Hyundai Getz 1.6 Sport 2004

I can recommend this car to any young driver looking for a cheap to insure and fun little car and also to anyone who likes older, low maintenance, sporty hatchbacks. 

I have owned this car for two weeks now so take this as my initial review of the car. 

To get it out of the way, it’s a relatively rare car as there’s only 170 in the country, and only 169 of these might be up for sale in the next few years. I bagged mine for £1400 with 365 days of MOT, a full service history, 89K miles and new tyres all around. (There are much more 1.1i ones running around but I’m mainly focusing on the most powerful one of all)

The car has a 1.6 naturally aspirated engine, putting out 105PS@6000rpm and 146Nm@3200rpm  

This takes the 980kg car to 60mp/h in 9.6 seconds (that’s 0.1 second faster than a 1.6 MX-5 of the same era, but you get boot space and room for three extra people in the back, but also FWD so yeah…..). Combined mpg is 43. 

The car is nippy, handles very well, on throttle lift, the rear can coast a bit to the side but not as much as solid axle cars would, like an Ignis sport of the time. The steering is a bit light but still much much better than that of a Citroen C2 VTR/VTS. It’s very agile and the turning radius is great too. I love driving this thing. Perfect blend of fun and practicality. 

At quick launches, the ESP acts quickly and keeps the wheels under control, and ABS will save you if you’re running out of road, you have vented front discs and drums in back. In case of miscalculation, you have two airbags in the front, two side ones in the rear and two front seat ones to save you from a nastier outcome. Euro NCAP is 4/5, the one star lost to pedestrian safety so don’t hit people with the car. 

It’s pretty practical too. The rear seats fold in a 40-60 pattern, and they fold two times, so you can even lift the bottom of the rear seats to get a perfectly flat packing surface. 

The rear seat sitting angle can be adjusted too. This blew my mind first. Never experienced this in a car this cheap. 

Appropos seat angles: the driver’s seat has FIVE POINT adjustment! Forward and backward, back tilt and height adjustment being the basic ones. However it doesn’t stop there. You also get lumbar support break angle adjustment, which defines the lower back support. And lastly you get a three point adjustment for how much the lumbar support should stick out into your back. So if you’re like me and have a heavier S in your back, call it anterior pelvic tilt or whatever you want to call it, this car has the ability to either correct your posture or have it comfortable for you on longer drives. 

And I have had severe back pain on longer drives in other cars before but if you spend some time tweaking the sitting position in the Getz, you can get a very good, personalised seat to keep you comfy. 

The Sport trim (because it’s a trim) is 3dr, comes with A/C, front foglights, electric roof window, 15in alloys, optionally with a full size alloy spare. It has got different interior trim colour from the other trims and a spoiler with third brake light. And all the possible extras checked out. 

The engine is low maintenance, usually goes to 250-300K miles without major issues. 

Downsides:

3dr so don’t expect it to be a large family car. 

0-60 is *only* 9.6s. 

The 1.6 engine can sound too loud for people expecting a quiet, comfort oriented ride.

The aftermarket is nonexistent for it and the culture is very family like, not the most populated. 

Positives:

Nippy for what it is and how much it costs. 

Low maintenance, very reliable. 

Engine sound might bother some but it sounds good, especially if you let it rev to peak power. 

0-60 is 9.6s which I find great for a cheap to insure car. 

Combined mpg is 43. In the city if you enjoy it, this is more like 30mpg. 

Keeps up with motorway traffic and is capable for overtakes. 

Looks unassuming. 

Cheap to insure. 

£170 to tax. 

In terms of buy prices, £400-500 will get you a 1.1 with over 150K on the clock and few months of MOT while £1500 can get you a 1.1 with around 40-50K and a good long service history, long MOT and all or a decent 1.6 with long MOT, and around 80-100K on the clock. However good luck finding one of the latter. 

So that’s all I have this far. If you’re interested in anything, please ask! I love to talk about the car. 

GLS