General Comments:

BACKGROUND

Well I got this car from work. This is my first car. Before I got the job, I was looking to buy a car and researched the field, all cars seemed (and still seem) the same with only minor differences here and there.

This is my first car. I'll skip with the story of why I got it; I got it with 4,000+ kilometers. It’s the new 2007 model I guess, but I can't say for sure.

Since this is a car from work and is leased, the leasing company when buying/ordering the car stripped it of several minor accessories like passenger side airbag, ABS, electricity control for the windows in the back etc., all in order to save a few bucks.

When I looked to buy a car and researched the field I looked at reviews and saw all sort of things like: the engine is noisy, road noise and all sorts of minor things like that. So while I do not have that much experience with cars or car break-downs, I would like to mention that.

REVIEW (NOISES)

The engine IS probably noisier the other cars, it could be its 1350cc engine (considered 1.4). It’s more noticeable atn higher speeds, you can notice the difference in noise between 80kph to 120kpm (kilometers per hour)

The air conditioner fan has 4 speed settings and while speed 4 gives you good airflow, it is also the noisiest, speed 3 is a good compromise and gives you good airflow at a noticeable less noise then speed 4. The other two lower fan settings are quiet.

What else? I did notice a bit of road noise here and there, but not all the time, I don't know why. Maybe it's the roads here. The noise is really not that much audible, and you shouldn't think anything more about it.

That’s my 50 cents worth. I won't comment on other areas since I have no idea about them and no experience.

Oh one last thing, maybe it's only my car, but...

The automatic gear shifts gears to the second at 10kph. When you accelerate SLOWLY you can feel the kick in your back when the car shifts gears, when accelerating normally, the kick is almost unnoticeable.

Faults:

Slight misfires at certain speeds.

General Comments:

I am using this car as a long term rental during an assignment in Israel.

The Getz is a fairly popular car on the roads here and it appears that all of the rental companies offer them.

As I have a fairly short commute to work (20-25mins) and I decided to rent a "cheap and cheerful" car and pocket some of the living allowance into my pocket instead of choosing a more luxurious model.

I read a few reviews of the Getz which suggested fantastic fuel consumption.

So here are my comments of the actual car:

Nice looking exterior, fit and finish looks very acceptable.

Reasonably attractive interior, (the car is actually quite spacious for what would appear to be a small car) some of the trim looks very cheap, but the clocks get high marks!

Hyundai have skimped on costs by only including one LCD display for BOTH odometer and tip meter readings. This is a minor irritation and you get used to it almost immediately. This means you can only look at the trip meter OR the odometer at any time.

The non-adjustable height of the steering wheel is a real pain and would certainly put me off owning this particular specification of the Getz. The standard setting is way too high for me and not a comfortable setting.

One area where the car disappoints is the fuel economy, commuting to work which is about 25 minutes on a main road with very little stop n go results in an average of around 35mpg (IMP) or 31mpg (US).

I took a drive down to Egypt this weekend and got an average of 40mpg (IMP) or 36 (US) which is not exactly fantastic.

I had an older Hyundai Pony back in the early 90s which was a 1.5L engine. It did 40mpg (IMP) just doing general running around and 51mpg (IMP) on a long run.

From what I have observed in recent years it might be the case that you need the 1.5L engines to get the better fuel economy (especially with those fuel consuming cats fitted!).

In summary a nice little run around that should have adjustable height adjustment of the steering wheel (if you are buying one!), that disappoints in the fuel economy department.