Reader's rides: 2008 Hyundai H100
2013-02-14 11:40
’BOUNCIER THAN A TOPLESS PAMELA ANDERSON’: Wheels24 reader Richard Fitzpatrick find his Hyundai H100 quite endearing but not as much as his previous ride – a Nissan 1800.
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Wheels24 reader BRIAN SPARROW, a member of the Piston Ring club, shares his car collection - a 1962 Chevrolet Corvair Monza 900 coupe, a 1965 Chevrolet Corvair Corsa four-door pillar-less and a 1982 BMW 635 CSI.
Author: Richard Fitzpatrick
"Wheels for thrills?, No, it`s not flash and it's not meant to be. The list of standard features stretches all the way to power steering and that's it.
These things are a bit Shoprite/Checkers - you see them everywhere and for good reason. The turning circle is excellent, it's like a dog chasing its tail and with its “edge-off-the-cliff” driving position it's really easy to get in and out of tight spots.
It's not much to look at but still it's prettier than those two from that SA TV show ‘Blame it on Fame’. Also, my bakkie’s 2.6 diesel sounds marginally better.
'MORE NOTCHES THAN CLOONEY'S BEDPOST'
You can seat three, which is good, but you need orang utan arms for the gear shifter, which is bad. You will also become very familiar with the middle seat passengers leg when changing gear, I haven`t made up my mind yet as to whether that`s good or bad.
The gearbox has more notches than George Clooney`s bedpost.
Comfort wise, any journey over an hour and a half becomes, quite literally, a pain in the arse. These seats have about as much support as the AWB in Soweto. Oddly enough. on long journeys, you get a strange fresh-baked biscuit smell coming from the engine bay, I don`t know why…
In terms of fuel consumption it gets through 13-15 litres/100km... bottoms up!
The ride isn't terrible when laden, though it can get a bit floaty. Strong crosswinds will keep you busy with the wheel. Un-laden, however, it`s bouncier than Pamela Anderson running the 100 metres topless!
Our bakkie came with a Member of Parliament performance pack - costs a lot more but does very little in return... ok, I made that bit up, but boy, this thing is so slow it would make the Home Affairs department blush.
The upside: No speeding fines, ever. The downside: If you incorrectly time an overtake it can get a bit scary.
I mis-timed an overtake once to find a council truck bearing down on me. They seemed to take it in good spirit, though. From what I could make out they seemed quite concerned with the well-being of my ma which I thought was quite decent of them all things considered.
I'm from the UK by the way but I don`t think anything was lost in translation.
So, all in all, it`s a decent delivery vehicle, very reliable and worthy of your respect but I used to have a 20-year-old Nissan 1800, which I loved and therein lies the Hyundai's problem.
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