Kudos to SD for the excellent car launching event. I particularly want to thank the Glenmarie Sales Specialist lady who assisted me and my wife to test drive both 1.6 and 1.8.

I had many chats with her to further understand about this whole event and ordeal regarding this car. She too is aware of all the negative reception towards the car. In fact many of the questions i asked her cannot be confirmed due to so many uncertainties even when the car is launched! Such as delivery dates - 2 to 3 months even for the 1st batch!! She even shared with me that she is aware that the main concern is the pricing. And according to her experience with Hyundai, if the reception is poor usually the "management" may do something about it. But I did not pursue on that enquiry.

Regarding the presentation of the car during the walkaround, what baffles me is the selective highlights of the features and award achievements of the car. The ones which was left out was of course the 6 airbags.

On the test drive, I was able to test both the 1.6 and 1.8, 2 rounds of course to allow my wife to test drive it as well. During my run, I got my wife to sit at the back to have a feel of the rear seats. Immediately she complained that the space is small, feels claustrophobic. I believe its the headroom. For those of you who had the chance to sit at the rear seats, im sure you will notice the extremely low space underneath the front seats. Usually this space allows the feet to slide under. But my shoes was already touching the base of the seat. And its pressing to my shoe.

We tested the 1.6 first. The first impression was the steering was a bit heavy to my liking. Rear view was quite limited. Feels like the back of a Gen2. As we enter into the main roads, i floored the car. To my surprise the pickup was sluggish. I still prefer the Altis responsiveness of the pedal. In fact in an Altis, if you floor the pedal too much, the car's pickup is so strong that you get push back to the seat. I dont get this feeling in the Elantra.

My wife immediately commented that the engine sound rough as i floored the car. She was sitting at the back.

As I manoeuvre around the other cars, it doesnt feel that responsive. It feels quite boring actually. EPAS?

On the 1.8, to be honest, it didnt felt that much difference. Pickup feels almost the same as the 1.6, sluggish. My wife agrees as well.

As I walked away from the car, the feeling was disappointment. And the only thing in my head was was it worth 112k for this car?

Strange but somehow i felt that 1.6 power quite ok but 1.8 quite dissapointing. Maybe this weekend will go test drive to be certain...

---

Added on April 2, 2012, 2:00 pmBro fluidic, when can get 1st batch car ah? Heard so many rumours...
end of april lah, early may la, 1 to 2 months la, 2 to 3 months la, anything confirm or do we have to wait until nationwide launch this friday?

Finally had the chance to test drive the elantra. but only the 1.8 premium  did my test drive at the SS2 branch, too lazy to drive all the way to old klang road, so sorry to SA there 

anyway, my comments

Interior:
For me, the interior is way better than what you get in the Forte. in fact, i'll go as far to say that its kinda on par if not better than the honda civic. for those who say its cheap, i think they must have been comparing to VW or Beemers.. I love the curves and the soft plastics inside. the supervision cluster is also very pleasing on the eyes (to mine and my mrs at least) As for the leather seats, the red stitching aside, i really like how the nappa leather feels. Definitely felt more comfortable than the forte's. Legroom, although not as good as the slyphy's, is definitely on par if not better than most of the other cars in the same segment. Width wise is definitely better than sylphy, kinda the same as civic. i did had 2 complaint though. Under glaring sun light it was a little hard to see the LCD display even with max brightness settings. According to the SA, its because they haven't put in any tinting yet and visibility will improve tremendously once you have tinting. Not sure how accurate this is. Next complaint is at the center backseat. No idea why there is a slight bulge there making anyone sitting in that position a tad uncomfortable. As for height wise, its pretty acceptable for me although i have to agree that it might be slightly uncomfortable for those over 6 feet. However, in all fairness, it will be an issue only if the person is sitting fully straight. i think there is enough length in the backseats and legroom to accommodate some less upright sitting.

Exterior:
No further comment. love the design except for the inokom badge i did ask about the hyper silver and the SA said that its similar to the Tucson's hyper silver. not bad. came home and asked uncle google and managed to find this site http://www.dacar.su/ru/cars/hyundai/color....59&color_id=455. Should be able to give you guys a better picture of the colors. btw, the SA showed be a couple of bodykits from Korea and it did got me drooling especially the drls and led backlights.

The Drive:
For those who say that its underpowered, no idea what you guys are comparing it against. For my test drive, there is sufficient torque, albeit a slight hesitation when you first floor the peddle. For me, the power is comparable to other 1.8s. Ride comfort is there. Handling, didnt really get to test it out as the roads are pretty straight and narrow at SS2. NVH wise is much better than the forte, comparable with other c-segments BUT imho, no as good as the Slyphy.

Offers:
Not much. Didnt get any discounts. Just free front and back emblems, RM300 off tinting and full tank. According to the SA, he already has 30-40 booking himself alone.. popular car, not allowed to give further discounts by SD. Wondering if any other SAs can top that.. 

well there you go. a non professional review from a non professional reviewer