When Hyundai first arrived here in 1986, courtesy of the then Bond Car Company, its first offering to the car buyers of Australia was a small five-door hatchback called Excel. Power came from a carburetorred 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that drove the front wheels through either a five-speed manual or three-speed automatic and priced at just under $11,000, it was cheap and cheerful motoring.
The Excel was the first of the South Korean cars to land in Australia and while the quality was questionable, it sold on price and in such numbers that by the mid-90s, the car was regularly the third best selling wheels in Australia. The price had risen a couple of grand, Allan Bond was behind bars and the national distribution was in the hands of a Singapore-based trading company, but Excel was a winner.
But car companies cannot survive on the strength of a single model and Hyundai has now branched out into larger sedans, four-wheel drives and people movers, but it is still largely price that attracts the buyers. So when it replaced the Excel with the bigger, more expensive Accent in 2000, it accelerated the company's downward sales slide.
Now with the all-new Getz taking the role as the entry-level model, priced from $13,990 - the point that Hyundai established as the benchmark for light cars - the company hopes it has another Excel on its hands. At least from a sales perspective, as the Getz is a long way from the crude cheap Excels that landed in 1986.
The new car is immediately distinct from its Excel predecessor, courtesy of a European-style taller body. The aim of this is to improve interior space and the Getz has a reasonable amount given its external dimensions. Front passengers are well catered for, although despite the three rear three-point seatbelts and head restraints, you would be pushing to get three adults in the back on anything more than a trip to the local shops. Given the high seating position however, leg and headroom are reasonable while the deep boot is easily expandable via a 60/40-split rear seat back.
Up front, there are plenty of storage cubbies and cupholders and the dash layout is simple and clean with all controls well laid out and easy to use. The materials and fit and finish are also of a higher quality than in previous Hyundai's giving the car a more up-market feel than its price might suggest.
Standard equipment on the base model five-door GL we tested runs to power steering, air conditioning, driver airbag and a four speaker CD sound system, but the lack of even key-operated central locking smacks of stripping out equipment to keep the cost down and is lamentable in a car in 2002.
Under the bonnet sits the same 1.5-litre twin cam 16 valve four-cylinder engine as in the Accent that generates a maximum power of 74kW and 133Nm. It is a reasonably perky engine and given the car's low weight that tips the scale under 1000kg, it gets off the line more than adequately. But once on the move, the engine needs to be pushed into the higher end of the rev band for overtaking, requiring regular shifting of the surprisingly well defined and smooth five-speed manual gearbox.
Overall noise levels are good, although the engine certainly makes its presence known when pushed into the upper rev band.
The suspension is tuned for ride comfort rather than handling and over most surfaces, it is quite comfortable, absorbing short sharp bumps with ease. The seats however, are rather flat and unsupportive, meaning longer trips would need regular stretch stops.
With its taller then usual body, and softish suspension, handling is not one the Getz's better points with a fair degree of body roll through corners and a tendency to float a bit over undulations although the steering is reasonably direct and responsive.
The car feels lightweight and lacks a solid stance on the road and it doesn't take too much cornering enthusiasm to get the front wheels scrabbling for grip, especially if you thrown in a bit of moisture.
The Getz is the car that Hyundai hopes will give it's a much larger say in the European car market as well as bringing back the buyers in Australia that flocked into showrooms for Excels. It is a much better car than the Excel with discernable improvements in quality, ride and packaging and Hyundai deserves credit for that. But as before, it is still the price that remains the car's biggest attraction and the company's industry leading five-year 120,000km warranty doesn't hurt either.