I am not driving it like Rhys Millen going up Pike's Peak, but I've put almost 200 miles on it.....lots of stop and go city driving, night freeway driving, wet driving and up and down on some majorly steep hills in SF. It performs quite confidently thanks to decent low end torque. The engine is sounding less harsh...maybe because it is breaking in now. It has a slightly whinier pitch, but I wouldn't call it unpleasant. The shifting in city driving is smoother and more predictable than the Elantra. Go to 3000 on the odometer and it goes to the next gear immediately. On the Elantra there was a weird lag in one of the gears when it was new. Where I see it slightly weaker than the Elantra is accelerating from 35mph to freeway speed. It definitely takes longer. Also the Versa's gaps between gears on the shifter is very short. I find myself shifting from neutral all the way to 2nd gear sometimes.
Having a chance to drive another new car I kind of marvel at how the designers implement the different features in cars.
1. The Versa automatically locks the doors when the car reaches a certain speed and automatically unlocks when you turn off the engine. The Elantra does not.
2. If you manually lock the door and close the door, the Elantra actually will arm the alarm silently. The Versa will only arm the alarm when use the keyfob and horn will beep.
3. The Versa has a tone if you leave the lights on after removing the key. The Elantra turns off the lights for you when you take the key out. You cannot even turn on the headlights without the being engine on.
I will have this car for perhap a week more. I won't be getting the Elantra until next month.
Do I miss my Hyundai? Not really. Maybe a tiny bit. Though this week while driving the Versa, I've been seeing more and more Elantras on the road. I have seen one almost everyday this week. So it seems they are gaining ground finally in Northern California.
No comments:
Post a Comment