. As a new car, the powerful little 4 banger engine made for quick starts and passing when needed. However, the car itself always drove like a drunken tanker, and at times it was very difficult to handle, especially in wet conditions. Start and stop in city I found difficult as well. The engine had plenty of power, but the small car body made it easy to "kangaroo jump" the clutch if you're not aware.

The interior is basic and friendly, with everything you need in easy reach. The seats are small yet comfortable, and the rear leg room is limited with tall drivers.

Faults:

The only thing was the CD player which used to go to full volume by itself and had to be replaced.

The engine has a knock when cold.

General Comments:

This car has been a dream to own and I have loved every minute I owned it.

Faults:

Engine has strange ticking noise when releasing the accelerator, usually when cold. Disappears when warm.

Exhaust sounds like it is leaking, not sure.

Right window assembly broke completely, replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

Not much has gone wrong with the car. I do find it annoying that it has that ticking engine noise when lifting off the accelerator. Not sure if it's because of leaking exhaust or dead lifters. If anyone knows what it is, please post it up here. But I'm not really concerned. The vehicle is cheap to run anyway, despite my trade in price. By the way, to anyone in Australia - DON'T BUY FROM Australian Fleet Sales, they're big alright, big on rip-offs. The guy told me, he'd take my MX-6 off me without testing it, and so the trade-in price he gave me was low, I pretended to hesitate, but really, I didn't care (at the time), because my MX-6 had so many problems, and had he driven it for more than 5 minutes, it'd die right in the middle of the road. So in a way, I wished I'd sold it for that trade-in price, and use that money to buy something. Oh well. Anyone thinking of buying from dealerships should think twice, I know a lot of people ripped off through trade-ins, and after-sale service.

Oh yeah, to anyone AROUND the world - Don't buy Fuel Star device, it's a new fuel saving device, despite all their advertising, even through shows like Tonight Tonight and A Current Affair, they DON'T WORK. For me, it's increased my consumption. I'm losing only 50kms per tank, which is OK, but it's opposite their claim, of getting an extra 50 kms.

Faults:

I haven't had much drama with the car. I blew the gearbox after I started modifying the car and I've replaced a few clutches.

General Comments:

This car performed well standard. But I've spent a lot of money ensuring I beat WRX's V8 commodores and most street cars of the lights and drags for that matter. Its got a 2inch system with sports exhaust. Mandrel bent extractors, Fuel pressure regulator upgrades, the gear box has been modified to a quick shift model. It has a cool K&N filter. The Drive train and conrod and valves have been upgraded. And the engine has been ported and bored out to reach 1600cc. Recently a Stage 1 turbo was inputted into the car adding over 50Kw's on its own. The car has sports suspension and aftermarket brakes and clutch. 16inch alloys with low profiles and a rear wing. This car really gets up and goes. I handtimed 0-100 in around 5 seconds. Which is great for such a small engine. I'm still to be beaten off the lights. It's a great car with a lot of torque and power. Its approx 200-250Kw or so it says I gotta get it dyno tuned again. I recommend the excel for a first car. The car goes off the clock in 4th gear which is 200km/hr, but keeps going a long way after that.

Faults:

The dashboard had been cracked by the sun, replaced under warranty.

Back door panel vinyl had peeled from the carpet insert, replaced under warranty.

General Comments:

I love it, it's very good for my needs. 4 doors and a big boot, was easy to install a good Sony sound system.

The 5 speed gives the twin cam good power, not speed power, but all you need for good fuel costs.