Compare and choose Hyundai Elantra and Skoda Octavia. Photos, characteristics and test drive of cars

Compare and choose Hyundai Elantra and Skoda Octavia. Photos, characteristics and test drive of cars
31 July 2021
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(4 voices, on average: 4.3 out of 5)

Skoda meets with the light of matrix headlights and silence inside after a solid slam of the driver’s door. I felt like I was deaf. Other senses work: there is a pleasant smell, I see a steering wheel reminiscent of the past S-class, large displays with a cute picture, alcantara on the front panel, contour lighting threads… Has Octavia gone for a promotion? But it does not go much better than its predecessor, and this stagnation is especially noticeable against the background of the progress that the Elantra demonstrates with the change of generations.

It is also not perfect, but at least it provides a higher smooth ride than Skoda. He pays less attention to the micro-profile, including thanks to the 17-inch wheels (Octavia has an inch more). It does not give up at the joints of the Third Transport Ring, and artificial irregularities can be taken by running. Objectively, there are enough vibrations — Hyundai does not ignore any average marriage — but the acceleration peaks are smoothed and do not cause irritation. However, on a broken road, the Elantra feels loose. As if its mileage is not 2500 km, but forty times more.

But Hyundai has an even bigger problem with noise insulation. Starting at low speeds, the interior is filled with the hum of tires, which progresses powerfully with the growth of the speedometer readings. And if there is rough asphalt with gravel interspersed under the wheels, then you will not envy the inhabitants of the cabin. At the same time, stones and sand drum in the arches, and if you go in rainy weather, then the water splashes loudly. The atmospheric engine also breaks down, screaming heart-rendingly from under the hood with each intense acceleration.

If you forget about the tantrums of the traffic control system in the lane, Octavia treats the ears more delicately. There is less noise from the road in the cabin, the turbo engine, which works less often at high speeds, does not bother, and the rear semi-independent suspension does not produce a low-frequency hum, as on the previous model. But it shakes on the bumps! Liftback reports on potholes with a special predilection, and on large pits, the stiffness of the suspension is about to turn into cruelty. You can ease your fate a little by abandoning the 18-inch wheels, but the chassis settings are primarily to blame for the unimportant smoothness of the course.

With an active start from the spot, Hyundai maintains a more noticeable pause and is already half a second behind by 60 km/h ― 4.6 seconds versus 4.1 with one person in the cabin and a full tank. Both cars keep a straight line well, barely reacting to the rut.
With an active start from the spot, Hyundai maintains a more noticeable pause and is already half a second behind by 60 km/h ― 4.6 seconds versus 4.1 with one person in the cabin and a full tank. Both cars keep a straight line well, barely reacting to the rut.

Nevertheless, the same miserable section where the Elantra skips, the Octavia passes more carefully. It is much tougher, but still the breed is felt in this rigidity. And I’m not shaking for nothing — the chassis can be a source of endorphin. After all, Skoda rushes along the bends of the road together, and the effort on the unclouded steering logically increases or falls. The non-switchable stabilization system is liberal and does not immediately fend off a skid after a sharp throttle cover. They keep an active pace and brakes, which are a pleasure to work with at high speed. In the city, the combination of free running and a sharp bite replacing it requires a habit.

It is possible to conduct a 150-horsepower 1.4 TSI turbo engine without problems. The traction “four” is responsive, always ready to accelerate, and when accelerating from a place, it is quite easy to overlap its own passport data by two tenths, gaining 100 km/s in 8.8 seconds according to the Reislozhik, however, with one driver. The eight-speed “automatic” also matches, which throws up the necessary gears in time, quickly and seamlessly goes down even with a slight press on the accelerator. And you will sell from the heart, “hydromechanika” descends four steps without fuss.

Elantra also has a classic “automatic”, and it develops 150 forces. But the atmospheric engine is sluggish at low revs, comes to life a little on medium and pulls convincingly at high speeds. When Octavia is not around, it seems that the Elantra is not inferior to her at the start of the floor. However, the device records 9.9 seconds in the best attempt against the passport 9.8. And when accelerating on the move, both in the city and on the highway, Hyundai is not able to compete with Skoda ― it has much more momentum (250 N•m against 191), it is achieved earlier and in a larger speed range. The convenience of traction control is also so-so: the gas pedal is damped more strongly than in the Octavia, and the six-speed gearbox works slower.

Although the Elantra is ready to move quickly ― tenacious, collected, eager to turn! The rolls are surprisingly smaller, as is the diagonal swing in turns, and there is almost no tendency to skid even with the stabilization system disabled. The car can! But the driver doesn’t want to. The viscous steering wheel is almost devoid of feedback, and the force on it is always the same.

Visibility in the Elantra is better due to less thick front pillars and larger side mirrors. And you can see more back. Both machines have a blind spot monitoring system with a clear indication and a good setup.
Visibility in the Elantra is better due to less thick front pillars and larger side mirrors. And you can see more back. Both machines have a blind spot monitoring system with a clear indication and a good setup.

And there are problems with the brakes traditionally for Korean cars ― they simply cannot withstand active driving with frequent decelerations. The pedal becomes softer, there is a smell of burning … But in calm mode, I liked the brakes even more than Octavia’s ― the efficiency is the same, and the braking intensity is regulated more by the force on the pedal than by the stroke.

In general, the buyers of Elantra were lucky. With such a spectacular appearance and interior, she could drive primitively, and none of the customers were bothered by this. But the engineers have achieved a good balance of the chassis. Plus, in Hyundai, the front seats are more convenient, the geometry of the landing at the back is more accurate, the visibility in the mirrors is better. Elantra is evolving! And yet, I can’t definitely advise you to buy a Hyundai. The Koreans did not report too much noise insulation to the car and went too far with economy. The hood without gas stops, cheap finishing materials, the back of the driver’s seat without a pocket ― an incomplete list of annoying things.

Octavia has a crisis of self-determination. This is almost the most family car in the class. It is more convenient to get in and out of Skoda, it has a more spacious interior. It’s even awkward to talk about the trunk ― a different level of convenience and capacity. But why does the rigidity and noise of the Octavia resemble a Cayman on 18-inch wheels? According to the editor-in-chief, it’s easy to imagine driving a cheap Porsche while driving Octavia in a straight line. Where is the logic here? Moreover, the work in the direction of comfort was clearly carried out: at low speeds, the shock absorbers work more delicately than before, the passage of artificial irregularities is accompanied by a swing. But with the general degree of sports, it’s still too much.

As in the case of Elantra, I would not categorically recommend Octavia, but within the framework of our comparative test, she looks preferable. It is difficult to ignore not only the unattainable convenience and practicality, but also a higher sense of quality, noticeably better sound insulation, a more pleasant power unit and handling. The Czech liftback is simply more technologically advanced than the Korean counterpart. And the Czechs can also tighten the smoothness of the course. Comfortable Karoq will not let you lie.

31 July 2021
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(4 voices, on average: 4.3 out of 5)

We evaluate the Hyundai Palisade from the level of the Cadillac XT6 crossover. Photo, the technical part, and test drive

We evaluate the Hyundai Palisade from the level of the Cadillac XT6 crossover. Photo, the technical part, and test drive
29 June 2021
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(5 voices, on average: 3.8 out of 5)

In the pre-modern era, the Hyundai Palisade and Cadillac XT6 crossovers would hardly have met in a comparative test. But the shortage and dealer greed made two seemingly non-overlapping models of direct competitors.

Palisade is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, not a wooden fence, but you can’t get away from calling Hyundai a Palisade, it’s more familiar to the ear than a Palisade. The Korean is shorter than the Cadillac by seven centimeters but more spacious. I am sitting behind the driver’s seat adjusted to my 181 cm with almost twice as much space in my knees — 130 mm against 70. The feet are also more comfortable, although the gap between the head and the ceiling is less than in a Caddy-80 mm against 100. Hyundai has larger rear door openings, a more comfortable fit, and a more hospitable sofa: it is softer, better suited for three people, plus it has large ranges of longitudinal adjustment and the angle of inclination of the backrest.

The sofa moves further away, making access to the third row easier. The gallery is more spacious in all directions. I don’t touch the ceiling upholstery with my head, and if I move the second-row seat a little away from myself, then there will be a small amount of space for my legs. In a Cadillac, you can do the same, but you will have to move the middle row so much that it will be uncomfortable for an adult. There is less freedom for the head and for the feet, and the back is firmly fixed.

In the Cadillac interior, the emphasis is on the quality of the finish. The seats, front, and door panels are upholstered in soft leather. Natural wood, Alcantara on the ceiling, the smell of expensive things… However, Cadillac upsets with a backlash climate control panel and a jamming curtain of cup holders between the front seats. Hyundai is assembled better, the textures are more uniform, but the thought that you need to pay more than four million rubles for such a plastic interior makes it sad.

We evaluate the Hyundai Palisade from the level of the Cadillac XT6 crossover. Photo, the technical part, and test drive

In traffic, both are not perfect, but the Cadillac is more thoroughbred. It has better sound insulation, which is especially noticeable on highways, and smooth running. The crossover from the States smoothes fine ripples of asphalt well, adaptive shock absorbers work noticeably softer for compression, and on the road with a lot of sloppy patches, the XT6 keeps well done, not cold. I’m talking about Palisade: when the road charges potholes with bursts, Hyundai begins to dance terribly with heavy wheels and give passengers a hail of pokes.

But the Korean SUV less often strains the vibrations of unsprung masses, despite the heavy 20-inch wheels, like a Cadillac. Of course, when they fall into a large hole, it’s not easy for the front garden, but it’s even more difficult for the Cadillac-the suspension reacts rigidly at the rebound phase, and a shock wave runs through the body. Even with small “speed bumps”, “x-ti-six” does not move out, but jumps off — and lands roughly.

It is not distinguished by refinement and manageability. Cadillac is strong: it responds to the steering wheel commands in a detached way and performs them vaguely, and turns in stages in high-speed turns — first the front part changes the course, and then the rear, like an articulated bus. And the XT6 slows down strangely. The effort on the pedal without free movement is so great that not all men are comfortable. And with each braking, the feeling that the brakes have “run out”does not leave. Although the resistance to overheating remains even when driving actively.

We evaluate the Hyundai Palisade from the level of the Cadillac XT6 crossover. Photo, the technical part, and test drive

Therefore, you perceive the 200-horsepower turbo engine 2.0 as a blessing — it does not provoke stupidity and, as expected, turns sour on the highway. It does not shine with numbers: in the best attempt with one person and half a tank, it takes 9.8 seconds to accelerate to a hundred. However, in the city crowd, the moment at the bottom and the ingenuity of the nine-stage “automatic” is enough to dynamically start and cheerfully maneuver in the flow. I slightly opened the throttle — the box threw off the gear, pressed harder — jumped down a few steps. Fast and seamless.

Such an association would not interfere with the atmospheric “six” of the Palisade, but the local eight-band “automatic” is configured philosophically. A sharp start from a static position is accompanied by a hitch, transitions to lower stages occur with a delay. But the V6 needs to be kept in good shape — juicy traction is felt only by 4500-5000 rpm. That’s where Palisade pleases not only with a beautiful rumble but also with convincing dynamics. With the same introductory data as the Cadillac, a spurt up to 100 km/h takes 8.5 seconds.

Hyundai is more agile and on winding sections. He is more willing to stand on the arc, holds on to it better, and corrects himself more accurately. It rolls less, sways, and generally rides more collected. But there are also traditional problems for Korean cars: the steering is uninformative, clouded by viscous force, and the brakes give up after a couple of intense decelerations. Although the drive is clearly better configured than that of a Cadillac, and it is more convenient to break in normal situations.

Within the recommended retail price, Palisade is an excellent choice. A comfortable and spacious crossover with a full-fledged third row, a large practical trunk, a status V6 engine, good dynamics, and equipment. But when it comes to larger amounts, the demand becomes stricter. Where dealer margins lead, Hyundai suffers not only from the lack of rich interior trim. The far from cramped Cadillac offers both higher driving comfort and integrity of nature. A good-natured character and a relaxed mood are captivating even with a weak engine and too demanding brakes.

29 June 2021
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(5 voices, on average: 3.8 out of 5)

The new Hyundai Tucson with a space design. New motors, smartphone control, and sensors: we are getting acquainted with the Korean crossover of the new generation

The new Hyundai Tucson with a space design. New motors, smartphone control, and sensors: we are getting acquainted with the Korean crossover of the new generation
29 June 2021
1370
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“Activate the present,” says the slogan on the official page of the Hyundai Tucson crossover of the fourth generation. Okay, let’s try to do it, as it is fashionable now, with voice commands: “new platform and motors”, “car control via smartphone” and, finally, the most interesting options are “cars are painted until the end of the year”, as well as “the cost of the top version exceeds 3 million rubles”. Well, in short, this is about how the current “present” turns out, and in order to understand it in more detail, we came to the test of the new Toussaint. And we will tell you about it now.

The first thing that can not be said is the design. The company calls it parametric, and the general style is called “sensuous sportiness”. Live crossover looks unusual, interesting, and certainly not boring: ten feathers of running lights, LED” fangs “of taillights with sparkling” grains of sand”, as well as complex forms on the wings and doors. Because of them, I want to sympathize in advance with the specialists in body repair, to whom all this beauty will sooner or later get to the straightening. And at the same time find out the cost of such details, of course.

If you dig deeper, it turns out that the Hyundai Tucson has moved to the new N3 platform, its body has become stronger (now it has more hot stamping elements, and the torsional strength has increased by 10 percent), and the suspension has been upgraded. So, the length of the rotary knuckle levers has increased in front and inclined support bearings of the struts have appeared, and the geometry of the multi-link has been revised in the rear and the mounting of suspension elements, for example, a muffler, has been strengthened.

The new Hyundai Tucson with a space design. New motors, smartphone control, and sensors: we are getting acquainted with the Korean crossover of the new generation

In addition, noise insulation has improved. Additional noise-absorbing materials have been added to the arches, trunk, in the area of the front panel and doors. Looking ahead, it really got quieter in the Tucson cabin, but when accelerating, the noise from the engine can be heard very well.

The size of the car has increased in all directions. The crossover became longer by 150 millimeters at once, and the size of the wheelbase increased by 85 millimeters. This made it possible to make the interior more spacious: there was more free space in the back row in the knees and shoulders, the distance between the rows increased (by 68 millimeters), and the trunk volume added 51 liters (up to 539 liters with a full-size spare and up to 582 with a roll-up).

The interior looks nice: “embracing” design and not the worst finishing materials. But there are a couple of things that are confusing.

The new Hyundai Tucson with a space design. New motors, smartphone control, and sensors: we are getting acquainted with the Korean crossover of the new generation

First, a fully touch-sensitive center console (with the exception of the crash button), covered with a black gloss. Let’s leave out the fact that all this instantly gets dirty, as well as the fact that it does not look and does not feel like an expensive high-tech device. It looks very simple.

The most important thing is that it is inconvenient to use it without looking at the panel, it is impossible to get to the right element, and you are distracted from the road much longer than it would be worth. In addition, the buttons do not have a tactile response, and confirmation of pressing with a normal “beep” does not save the situation much.

Secondly, the electronic device. It looks beautiful, the design of the scales changes, it is easy to read information, it works quickly, but it does not have a visor, and the screen starts to go blind in the bright direct sun. It’s a good thing that the digital panel appears only in one configuration — the top-end Prestige. In all other versions, the usual device is installed with classic analog scales, a display in the middle, and, of course, a visor.

This is not the end of innovations for Hyundai Tucson. The crossover received a line of new engines. Do not be confused by the fact that their volume and power are close to the indicators of the power plants of the crossover of the previous generation — these are really new engines.

“Tushkan” as before is offered with three engines: gasoline atmospherics with a volume of 2.0 and 2.5 liters, as well as with a two-liter diesel. There were cars with only the last two units on the test, so we will tell you more about them.

So, a two-liter diesel. It produces 186 horsepower, 416 Nm of torque, and is aggregated with an eight-speed automatic transmission. It has an aluminum block, a new blockhead and balancing shafts, an upgraded fuel system, and a pump. Such a motor (like the 2.5) is available only with an all-wheel drive, while the basic “four” can also be ordered in a single-wheel drive version.

The top-end gasoline engine is 190 forces, 242 Nm of torque, an eight-speed automatic, combined fuel injection, upgraded gas distribution and cooling systems.

I liked the diesel engine the most. Pleasant traction from the very bottom, confident acceleration, a minimum of vibrations and noise, good fuel efficiency.

The new Hyundai Tucson with a space design. New motors, smartphone control, and sensors: we are getting acquainted with the Korean crossover of the new generation

In contrast to it, there is a 2.5 gasoline engine. With similar power with a diesel engine and the same acceleration time to “hundreds” (9.4 seconds), it seems that a crossover with a 2.5-liter unit does not go anywhere at all. With intensive acceleration, the driver gets nothing but a hysterical howl-in order for at least some dynamics to appear, the engine needs to be “turned”. Compared to the gasoline “four”, the diesel Tucson feels much more dynamic and pleasant car.

But the suspension of the crossover is configured very nicely: Tucson is comfortable on almost any type of coating — it is indifferent to small things, elastically works out medium and large irregularities, but it does not like hard transverse joints, which are rough. There are also no serious complaints about the steering adjustment. It’s stupid to expect sports car responsiveness from an all-terrain vehicle, but it can’t be called a smudge either.

Now about how much the Hyundai Tucson of the new generation costs. Prices for the model (with mechanics and front-wheel drive) start from 1,869,000 rubles. The basic equipment includes six airbags, an audio system with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, cruise control, a light sensor, heated front seats, air conditioning.

The single-wheel drive version with a machine gun will cost 1,929,000 rubles, and the all-wheel-drive version will cost at least 2,059,000 rubles (from 2,119,000 with a machine gun). In the latter case, crossovers come with good equipment, which includes Bluelink telematics services, a rear-view camera, climate control, keyless access, and a heated steering wheel.

a second car with LED headlights (as in all official photos), heated windshield, rain sensor, wireless charging for a smartphone can not be bought for less than 2,169,000 rubles. Prices for the top-end version of Prestige start from 2,499,000 rubles: this includes leather seat trim, a digital instrument panel, an audio system of the American hi-fi brand Krell with eight speakers, navigation, atmospheric interior lighting, an electric trunk lid drive, and other bonuses.

At the same time, diesel is available only for the most expensive versions of Tucson cars with this engine cost from 2,519,000 rubles. And it can also be ordered for the special version of Visionaire, which will be released with a circulation of 1000 cars and will include all possible options by default. Such a crossover will cost 2,999,000 rubles (plus another 18 thousand for any color other than white).

In general, this is about the present we live in: in the world of LEDs, sensors, remote-controlled cars, and considerable prices for them dictated by the modern economy. And the new Tucson fits perfectly into all these parameters.

29 June 2021
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(1 voice, on average: 4 out of 5)