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Livelier performance, more standard safety features, freshened nose and
tail styling and an interior revamp mark the first major upgrade for Hyundai’s
most successful global model, the Getz light car, bought by well over half a
million owners since its worldwide launch 3½ years ago.
Sporting slightly softer nose contours, more oval-shaped headlights and
grille opening, a neater lower front air intake and revised taillight lens,
bumpers and wheel trims, Australia’s most popular light hatchback ups the ante
for light car value and especially safety inclusions from an unchanged $13,490*.
In a major contribution to road safety, the likely most popular Getz 1.6 from
$14,490* is the most affordable air-conditioned new car on the Australian market
to offer as standard equipment the potentially life-saving active safety
technology of ABS (Anti-skid Brake System) with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce
Distribution) and rear disc brakes.
“Many new light car drivers are young and inexperienced on the road and need
all the car safety aids they can afford to help protect them,” said Theo van
Doore, Hyundai’s director of sales and marketing.
“Yet they and most other entry level new car buyers generally won’t pay extra
for optional safety features nor wait the two or three months until a car is
built to their order with such safety features which are only offered as options
and usually not stocked by importers nor dealers.
“After some time wrestling with how to pragmatically improve safety in this
scenario, Hyundai is responding by specifying these effective active safety
features as standard equipment on the likely most popular Getz model variants.
“Getz is one of the most popular new models they buy and by lowering the
price of access to standard ABS and EBD in an air-con new car by some $1500,
Hyundai is substantially helping to nurture more of these drivers safely through
their more vulnerable years of motoring as well as offering a stylish,
fun-to-drive, well equipped, high quality car for them and all the other buyers
to whom Getz has great appeal.
“Since its launch in Australia three years ago, Getz has risen to the top of
the Light Car class many times, it has topped the NRMA’s annual mega-survey of
car running costs for the last three years and it won the Australia’s Best Small
Car title in 2003. With this design freshening and its upgrades to features and
engineering, Getz is more attractive than ever.
Brand original
“And with Hyundai’s quality and reliability credentials now
well-established—as evidenced from consumer surveys in recent years and our own
low warranty repair incidence, it’s comforting for Getz buyers to know they are
buying a brand original, not something rebadged from a less known maker,” Mr van
Doore said.
Getz continues its fresh and contemporary looks in the small car design vogue
of a short sloping nose and a relatively long and tallish cabin, cropped overall
car length and a wheel at each corner, a formula for style with space that’s an
easy fit to park.
With well over a quarter million sold in Europe, Getz has cut through to
success in Style Central for automotive and especially the ‘super-mini’ class
where Getz and dozens of others all battle for space and attention in the
continental urban crush.
Recommended retail pricing (rrp)
Getz models continue exclusively as hatchbacks and include three and
five-door 1.6 replacing the previous GL 1.5 as well as an entry-level three-door
1.4 replacing the XL 1.3. All share the same overall length and wheelbase as
well as manual and automatic drivetrains. The larger-engined model variants are
identifiable by a ‘1.6’ badge on the tailgate. Getz rrps and changes from the
prior models are:
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Manual |
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Automatic |
| Getz 1.4 3-door: |
$13,490 (no change) |
|
$15,380 (up $27) |
|
|
|
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| Getz 1.6 3-door: |
$14,490 up $500 |
— (incl ABS,EBD, rear discs) — |
$16,380 (up $527) |
| Getz 1.6 5-door: |
$15,490 no change
|
— (incl ABS,EBD, rear discs) — |
$17,380 (up $27) |
|
|
|
|
| Options: |
|
|
|
| Metallic or mica paint: |
$225 (no change) |
| Automatic (as above) |
$1890 (up $27) |
| 5 doors (as above) |
$1000 (reduced $500) |
Performance, economy boost
The style uplifts on Getz denote the presence of 100cc bigger and more
powerful engines.
Getz 1.6 and gains extra go with a new bored and stroked 1.6 litre variant of
Hyundai’s Alpha twin-cam, 16-valve engine which lifts top torque 11Nm to
144Nm still at a useably low 3200rpm, with peak power upped to 78kW at 5800rpm
from 74kW. Acceleration 0-100kph and 0-400m in the manual quickens to 9.6 and
16.4 seconds respectively.
Despite these engine size and output hikes, the 1.6 with automatic improves
fuel economy to 7.1 litres/100km from the 1.5 auto’s 7.7 in the standard
ADR81/01 test. In the likely most popular manual variant, the 1.6 achieves the
same 6.2 l/100km and 148g/km CO2 as the prior 1.5 manual.
The entry level Getz 1.4 also benefits from a move up to the 1.4 litre,
twin-cam 16-valve Alpha engine variant from XL’s older single-cam
12-valve small-bore 1.3, boosting peak power 7.5kW to 70kW at 6000rpm and torque
up 9Nm to 126Nm at 3200rpm. The 1.4 saves 0.1 litre/100km over both 1.6 manual
and auto in the ADR81/01 test, recording 6.1 and 7.0 l/100km respectively.
Subtle damping improvements in the suspension offer a more compliant ride
over Australia’s lumpy, patched urban roads and more stability at highway
speeds.
Safety leader
Getz brings to an even more affordable level the major active car safety
features of Anti-skid Braking Systems (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce
Distribution (EBD) which are now standard on the likely top-selling Getz 1.6 and
which bring rear disc brakes with them.
As such, the Hyundai Getz 1.6 3-door manual at $14,490* is the most
affordable new car on the market equipped with these life-saving active safety
attributes as standard. The likely continuing strong sales of the most popular
Getz variant will add considerable scale to road safety made by Hyundai by
offering an ABS and EBD-equipped Getz so accessibly to some of the most
vulnerable drivers on the road.
Also newly standard on all Getz models are active front head restraints—which
cantilever forward to minimize whiplash neck injury in a rear-end impact. As
well, the three rear head restraints adopt a low-profile, wrapover design which
retract down out of rear vision when not in use.
Minor remodelling of the centre dash sees the digital clock moved there from
the instrument cluster and just below it a more prominent hazard flasher switch
which takes on a large, red starter button look.
The driver’s door mirror now has a slightly convex lens for a wider view
behind, similar to that in the left side door mirror.
Continuing other Getz safety features include dual front airbags, front
seatbelt pre-tensioners and load-limiters, height adjustable upper pillar front
seat belt mountings, anti-submarining front seat steel pans, a retractable
lap-sash centre rear seatbelt, two side-impact beams in each front door and one
each in rear doors, a full-size spare wheel and belt snap-on brackets fitted to
all three child restraint top tether strap anchor points rather than just the
one mandated by regulation.
Extra body strength derives from the high tensile steel comprising 58.3 per
cent of body shell mass and one-piece whole side outer panels and door outer and
inner panels integrating the window frames.
The foot pedals and steering column are also designed with predetermined
collapse rates dependent on crash severity.
To lessen crash-induced fire risk, Getz has an impact-triggered automatic cut
out of the electric fuel pump to stop fuel delivery to the engine.
Tactiles
Nice new tactile touches in Getz are leather trimming of the thicker, new
design steering wheel—with grip area perforations—and gear shift knob, the
safety convenience of steering wheel-mounted audio controls, a substantially
upgraded audio, new quality twill fabric on seats and door trim inserts and a
new grained texture for the dashboard.
The new MP3/CD/FM/AM audio increases output power to 45W from 25W, the disc
player now adds WMA format to MP3, a graphic equalizer function with rock, pop,
jazz and classical music modes is added, as is a mid-level tone adjustment, the
loudness boost is improved and anti-skip insulation is extended from eight to 38
seconds. Six speakers remain standard, including tweeters.
Some new vibrant metallic colours are introduced to Getz such as Sheer
Yellow, Sky Blue and Space Silver, plus a mica finish dark Blue Onyx, with the
standard solids of red, white and black still offered.
Bodywork protection is enhanced with the front bumper’s black rubbing strip
insert now spanning unbroken across the front and thicker protection mouldings
fitted along the sides of the car.
Noise suppression in Getz is of a high order, with anti-vibration pads
applied on floor panels and inside the windscreen cowl, thick insulators
isolating the cabin from the engine bay and front wheel noise while the centre
and rear pillars are injected with special foam.
Like all other Hyundai models, new Getz is equipped standard with
air-conditioning, power windows, electric door mirrors, remote central locking
with alarm, power steering, heater ducting to rear footwells and split-fold rear
seats.
Getz owners, like all new and many used Hyundai buyers, are reassured by the
integral vehicle quality demonstrated by Hyundai’s long-established and original
factory five year/130,000km new car warranty.
Storage stories
Getz’s compact exterior opens into a surprisingly spacious interior with
storage facilities aplenty.
Newly added to the front of the centre console is an extra storage recess
lined with a rubber grip mat, augmenting the two cup holders, bottle holder,
wallet slot and removeable flip-top ash bin already there.
A sunglasses capsule mounted above the driver is also new, as is a coin rack
in the dash and a light in the glovebox. There’s also an umbrella holder shelf
pocket under the steering column.
Rear seating exhibits flexibility with the 60/40 split backrest bench seat
tumble folding forward up behind the front seats to afford a low, flat load
floor, ideal to tote the sports gear or that big boxed buy. Rear head restraints
now don’t have to be removed to tumble the whole rear seat assembly up and
forward, thanks to their new, low-profile wrapover design when retracted down.
Front seat backrests both have pockets on their backs while the left one also
has a flip-down bag hook and a handy pocket on its inboard side. There is
another hanging hook in the boot, where there are also fenced recesses in the
upper sidewalls.
The left front seat on three-door models has a return-to-position memory
after sliding forward for rear occupant access.
City savvy
Getz is a parkable 3.8 metres long and manoeuvrability is a crucial design
element, essential in coping with Europe’s crowded mega-cities and another
reason Getz fits urban-centric Australia.
Pert yet purposeful, with short overhangs front and rear, wide track stance
and high roof line extending far to the rear, Getz hints of a cross between a
smart little hatchback and a compact mini people-mover.
Overall, Getz leans towards an edgy rather than too rounded a look, to ensure
it appeals to young males as well as females. Its simple lines and wide planes
convey a sense of spaciousness and strength in a small package.
Getz sculpturing is a beguiling mix of soft and sharp, soft in its rounded
corners and new frontal elements, accentuated wheelarch flares, rear side window
frames and the rear roof line.
But lending edge to the Getz look are pronounced side crease lines running
full length at door handle height, feature lines in the hood and tailgate,
square section bumpers and the square cornered windscreen and hatchback glass.
In profile, Getz’s short sloping nose sweeps up and back into the steeply
raked windscreen in a virtually unbroken line. Its long wheelbase spells bigger
car ride comfort and attractive new wheel designs compliment the car’s crisp,
sophisticated lines.
Glasshouse profiles differentiate Getz three and five-door models. The
five-door’s centre pillar is blacked out to give a continuous greenhouse look.
The three-door’s body coloured pillar separates its rear side glass which
stretches further to the rear and has a slightly rising sill line suggestive of
sportier, coupe styling.
From its most viewed in-traffic aspect, Getz presents a cute butt. Frameless
rear glass, neat, jewelled facetted taillights, a purposeful wide wheel track
stance with a touch of negative camber show Getz’s raciest angle.
Getz comfortable
The clean and welcoming interior features comfortable seating, warm new black
and charcoal twill fabrics and a new surface texture atop the dash and door
trims in charcoal to cut reflections.
Getz’s interior is also ergonomically arranged with a vertically adjustable
steering wheel, well-spaced pedals with a left footrest and large rotary heater
control knobs.
There’s driver seat cushion tilt and height adjustment, vanity mirrors and
ticket holders in both sun visors, heater ducting to the rear foot wells and a
battery-saving headlights auto-off with ignition off.
Getz going
Getz is available with five-speed manual transmission with smoother shifting
via improved synchromesh and re-profiled gears or an electronically controlled
four-speed automatic.
Ride and handling are tuned for driving enjoyment and the power rack and
pinion steering is responsive with a 10 metre turning circle diameter between
kerbs and 2.9 turns lock-to-lock.
Suspension is via coil springs all round with MacPherson struts and anti-roll
stabilizer bar up front and a semi-independent torsion axle with in-built
anti-roll function plus gas shock absorbers at the back.
Getz quiet
Noise suppression in Getz is of a high order, with anti-vibration pads
applied on floor panels and inside the windscreen cowl, thick insulators
isolating the cabin from engine bay and front wheel noise while the centre and
rear pillars are injected with special foam.
Redesigned engine and transaxle mounts also help, as do dual stainless steel
exhaust resonators and an air intake resonator.
*recommended retail price plus on-road costs
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