Getz is the best looking hatch on Indian roads.  The big rectangular headlamps are stylish without being too feminine and set the tone for the rest of the car. The crease that starts from the top outside corners of the headlamps runs right along the waist of the body till the rear of the car, running through the door handles on the sides and giving the car a solid European character. It has a high roofline that slopes slightly to the rear and a versatile one-box interior. The one wheel at each corner design also echoes the MPV approach and liberates some extra space for both the passengers and luggage. And although the car comes with 13” steel wheels as standard there is an option of upgrading to 14” alloys which add class to the looks of the car.

 

The Getz is definitely a better built car than the Santro and even the Accent. The quality of material used seems to be better on the Getz than the other two. The doors close with a much more distinctive thump than on either the Accent or the Santro. And wherever there is a commonality of parts, it is the parts of the Accent that seem to have been used. Panel gaps are uniform and we could find no fault with the paint job quality, not only on our road test car but also on any of the eight Getz that we have seen till now.

 

The Getz is a contemporary design and has been engineered for the European markets, where safety is getting paramount importance. In keeping with the requirements of the day the monocoque of the Getz uses a good deal of high tensile steel to add rigidity to the body structure which helps in meeting crash test norms.

 

The Getz has been designed using HAIST (Hyundai Advanced Integrated Safety Technology), which is a standard for ensuring the highest possible passenger protection. High tensile steel, which makes up 58 per cent of the car’s body weight, has been used for the rigid safety cage. The side outer panels have been made of one piece of metal to ensure rigidity. As well as side impact bars, the door belt areas have been reinforced. Welding points and individual parts to this safety structure have been kept to an absolute minimum to ensure the rigidity of the passenger cell is not compromised. The Getz is equipped with a fuel cut out sensor, so in the event of a collision the electrical power to the fuel pump is cut. The Getz also has a collapsible steering column in the event of an accident, designed to reduce the risk of chest injuries.

 

The front seat belts are height adjustable while there are three 3-point belts in the rear. Both front seat occupants and three rear seat passengers are protected against whiplash by adjustable head restraints. In India ABS comes optional for the Getz and while all models of the Getz in many countries have airbags, none in India do. The Euro NCAP rating for the Getz will be available only in November but we expect it to do rather well. Keeping the four wheels on the ground are the tried, tested and ubiquitous MacPherson struts up front while at the rear is a semi independent set-up us

 

The Getz 1.3 is actually powered by an inline 4-cylinder 1341cc 12-valve engine that is made of a cast iron block and an aluminium alloy engine head. It produces maximum power of 82.1PS at 5500rpm and maximum torque of 116Nm at 3200rpm. This is basically the same 4-cylinder mill that we saw on the 1.5-litre Accent. It shares the same stroke of 83.5mm and it is only the bore that has been slightly reduced by 4mm to 71.5mm. The Getz engine runs a higher compression ratio than the Accent engine and this could be because of greater confidence in the quality of fuel available in India. The engine is one of the smoother spark-ignited mills Hyundai makes in the country and though not as rev happy as the Elantra 1.8-litre engine, it is quite refined and does not get rough even at the top end of its rev range.

 

As it is the 1.3-litre engine requires quick gear shifting to keep the momentum going and this ’box is made for just that - quick gear shifting that is a pleasure. This has been possible because the gearbox has had a number of enhancements to enhance the driving experience. A dual-cone synchroniser has been used to make the first-second gear shifting smoother, while a poppet ball has been added to fifth and reverse gears to enhance selection.

 

The 1.3-litre mill is a sedate performer and does not promise any scorching times. The primary reason for this has to be the car’s weight. With a kerb weight of 1095kg, the Getz is heavier than even the Accent by over 80kg. This would be because the Getz is a modern car and designed for European markets where safety is paramount. So for the sake of a safer car, you would have to sacrifice a bit of performance. Thus, on Indian fuel and in Indian make, the Getz gets to 100kmph in nearly fourteen and a half seconds. Time it takes to get to the one kilometre mark is over 36s and the roll on figures, though quite competitive are not eyebrow raising. What is good is the top speed of the car which it gets to after consuming kilometres of track. After all getting to 166kmph is no mean task.

 

The city fuel efficiency figure of 11.9kmpl is more than satisfactory that of 16.8kmpl for the highway is a tad disappointing. With a fuel tank capacity of 45 litres, the Getz can get to nearly 600km on a tank full.

 

The amount of space that is available inside this rather small looking car is quite amazing. There is plenty of leg room and if you will compare the accommodation measurements with similar cars, you will be pleasantly surprised.  The interiors are great and again give the feel and look of a much larger and more expensive car. Features like a coat hook or the rear seat folding right over along with the rear seat squab are very useful.

 

The one think that irks me is the rather small glove compartment. This would have been designed so as to accommodate a passenger side airbag but for countries where Hyundai is going to be selling these cars without even a single airbag, this wasted space should be better utilised by either making design changes to the dashboard or else by providing another storage compartment opening from on top of the dash.

Filed under: Hyundai Cars in India