2007 Hyundai Getz GSi from UK and Ireland - Comments

We considered a 1.1GSi Getz 5 door on special offer at £6995 with 3 years servicing included, but decided against it after the test drive.

We wanted a 5 door car with air-con that was of good quality and nice to drive every day for under £7000. This was to be our second car for my wife to run along my own excellent £6750 2007 Perodua Myvi 1.3 SXi (see 2007 report). We are spoilt by this car as it is very capable, powerful and nice to be in (now the snagging has been done) but it lacks the quality of the Getz and is just a little too wide/large for my wife as she has only recently passed her test. We very nearly bought a second Myvi from Grovebury, Leighton Buzzard.

The Getz offer was a good one-£1000 Hyundai discount, and the dealer offered the £99 3 year servicing incentive free too, giving a good car with the excellent 5 year warranty, 3 years breakdown and servicing all included at £6999, in red not metallic.

The specicfication was impressive and included air-con, electric front windows, 5 seats with split fold rear seats with headrests, proper boot handle, passenger airbag with deactivate switch for child seat, Isofix mountings and so on.

The most impressive thing about the car is the superb quality of construction-easily the best in the class and price bracket, with quality paint, minute shut lines between the panels, heavy doors, bonnet and boot, high quality seat fabrics and trim and decent compontents-branded tyres for example. It really did feel like something Audi or VW would offer, and the warranty package backs that up. The inclusion of a 4*NCAP, Isofix and airbag switch is to be praised too.

It really appears as if it is from a class above and looks stunning value with the class leading servicing and warranty package.

We were so impressed with the quality and kit of the Getz after comparing it against other £7000 cars; Suzuki Swift (rattly trim/no aircon on 1.3), C1/Aygo (not capable enough every day), Kia Picanto (too sluggish/cheap interior) Toyota Yaris Ion (too expensive, no air-con) Chevrolet Kalos (old engine is slow and £140 tax/cheap interior-see 18/8 1.2 SE report) and our own excellent, but larger Myvi (see report), that we were ready to sign the deal, but thought we had better drive it first.

We drove a well run-in 5500 mile 2007 1.1GSi 5 door demo car for about thirty miles of town and rural roads and decided very quickly that it was not the car for us. The car would have been perfect with a different engine, but the 1.1 unit is just hopeless and frustrating to use. When we drove away, I honestly thought something was wrong as it was so slow. I know that this is an economical town car, and that the 0-60 time is therefore a slow 15.8 seconds, but the performance really was laughable. I have owned 2CVs and Ladas that would easily out-pull this, and the lack of power combined with the extra weight of the obviously high quality body panels, decent trim and high spec level just makes it a chore to drive in traffic, with endless gearchanges and no power. We drove up a hill and the overweight and underpower became more obvious.

Factor in a very light flywheel which makes the engine very easy to over-rev when manoeuvering (has a very sensitive gas pedal) and offers zero torque, my wife stalled the car eight times on the test drive and myself twice! This was not an issue at all on any other car we drove, and again points to overweight and underpower.

The engine was the only issue on the road-the ride was excellent, handling sure, brakes good, road noise low. Going downhill it was a great car-and it all felt of a quality level far better than the competition.

It is such a shame, as apart from a steering wheel made of pumice-stone-comfort plastic, the Getz is marvellous. We were so disappointed that we enquired about the 1.4 or 1.5 diesel, but these were not on the offer and much more expensive, taking it out of our price range.

I would find it difficult to recommend the 1.1 to anyone as it is hard to manoeuvre due to the sensitive gas pedal and a tendency to quickly over-rev or stall, it is difficult to safely overtake, and just plain frustrating to keep up with every day traffic.

As my wife is a fairly new driver, I do not want a fast car, but an easy to drive, enjoyable car which I feel is safe and will give her an enjoyable introduction to proper driving, safely. The Getz is too easy to stall, involves endless gear changes to keep going due to the heavy weight and lack of power, and would be a liability when trying to overtake even a tractor.

I am still gutted, as I was going to buy this car. After weeks of looking, we decided against another Myvi due to it being larger and us already having one, and finally signed an amazing Fiat Main dealer internet-price-match deal on a 1.3 Multijet diesel Panda Dynamic Aircon with lots of extras and nice paint for £6800 against a list of £9435. This does not have the quality or long warranty of the Getz, but is a superb drive with £35 road tax, 65+pmg and group 2 insurance.

We both felt the Panda was a good car which was very easy to drive, powerful and user-friendly. It compliments a new driver better than the Getz which pushes you into mistakes with the extra gear changes, atrocious uphill performance and frequent stalling.

If you want a 5 door car, under £7000 with air-con and electrics, drive the £6750 (Perodua £1000 off offer, including metallic paint, mats and mudflaps) Perodua Myvi and £6199 (basic) (match a Fiat dealer against fiatsupersaver internet) Fiat Panda Aircon diesel as well as the Getz before you make the decision.

We are so glad we did!!

This is a good review, but I don’t understand how a Hyundai Getz would have class leading quality, and no way are these little Korean cars on par with the interior of an Audi or VW. Seeing how good you rate the Hyundai, you would probably be blown away if you sat in a Audi.

I've owned numerous late VWs and also hired 05/06 Audis. My best mate has just traded his 2005 A3 - this is why I made the comparison. They both have peerless cabin quality, and drive very well (if a little anodyne - except S/RS models!).

My point was that for an economy car, the Getz's quality was heading that way - they really are that good now - take a look - especially in comparison with the other budget cars. Some of the materials are obviously cheap, but the solidity and build quality really are very good and the car has the feel of a (new) 2000 VW or Audi.

If you have not looked at the competition for a few years-take note of the Koreans - they are really going out for quality and market share. The Kia Cee'd is very impressive too - and I NEVER thought I would say that about Kia! Two weeks in a courtesy car Cee'd again impressed me, beyond any of my former predjudice.

The difference is that with a car in the Cee'd class/size, you expect high quality, in the Getz 7k class, you do not expect it, and it comes as a nice surprise!!

I'm still impressed by the Getz - the overall impression bar the engine has really stuck with me.

Does Audi or VW offer the same five year warranty? Makes you wonder if they are as confident of the quality of their cars as Hyundai, with full 5 year warranty, or Kia, with a full 7 year warranty on the Cee'd.

Take note-the Koreans are coming! They will not convert most of the staunch Audi or VW fans, but will convince many other buyers to switch their brand allegiance, with their class leading warranty and aggressive management pummeling the dealers into being the best available.

I really wish the offer on the 1.1 was on the better 1.4; if it was I would be a Hyundai convert by now...

What a brilliant review, your findings are spot on! Very rare to see such a good write-up.

I tried the Getz and as you say the interior is very good, well made and the layout is great. What lets it down is the 1.1 engine and the drivers seat not going particularly far back (problem for me). They also do silly things like use US MPG on the trip computer. Not tried the MyVi, but did like the Daihatsu Sirion (almost same car), great car, but no clutch rest and slightly higher insurance put me off.

I bought a Mitsubishi Colt which has the most room of all the cars I tried, the best engine (1.1 is brilliant!) but the build quality is not up to Hyundai standards, rattles in the dash, doors, seats and boot lid. Mitsubishi HQ said that they will fix them several months ago... still waiting.

Thanks for your positive response. It seems that all manufacturers are desperate to get high spec at the expense of high quality - see 2006 Suzuki Swift DDIS, 2006 Suzuki Ignis 4grip, 2007 Chevrolet Kalos 1.2.

Rattles are infuriating - one of the reasons I sold the Swift was because they were never fixed. I liked the Getz because it felt better made than the competition, and less likely to play up.

The Perodua - see 2007 Myvi SXi, has had various quality issues, but has now been well sorted by the great dealers and is rattle and issue free. For now...!

Getz is a smooth car for a 1.1 engine. worth your money and offers best value.

My wife has a 1.3GSi Getz. I have reviewed on here on the 2005 slot and just up-dated about half hour ago. My Getz lives in the very North of Scotland, where they lay pure salt on the roads daily at this time of year. I think your report was very good, but, I haggled with the dealer, and bought my wifes car for £7300 that was drive away with a years road-tax, three years (or 30 thousand miles) free servicing, and a full set of taylored floor mats. I think you might have pushed the dealer harder, and surely £300 extra would have made all the difference. My wifes previous car to the Getz, was a Punto. I'll never have a Fiat again!!! As for the looks and reliability of my wifes car, it's much better pound for pound than my Jag 'S' Type. The Jag is a year younger, and has had 4 fairly serious warranty issues. I was going to sell the wifes car, about now, but she wants to hold on to it. Thank goodness, I can now replace the Jag! I'm thinking with an up-market Focus.

I use an '07 Getz 1.4GSi for driving lessons. It is a great car, beautifully made and very nice to drive - except that the accelerator and clutch are too light for most pupils. Just breathe on the "gas" pedal and the car races away. Also the clutch is too light ("subtle"-my sister in law calls it) and although a joy for experienced drivers like me, it appears to be a nightmare for learners. I love my Getz but some of the learner drivers find it hard not to stall.

Try the new three cylinder 1.0 VVTi Daihatsu Sirion as a learner car-it is excellent and uses the same unit as the C1, 107, Aygo, Justy and Yaris but in a far better overall package.

For learners, it has great visibility, a strong torquey engine which pulls in fourth from 20mph and also gently vibrates/thrums the pedals and gear stick to warn learners to either clutch or gas before it stalls.  It also has very straightforward controls for a novice, plus a very tight lock for the turn in the road section of the test.

It is a very "obedient" car and the base 1.0S comes with aircon, four 'bags, ABS/EBD, all electrics, five year warranty and breakdown for well under £7000. Add £500 to get a 1.0SE with electric mirrors, alloys and reversing sensors (easy to disconnect).

Factor in the new tax banding at £30pa for 2009 and minimum 50mpg, I believe it is the very best learner vehicle available at present, especially now that all the traditional ADI choices like the Corsa have got so complex, heavy, expensive and have such awful blind spots. The Sirion is well worth a look, and the 1.0 is the most novice friendly model.