In 2002 Hyundai first released the little Getz and this car has gone on
to be one of the best
high gas mileage cars. Hyundai managed
to combine a rock bottom price with reliability and good looks and its been
a winning formula for Hyundai who are now outsold only by the Toyota Yaris
in this category of car.
The efficient little Getz recently had a facelift but they've actually changed
little except for some minor cosmetics. Hyundai are following the famous
saying 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it'. While its competitors in the
sub-compact car market are designing more and more futuristic shapes Hyundai
has chosen to stay with the conservative and clean cut styling of the Getz.
It works though. The Getz is a good looking car.
An overall rise in quality of Hyundai over the last few years have helped
sales of the Getz. Hyundai first released the Getz at a time when the company
had a reputation for cheap and nasty cars. The Getz and other cars have
helped to reverse this image. The company previously had an image of cheap,
unreliable and poor quality cars. Their image now is one of reliability,
good build quality yet still inexpensive cars. The Yaris is the only comparable
car that sells in greater numbers than the Getz, but the Getz is gaining
even on the Yaris.
So is this car the right one for you? Well its pretty much the ultimate
car for budget motoring. If you want the most for your dollar it can't be
beaten. Its very cheap, has good gas mileage, is practical, relatively roomy
and drives well. The budget no-frills aspect of the car could be regarded
as a downside if you like lots of features. The features on the Getz are
very basic especially on the base model.
There are two models of this high gas mileage car. Both are available in
3 and 5 door variants. The base model is the 'S'. It has a 1.4 litre petrol
engine giving 70kW of power. The better model is the 'SX' which has a 78kW
1.6 litre engine. Both Getz models are available with a 5 speed manual or
a 4 speed automatic gearbox. The 1.4 litre is not bad in the city but it
begins to struggle on freeways especially if you're carrying a load. The
manual gearbox gets the best out of the smaller engine. The 1.6 litre is
noticeably more eager even though it has only 8kW more power.
Both models of the Hyundai Getz are very high gas mileage car. The 'S' with
a manual gearbox has a fuel efficiency of 6.1 litres/100km and with auto
has a fuel economy of 6.9 litres/100km. The bigger engine of the SX is hardly
any less fuel efficient, returning a gas mileage of 6.2 litres/100km for
the manual and 7.0 litres/100km for the auto. The Getz will cost you very
little to run because these figures were found to be very achievable in
normal driving.
Safety is not the Getz's best aspect. The 'S' model has just two front airbags
with no option for extra airbags. You also only get rear drum brakes with
this model and no anti lock brakes. The 'SX' is better equipped. It has
rear discs and anti-lock braking as standard. Side airbags are only an option
though - you still get just 2 front airbags as standard. Hyundai need to
look at this issue because a lot of its competitors offer six airbags as
standard on similar cars. With side airbags fitted on the SX, the Getz achieves
a 4 star NCAP rating, but some of its competitors have a 5 star safety rating.
If you like lots of high tech features, don't buy this car - you get air
conditioning, an alarm, a CD player and remote central locking. And there
aren't many extras you can add on. Inside theres good rear legroom for a
car of this size and cargo space is also good. The front seats are on the
small side though. The Hyundai Getz drives pretty well and the steering
is good but the suspension could be better.
The Hyundai Getz is definitely still one of the best high gas mileage cars.
The Getz is excellent value and over the last 7 years has proven its reliability.
Buy the 'SX' model over the 'S' because its got a better engine which is
almost as economical, and importantly its a safer car.