I get to see some interesting sights in this job. I transport (and often hand over and explain) new prestige cars - Ferraris, Aston Martins and the like. Today's job was a bit different though.
My instructions were: Take these numberplates 175 miles to the client's house, swap them for the plates on their car and come back.
Yes, it was as easy as it sounds. Two characters transposed, it happens.
My steed for the day was an 8,000 mile Hyundai ix35 2.0TDi AWD manual in grey. Having come from a Mercedes I was expecting to find it lacking, but it was a very good drive.
The keyless access was an early bonus, the hifi and heater were both better than expected at 5am. The leather seats lacked under-thigh support but otherwise were comfortable enough for me (6'3", slipped disc) to manage all morning. There were a couple of design quirks inside - no time clock was permanently displayed, but one could be called up on the screen for 5 seconds by pressing the appropriate button. Also the heated rear window / mirrors button faces the passenger (it's in the opposite position on the dash to the Engine Start button).
The engine had plenty of poke (184bhp / 280 lbft I believe) and didn't leave me wanting for torque when resuming a cruise after being baulked on the A1. A bit thirsty though, it returned only just the right side of 40mpg over 350 miles mostly at 75mph. The ride was smooth enough for a car on 18" wheels - it certainly never made itself noticed.
Overall the ix35 had everything in the right places. It's obviously been designed for European/UK conditions, (almost) all the controls fell easily to hand, and the only toys missing were a DAB tuner and stop/start. It had auto wipers and auto xenons, cruise and full-postcode satnav, plus a reversing camera.
The only thing I was surprised about was its height; At Durham Services I parked a couple of spaces down from a Porsche Cayenne. The two cars towered above the hatchbacks and estates filling the rest of the car park. The Hyundai's styling disguises its size very well in isolation.
I liked it, the fact that I couldn't find a lot to remark upon shows just how much Hyundai have got it right.
Last edited by: Dave_C220CDI on Fri 1 May 15 at 00:00
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My ix35 was a good car, apart from the juddering when the glass roof was opened or closed. The fuel consumption was a bit heavy with the high 30s easily achieved with a heavy right foot. I did not keep mine long as most of my use was local running and as you say it is a big lump particularly in a tight car park.
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Thanks for that - a car that's on my list, although reviews are pretty mixed.
Certainly I feel these vehicles have to be autos - while I suppose it doesn't make any difference on a motorway cruise, around town and in urban use manual SUVs just seem too truck-like to me, and a 'proper' torque convertor auto takes a lot of harshness out of the powertrain.
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Fri 1 May 15 at 10:09
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I own this model although I assume yours was the newer model.
Agree with everything you say - am impressed you managed to get mpg over the 40 mark on that route - mines struggles for 37/38 even on similar journeys to yours.
Re the time, in all the settings - radio / media etc the clock can be permanently displayed in the top corner but it just depends which screen you have selected to display.
If the radio is off and you press the clock button you get a nice, permanent analogue clock display on the screen.
I find the auto lights poor - they are the last ones to come on as dusk approaches, quite often have to switch them on manually. Much preferred the SEAT system whereby if your auto wipers swept the screen a certain number of times it brought the lights on automatically.
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Hyundai ix35 ix-onic - Today's hire car- mini review - Old Navy
