Comparing HYUNDAI GETZ PRIME AND SUZUKI SWIFT

Hyundai launches ‘Getz Prime’
3 April 2007

New Delhi: Maruti Udyog now has one more competitor for its Suzuki Swift one that qualifies for the small car tag (thanks to a 1.2-litre engine) and consequently the lower excise duty. Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) has launched its new premium hatchback ‘Getz Prime’, with a starting price from Rs3.89 lakh onwards. The company is targeting to sell about 30,000 units of the vehicle in the Indian market and 40,000 units abroad in the remaining part of this calendar year.

The company also plans to join the price war by introducing another compact car in October. The new Getz Prime will be available with two engine sizes, one with the 1.1-litre capacity and the other with the 1.3-litre. The base model of Getz Prime is equipped with a 1.1-litre petrol engine and will be cheaper than the base model of Maruti Swift (Rs3.99 lakh) by a good Rs10,000.

Hyundai has introduced four variants of the Getz Prime. The base 1.1-litre Getz Prime will be available in two variants — GLE and GVS, and the 1.3 Getz Prime will also come in two variants, GLS and GLX. These come with an introductory price range of Rs3.89 lakh and Rs5.24 lakh.

Not surprisingly the company expects the 1.1-litre version to bring in 70 per cent of the total sales of the Getz Prime in the Indian market.

The company is also working on a 1.5-litre diesel variant of the Getz Prime that could be on Indian roads in the second half of this year.Hyundai is also planning to launch another price warrior compact car code-named PA, expected to hit the market by October this year. The new car will be positioned to compete with the top loaded models of Zen Estilo and WagonR and will be rolled out from Hyundai’s second plant in Chennai.Hyundai Motors said it has made
India its global hub for Getz exports and has started overseas shipments. Hyundai is also considering launching the CNG and LPG Santro.The Getz Prime: Getz with a facelift?
Reports in the media overseas say the Getz Prime is basically a Getz with a facelift. However, the car has new headlamps and tail lamps, a new front fog lamp, a new three-spoke steering wheel, a revamped centre console and changes in the plastic grain finish.

Other than this the model has some extra value-add-ons like driver’s seat armrest, illuminated glove box, illuminated power window switches and adjustable backrests in the rear seats and comes in new body shades.

The Getz redesign is thus exterior focused, though some features inside too have been altered for improved functionality. The most attractive feature of the Getz – ample leg room is also there in the Prime Getz.

Looks wise, too, the Getz Prime is different from the Getz that has been on the roads so far. The design changes are subtle and give the car a decidedly more curvaceous look.

From the front the headlamp has been given a sleeker, more elongated design. The new clear-lens headlamp has pilot lamps and a main headlamp with a larger reflector. The indicator lamp has been shifted to the inside and together with the main lamp gives the headlamp a twin projector look.

Redesigned round fog lamps have been integrated into the bumper, which has been given a smaller air dam. The front grille has been redesigned and its curved edges melt with the bonnet crease line.

The bumper inserts have also been redesigned in the Getz Prime. The new bumpers have prominent full width detachable insert mouldings that impart more character to the car’s front and rear.

To offer more comfort for rear passengers, the 60:40 split rear seat can now be reclined in three stages. The car continues to have safety features like the clutch lock (standard) and anti-lock brakes (ABS), as an optional add-on. Front fog lamps and the new three-nozzle wiper are the new additions.

The new Getz Prime will be available with two engine sizes. The larger engine comes with the existing 1.3-litre petrol engine, which generates 83bhp of peak power and 11.8KgM of maximum torque. The car is also being launched with the 1.1-litre eRLX engine that is available in the Santro Xing.

However the Getz’s heavier structure needs more power and torque being a premium hatch. Hence, the company has tweaked the 1.1-litre eRLX engine to match the Getz’s requirements. Thus the engine, used in the Santro Xing gives a 63bhp of peak power in the Getz, offers a higher 66.7bhp of maximum power at 5,500 rpm and the peak torque is also a 10.4KgM at 3,200 rpm.As in the Santro Xing, the eRLX continues to feature technologies like the rotary heard intelligent valve actuator (RHiA), fuel quality immuniser, real-time intelligent ignition and ultra-low friction piston rings.Consequently, with the changes incorporated in performance parameters, fuel efficiency in the Getz Prime is likely to be lower than in the Santro Xing.

Hyundai Getz Prime against Maruti’s Swift

Hoping to combat Japanese rival Maruti Suzuki’s ‘Swift’, Korean car major Hyundai will launch a new version of its premium hatchback ‘Getz’ under a new name ‘Getz Prime’ by the end of this month in India…

Hoping to combat Japanese rival Maruti Suzuki’s ‘Swift’, Korean car major Hyundai will launch a new version of its premium hatchback ‘Getz’ under a new name ‘Getz Prime’ by the end of this month in India.“This model will be both for exports and domestic market. While it will retain the name ‘Getz’ for exports to the European market, we will launch it as ‘Getz Prime’ in the domestic market,” Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), Managing Director H S Lheem told PTI.He said ‘Getz Prime’ will come in two petrol engine variants of 1.1 litre and 1.3 litre, enabling it to partly qualify for the benefit of excise duty car on small cars.
As per finance ministry’s definition, small cars have been defined as petrol cars with an engine capacity not exceeding 1,200 cc and not exceeding 4,000 mm in length and diesel cars of engine capacity not exceeding 1,500 cc and not exceeding 4,000 mm in length.Competitive pricing

“Towards the third quarter we are planning to bring the diesel variant of Getz Prime with 1.5 litre common rail direct injection (CRDI) engine, similar to the one in Verna,” Mr Lheem said. Asked about the pricing of the car, he declined to comment, but said “It will be competitive.”Hyundai has been struggling to compete with Maruti Udyog’s runaway success ‘Swift’ in the premium hatchback category and the new ‘Prime’ with competitive pricing is expected to give it the much needed boost. He said the company will export the car to Europe, the first time that Getz will be shipped out from India and follow it up with the domestic launch. The Korean car major, which has introduced a new C segment car for
Europe under the ‘i30’ name, is looking at the possibility of bringing it to
India. “We are currently studying the feasibility of bringing ‘i30’ to
India as a replacement for ‘Elantra’ but nothing has been finalised yet,” Mr Lheem said.

Hyundai GETZ(source:autocar)

The Hyundai Getz opens up a new segment in the market, somewhere between small hatches like the Santro and Zen, and the C-segment sedans like the Ikon and Accent. Priced from Rs 4.7 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai), it aims to draw people away from both the small hatches and midsize sedans by being more practical and modern than either.:

The Getz has been designed as a modern European super-mini, which means maximum usage of space and clean, sharp styling.
Like most European superminis, the Getz is fairly wide (wider than an Ikon) and tall, with a long wheelbase, and pushes the wheels and roof pillars outwards to increase space. It has cleaner styling than most Hyundai’s, and many styling cues seem to have been taken from European cars, such as the C-pillar, which resembles the Volkswagen Golf, and the tail-lamp, which resembles that of the Italian-styled Daewoo Matiz.
The Getz has been engineered to meet most European safety norms and popular requirements, which means a safe, sturdy chassis and a conventional layout with a transverse engine driving the front wheels. The suspension is conventional independent MacPherson struts in front, and a semi-independent torsion bar at the rear; the car’s ride height has been raised by 15mm for India, to improve ground clearance, getting stiffer in the process. ABS and alloys are available as an option, but sadly, airbags or other safety equipment are not on offer.
The interior is the best bit about the Getz — it is larger than that of most C-segment sedans. There is ample space for five people, with everyone having plenty of leg-, shoulder- and headroom. Getting in and out is easy, and you sit tall on comfortable, supportive seats. Visibility is good, except for the thick C-pillar; the large, chunky mirrors help greatly in the city.
The cabin is also flexible and practical, with many cleverly designed cubby holes. The rear seats can recline at three different angles, and will split-fold and tumble to increase luggage space. The cabin has a distinctly European flavour, with subtle, square styling; however, the plastics look quite downmarket, and reflect sunlight badly. There are some nice design cues like the Accent-sourced steering wheel, which adjusts for height, and the bottle-cap-shaped gearknob.
The boot is a good size bigger than in most hatches; it isn’t as large as a sedan’s, but tumbling the seats forward increases it dramatically.

The Getz currently has only a 1.3 engine, a scaled-down version of the Accent’s motor, with 82.9bhp on tap. The engine is not an exciting performer, but it is more than adequately peppy, and very flexible, especially in town. The gearbox is light and precise, and the gear ratios well spaced, making for a very relaxing ride around town.
Gobs of low-down torque mean third gear is possible at 20kph and fourth at 30, which means you can stick it in a high gear all day. However, the engine is not as responsive as an Ikon’s 1.3 ROCAM, and can be a tad frustrating on the highway, where you need to downshift to overtake. To compensate, it’s quite refined, getting hoarse only at the top of the rev-band, and manages 0-60 in 5.61sec and 0-100 in 14.47sec, which is not bad at all.
Fuel economy is very good, considering the car’s size and weight, especially in the city, where it manages 10.4kpl. However, the short gearing means it isn’t as good on the highway, squeezing out 14.5kpl.
The Getz’ surefooted chassis makes it very stable at high speeds, and though it’s no sports car, it is a tidy handler. The steering is not as light as in other hatches in the city, and is slightly numb off-centre, but apart from that the car’s composure is impressive. The raised-for-India ride is somewhat stiff at low speeds, and doesn’t quite have the magic-carpet effect of a Corsa’s, but it doesn’t get ruffled on bad patches, and the stiffness dies out as you go faster.
The brakes are powerful, but are quite trigger-happy, and are prone to locking up in emergency situations. Fortunately, the ABS option will negate this tendency.

The Getz fulfils its purpose of being a talented, practical and highly comfortable family car, providing a genuine alternative to smaller hatches and even to C-segment sedans, which it betters in many areas. It makes particular sense in the city, where it is very driveable and frugal. It isn’t cheap at a starting price of Rs 4.7 lakh, but it is good value for what you get. Hyundai also promises efficient, cheap and ever-available service, which is a big boost to the car’s overall practicality. It’s difficult to talk about either resale value or discounts, which won’t be available for a few months at least. Still, there’s the fact that most Hyundai’s hold their value well. Spares prices are traditionally low, and will stay that way, since many of the Getz’ components are shared with existing Hyundai’s. Equipment levels are high, and the car is better value than it seems, if you can get over the lack of a boot.