We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Car website. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookies at any time
The start point for the best source of fleet information |
|
|
||||||||
Over six months the Hyundai ix35 has demonstrated why it holds sixth place in Britain's compact SUV sales league and retains the Korean brand's top fleet model status.
Designed for European tastes, the ix35 also demonstrates how far and fast Hyundai has come to be rated seriously against Nissan's Qashqai, Ford's Kuga, the Skoda Yeti, VW's Tiguan and the ix's twin, the Kia Sportage [1].
The 1.7-litre diesel-engined example arrived heavily loaded, adding £1980-worth of incremental equipment 'packs' and metallic paint to its Premium specification, pushing its P11D rating up to £21,180. Kit included £715-worth of opulent extras covering leather seat facings, auto dimming mirror and blue instrument lighting, although we should maybe have gone for the £200 of stop/start ISG technology. One quirky standard feature was heated rear seats [2].
As a driving proposition the ix35 performs perfectly respectably, even if it lacks the agility and tactility of a Kuga or Tiguan, particularly in the steering department. And in real-world fuel economy terms it regularly registered close to 50mpg and averaged 46.5mpg, just 2.3mpg shy of the usually token official claimed consumption.
After 1100 miles, during which criticisms were mainly minor or subjective, a persistent and intermittent software bug caused distraction and hassle. It resulted in the instrument cluster reverting to fully lit start-up 'welcome' mode on the move, wiped clean the computer's elapsed mpg reckoning, and registered false alarms for the hill-start and traction control systems.
A 'service action' for this "uncommanded reboot" involved Hyundai Burnham, near Maidenhead, efficiently collecting and returning our seemingly de-glitched and valeted ix35, complete with a new cluster.
With zero miles on the odometer, the spontaneous light show ceased, but curiously the electronic range calculator did not register any increase for added diesel [3] and initially the fuel gauge remained static.
Result? A final two weeks of niggling range anxiety and a frustrating end to an otherwise faultless performance. Apart from the ghost in the machine the ix35 is a handsome, well-executed, comprehensively equipped and extended-warrantied contender in a burgeoning fleet sector.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
BusinessCar magazine ©2019
Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
