Hyundai Avante 1.6L Review: Avante Advances Ahead

Hyundai Avante 1.6L Review: Avante Advances Ahead

With this new 1.6-litre Korean car, the new Avante doesn’t have to make excuses for itself. It competes favorably against any Japanese or European rival mechanically, but is several steps ahead of all of them when it comes to boldness and style...

OneShift Editorial Team
OneShift Editorial Team
15 Sep 2006

For the last 20 years, the Korean car manufacturers have always played second fiddle to the Japanese. They might have been just as well-built and engineered, but were always sold at a price advantage. Public perception of the Korean car just didn’t allow it to command the premium of a Japanese car brand. Well, with the new Avante, that’s all set to change because this new 1.6-litre Korean car doesn’t have to make excuses for itself. It competes favorably against any Japanese or European rival mechanically, but is several steps ahead of all of them when it comes to boldness and style.

As is the case with most good looking cars, one has to see the Avante in the flesh to appreciate its lines. Photographs don’t do its well-proportioned and handsomely sculptured lines justice. This is probably because the forms that shape the car are so simple, yet beautifully mannered, in the first place. Just sitting in the showroom, the Avante commands presence that other 1.6-litre family sedans simply don’t have. There is only a single character line that runs along its flank, from the grille in front to the rear tail lamps, and from which the form of the entire car takes its cue.

At the front, this line shapes the headlamps, giving them their soft, elongated and fluid form. It gently rises above the front wheels but dips again at the driver’s door, before rising again at the rear wheel, and finally ending with the slim, rear tail lamps. This single wavy line gives direction to Avante as well as linking it to the similarly sculptured form of the Azera V6, Hyundai’s flagship model. It’s styling is a study in simplicity, allowing the simple sculpting of its form to define its shape and proportions. At one stroke, the Avante has managed to make every other family sedan look old and dated, drawn with too many lines that aren’t necessary.

On the inside as well, the Avante impresses - the quality of its materials is first class, and one definitely senses this is the two-tone cabin of a well-designed car. From prevalence of soft-touch material, to way in which the shapes of the door flow to match those of the dashboard, it is quite clear that no detail has been overlooked or forsaken. Even the door pocket for bottles has been canted slightly to accommodate the armrest, and there is even a small icon to remind one not to leave the bottle uncapped.

The textures on the Avante’s dashboard are certainly a nice tactile experience, especially for a Korean car. The switches that govern the digital climate control work with well-oiled precision and are backlit in a cool shade of blue, for example, and the metallic finishes on the centre and floor console have been etched with a fine hexagonal texture. Quite clearly with the Avante, Hyundai is out to impress with fine detailing – and it is does so very convincingly.

Apart from style, the other overwhelming feeling one gets from sitting in the Avante is of substance. The seats are generously proportioned and shaped, and one does feel as if they came from a larger car. At the same time, the smooth shapes and well-blended forms gives the cabin a futuristic feel, not one that is trapped in the old beige-and-wood-veneer era. Despite looking so sleek on the outside, there is more than enough space for the cabin to take five adults in comfort.

Under the bonnet, the Avante gets a new DOHC 16-valve 1.6-litre engine with variable valve timing. Compared to the 112bhp put out by the Elantra, the new engine puts out an impressive 121bhp. This makes the Avante more powerful than the 115bhp Volkswagen Golf 1.6 with its direct-injection FSI engine. On the other hand, the Koreans still have a thing or two to learn about making their engines sound sweet as the Avante can start to sound a little raucous when revved hard. The standard transmission is a 4-speed automatic, and it mates well with engine, allowing it to cruise at 100km/h with the engine at a relaxed 2500rpm.

The Avante’s has impressive specs for suspension – it has a multi-link rear suspension when most other cars in its class make do with the simpler torsion beam set-up. With just the driver aboard, a torsion beam would be fine, but its when there is additional weight at the back that the more sophisticated multi-link suspension maintains composure and roadholding ability.
In many ways the Avante is like second generation Elantra, the “cat’s eye” version – it had space age styling and looked futuristic compared to the staid looking mid-90s Toyota Corolla. It made a strong case for itself, and it sold very well. The Avante deserves to follow in its footsteps, and regain the market share lost by the third generation Elantra.

In the bigger picture, the Avante signifies a coming of age for Hyundai. The last Elantra ended its production run while it was still the second best-selling car in Korea. The fact that Hyundai has been so bold and aggressive with the Avante (when it could have easily just refreshed the Elantra) shows that it is willing to take risks to advance its status, not just as the leading Korean brand, but as one that can competes on an equal footing with any car company in the world. Hyundai’s renewal started with the Sonata in ’05, followed by the Azera V6 a few months later, and this year launched the attractive Avante, the 1.6-litre family sedan that truly breaks from the past, and sets a new standard.

Credits: Justin Lee

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