Hyundai Accent CRDI hatch or Hyundai Elantra?

[chocomansi]

Hi Everyone!

Just looking for some answers, honest opinions, comments with regards to me and my wife's dilemma on which car should we buy. We are considering two cars from Hyundai but we can't get to decide which would best suit our needs. This would be our first car and are in a dilemma of which one would be best for our family.

We live in Baguio and will be used for city driving, monthly travel to La Union and Pangasinan and will occasionally traverse Isabela and Manila. Price range for both is very close (~20k diff - for the bare Elantra). However, which will cost much in the long run? and some factors to consider are the following.

1. FC (Diesel vs Gas)
2. Comfort
3. Safety (Hatch vs Sedan)
4. Performance
5. Reliability
6. Maintenance

Looking forward to your much needed help and suggestions. We are also open to other vehicles as long as it wouldn't get to more than what the cars cost. Thank you!

[gucci88]

1. accent wins with around 10-14 km/l city
2. Elantra will be much more spacious and stable on highways
3. I think same lang sila based on comparison with their kia siblings. all have excellent safety crash test ratings
4. the power of the accent is gonna be tough to beat, the 1.6 in the elantra would be a little under powered on mountain inclines.
5. both should be the same provided that the CRDI is maintained properly
6. Elantra wins due to service interval being every 5k kms against elantra having to be serviced at 10k

Since you live in baguio i recommend the accent because of the power that the CRDI gives however be wary of dirty diesel present on some gas stations.

[renzo_d10]

How long do you intend to keep your car? And are there gas stations around your area (preferably SeaOil & UniOil, but Big 3 would be fine) that has clean diesel?

If the answer to the first question is more than five, much worse, a decade. Then Elantra.
If the answer to the second question is none and you're not sure if the fuel offered are clean. Then Elantra.

The Elantra might be more stable as it is wider and bigger, but the power is nothing compared to the 1.6CRDi Accent for it has more power and a smaller (probably lighter too) body.

[kisshmet]

just bear in mind diesel maintenance is more costly in the long run.

so whatever saving you get in the onset with cheaper diesel fuel will be taken back by more costly maintenance of diesel engines

if you opt for the diesel, dont keep it in a long run let the new owner bear the burden of shouldering high maintenance cost of diesel engines

[GTi]

1. FC- Accent, though the Elantra's also fairly good
2. comfort- Elantra due to more space
3. safety- tie breaker is the bloke behind the wheel
4. performance- Accent, period!
5. reliability- depends on care of the owner, but with minimal maintenance, most likely Elantra
6. maintenance- Elantra, diesel maintenance is always more expensive due to more fluids used and more expensive engine components

I suppose you have to test drive both cars yourself to make the final decision. The Accent's a great car with great gas mileage and great performance. With our experience with CRDi diesels, there's not much really that can go wrong with it in at least ten years as long as you take good care of it like changing consumables on time, making sure everything's clean and cooling down the turbo after long and hard driving. However on the occasion that something like the fuel system or turbo really does break down, its gonna cost you a lot.

The Elantra's not too shabby either. It certainly didn't get the 2012 Speedlab tuner car of the year award for nothing! Being a 1.6L engine, gas mileage ain't bad either so the Accent doesn't have an extremely big lead in the gas mileage department. Small gasoline engine means low maintenance cost too. You take real good care of it, keep it for twenty years, and it'll still run the way it does when you first got it.

[yebo]

sa baguio ka so i will vote for the elantra. although the gas stations there are ok i would not gamble on putting dirty diesel into the accent's crdi engine. the bigger cost of filling up with gasoline will be offset by the maintenance cost anyway. there is also the additional 5 minutes or so you will need to warm up the diesel engine every morning, and the crdi does not like idling for too long. if the crdi idles for too long the catalytic converter tends to plug up and then you will need to bring it down to flat land for some cat recycling, additonal expense din yun sa maintenance. the gas engine will require a shorter warm up so less fuel idling in the morning, too. although the higher torque of the accent is desired di pa naman ako nabitin ng old gasoline cars ko (1995 and 1997 1.3L mazda 323, 2002 lancer 1.6) dyan sa baguio so the elantra will just be as capable.

plus bigger ang elantra. more space = more comfort.

[chocomansi]

Thank you for the inputs. Honestly, I am leaning towards the Accent hatch but I really find the Elantra a bit more beautiful, however, when it comes to power and fuel consumption, it levels up the competition. I do see a number of Eastern Petroleum and UniOil pump stations here in Benguet province and I think there's quite a few in Cagayan and Isabela. Parking is becoming a problem here in Baguio and my wife will also be a first time driver so will go with an A/T tranny.

As for the maintenance, I will work on that with my trusted mechanics that I pirated from the Casa as they've been taking care of my father's Everest and Getz (gas). Yes we do plan to keep the car for more than 5 years and am hoping that the one that we are going to choose would still be an asset 5 to 10 years from now.

It pains us from choosing one. Parang wala kang itatapon sa dalawa.

[yebo]

well if there are eastern and unioil stations there then i change my vote, accent na

[GTi]

If you are the sort that likes to run laps on Kennon Road, then the Accent CRDi is for you. No huffing and puffing on steep inclines! You can just put it in D all the time! All the while you are getting excellent gas mileage. Just to share, I've driven a Galant 2.0V6 around Baguio. 2.0V6 means lots of horses and torque, but then I had to floor it when climbing some very steep inclines with the shifter in D.

[Quint]

just bear in mind diesel maintenance is more costly in the long run.

so whatever saving you get in the onset with cheaper diesel fuel will be taken back by more costly maintenance of diesel engines

if you opt for the diesel, dont keep it in a long run let the new owner bear the burden of shouldering high maintenance cost of diesel engines

I have heard many Pinoys talk about this so-called issue, but I have yet to see concrete evidence of the diesel being more expensive to maintain vs. a gas powered engine.

My diesel vehicle only needs the occasional oil filter, oil change, fuel filter replacements with gas savings to boot. My gas vehicles need the additional spark plugs, and not to mention more costly fuel. Give it a few ten thousand kms more, and you need to replace the ignition coil(s), the distributor cap or rotor, and the high tension wires for the gas, and yet just change the oil and filters on the diesel. Can you kindly elaborate where the extra costs for diesel will come from? Unless I'm changing common rails, and all, I don't see where the expense will come from.

Kindly educate us...