One of the nicest methods to part ways with a long termer is to take it on a roadtrip. We did just that with the Elantra.
Bangalore’s heavy traffic had my left leg aching. The clutch has become quite heavy over the 20,000km we’ve had the car and the way it engages at slow speeds means the Elantra isn’t the easiest to drive smoothly in traffic. Still, I’m none too worse for wear (excluding a minor back ache), having covered the 1002km from Santacruz in Mumbai to the Domlur Layout in Bangalore in a little over 12 hours.
The Elantra's engine is smooth and quiet. Cruises very well on highways.
It was Kerala for the next two weeks and, because home is at the foothills of the Western Ghats, a lot of driving through tight, twisty roads — the same ones I learnt to drive on. The Elantra proved to be fun to drive, although the steep rake angle of the A-pillar did leave me with big blind spots through some of the tighter corners. The engine also falls off boost a lot when you’re driving uphill, so you have to row through the gears quite a bit. While on the subject, I found the 1.6-litre motor’s 120bhp adequate for most situations, except when the car is fully loaded. Also, you’ll wish for a bit more grunt when you’re at speed and need that extra bit for an overtaking move. It was back to Bangalore for a wedding and then Mumbai again, and all without a single issue.
Spaghetti-like roads near my home in Kerala. The Elantra took to them well.
This roadtrip was, in a way, a great way to say goodbye to our longtermer. When it joined the Autocar fleet a year ago, I wasn’t too keen on it. I assumed it would drive with the usual waywardness that all Hyundais before it had. How wrong I was — it’s not as surefooted as its German rivals, but it’s almost there. It certainly looks a lot sharper, is a lot better equipped and a lot cheaper than them as well. The rear seats are good (my parents will vouch for this) and there’s enough boot space for two large suitcases, a small one and a haversack. One thing you should know though — there’s a big difference in ground clearance when the car is fully loaded. With five well-fed wedding guests on board, the car scraped its belly over a lot of Bangalore’s speed breakers.