Hi,
My Getz - GLS is almost one year old. Thought that any review would be meaningful if the product is used for atleast 6 months.
Well, to describe briefly, Getz is a "small outside, big inside" car with a high level of comfort feeling for both the driver and the co-passenger. The first best point in Getz is the inside space. The back space and the boot space is absolutely greater than any other car in this segment (hatchback) and the comfort feeling is equally good to any other sedan.
The other positive factors which I liked in Getz apart from the space is
Very good maneuverability , i.e the smooth gear shifts and the sharp-U turns etc
Very good visibility which makes driving very confident and comfortable.
Very good power. Could touch a max of 130 kmph in NH-48 highway, with the car being extremely stable. Didnt try to exceed this speed as it was very scary and extremely dangerous !.
Good AC/heater. Faster cooling or heating, specially in Bangalore. Will come to the negative of this later
Good milage. Was able to reach 14.8 km/lt in highways with 20 % AC and 12 km/lt in City limits. On an average its 13 - 13.5 km/lt with full AC
The 60:40 split in the rear seat is really useful when you have 3 passengers and loads of luggages !!. Very useful for long journeys specially when carrying many luggages during festive season or during any family functions.
Wide dashboard. Can keep a big bag upon dashboard on the co-passenger side.
The dashboard lights are appealing during the night.
The night light indicators for power window switches are really useful in the night.
The night light inside the car is in the center of the car which is useful for both front and back passengers. This will be usually at the front in most of the other cars
Lot of care is taken to add value added features in the car like the coin holder, cup holder(s), arm rest for all the 4 windows, night illumination light for power window switches, seat pockets and so on.
Good after sales service and brand value (resale value).
Lastly the clutch lock and the tilt steering are the additional features.
The following are the some of the points which Hyundai could improve upon
The A-pillar is sometime distracting the view, specially while taking sharp turns in the Ghat sections.
The pick up of the car during 2nd and 3rd gear specially when is AC is on is poor. Feel need for power during that time.
Ground clearance could be slightly improved. Though its not as bad as Zen or M800, feel difficult of escape the sharp edges in the narrow roads of India !.
I had test driven Swift and Palio before finalizing for Getz. Swift is indeed a good competitive car against Getz, but it badly loses w.r.t the overall space as compared to Getz. Else its as good as Getz w.r.t Power, looks, milage, brand value, after sales service and the features wise.
Palio is a well engineered car, as I would say. But Fiat has losen its brand value in the last couple of years such that one has to think several times to make a choice on Palio, unless he is a legacy Fiat fanatic who is behind this "Italy" branding brainsick !!. Other wise, if you have the patience to cater the sicking after sales service of Fiat, you will enjoy driving this car.
Also there is no point in comparing Santro or Alto to any of the above cars, as I could see it many times in the messageboards.
I have driven my Getz for about 5000 Km in the last one year and had 3 times long drive from Bangalore to Mangalore, in NH-48 which is a fantastic route covering all types of roads, i.e extremely smooth road till hassan, totally curved ghat section in sakleshpur, and fairly curvy stretch till Nelyadi. This route also gives varied type of climates, making you to test your AC at the fullest !. I didnt had any problem and I enjoyed driving my Getz.
Initially when I bought the Getz, there were very few to be seen on Bangalore roads. But today I can see equal number of Getz and swifts among the premium hatchback segments especially in Bangalore. Thanks to the competition driven from swift !!.
Verdict: There is wrong notion within people for the Korean products. I feel that Japan or Koran cars are far better than the cars from US or Europe. I have driven Japanese and Korean (Kia) cars even in US and it was far far better than the US counterparts !. Korean strategy of "More for Less" is really paying them off specially in the asia pacific regions.
Finally my verdict is GO for Getz IFF -1. you feel you need more space inside the car, but still should be compact sized ! 2. you need value for money (resale and after sales service). 3.you give equal importance to milage and power. 4.you want rich and practical features ! 5. you believe in "quality always comes with a price" !!!
regards,
Prashanth