Hyundai Solaris

In 2014, Hyundai Solaris appeared on the Russian market after a restyled company. The fourth most popular car manufacturer in the world presents a new and traditionally budgeted version of the car. Solaris, like the previous model, is produced in two types of bodies: a hatchback with five doors and a four-door sedan. However, our attention now will be focused on the sedan. Nowadays restyles are not of little importance for all car manufacturers, and in this “Hyundai” as always succeeded.

The appearance, interior, security systems and much more have been successfully improved without damaging the existing benefits. Despite the fact that after the presentation of the model and its commissioning by the consumer, it has not been too long since we can make a clearly formed picture of the opinions of car owners and personal observations. And so, everything is in order. The whole model range is Hyundai.

Exterior

Perhaps when you mention Hyundai Solaris, you can easily remember its appearance. The fact that many people are already accustomed to this feature of the model, does not prevent us from noting the success of the exterior – a bright and distinguished, with updated details, though not incurred any special changes after restyling.

Naturally, the target audience was an Asian buyer, but for the past few years, digging has been successfully exporting to Europe and this has been taken into account in the development of the new bodywork. As always, the inspection begins with the front end, and it has been significantly transformed.

Changes in Hyundai Solaris have affected the optics: lenses and optics have been updated, and halogen parking lights have been added (to the top version of the LEDs). The strict view of the headlights in place of the false radiator grille, consisting of chrome strips, definitely attract attention.

And the front bumper, reminiscent of a certain splinter, finally completes the image. For an additional fee you can install an advanced optics package. Undoubtedly, all the changes mentioned above have not only added aggression to the car, but also made it richer and more representative.

The hood, on the other hand, remains the same without any special features and has longitudinal ribs that go into the windshield. The silhouette remained surprisingly the same, and its developers did not change it. The lines of pumping have been changed a little bit, which do not add any special rigidity to the body.

Wings, side mirrors, windows with an elegant line remained in their old appearance, which is even good. The disks have also been reborn, and now their two types are: the first ordinary 15-inch, and the second one is made of light alloy steel and 16-inch in diameter. Both with 195/55R16 shoes.

Hyundai Solaris is as happy as the other parts of the car in the back. The new bumper is complemented by fog lights in the top versions of the car, which become LED instead of halogen. A little higher is the boot lid, which has not changed.

Dimensions of the machine remained the same: length 4370 mm, height 1700 mm, and wheelbase is 2570 mm with clearance of 160 mm. And to top it off, we’ll talk about the color of the body, for it digging offers nine options, one of which is metallic.

• White (Crystal White);
• Red (Garnet Red);
• Mystic Beige
• Metallic;
• Brown mother of pearl (Coffee Bean);
• Silver;
• Darjeeling Blue;
• Gray;
• Black;
• Orange (Vitamin C).

Interior

Inside the view is not disappointing and even gives a pleasant feeling. The quality of the materials that make up the interior is definitely improved compared to what it was before restyles, but not to the ideal. Given that the car is relatively budget-quality materials in it is appropriate, and missed many details, thanks to which the cabin is usually provided with comfort. For example, the “aroma” of poor quality plastic can be felt even after a year of use.

However, this does not prevent the salon from remaining attractive and modern. Sometimes there may be extraneous sounds, such as squeaking, etc., when driving. Nevertheless, this disadvantage is not present in all models of the company. Now I want to calm you down – don’t be afraid – the rest of the interior elements in general are perfect. Moreover, the designers have eliminated most of the problems that were in the predecessor. Sitting on the front seats you feel comfortable and forgive the model its shortcomings, as their design is really well thought out and will allow you to set up the chair even for a long journey without any fatigue.

And the seat skirts allow you to keep those who are ahead in place when cornering. In addition, all the functionality is at your fingertips. The handlebars are pleasant to hold, and you can also order a heated handlebars if you like. The steering itself is also comfortable. In addition, it is equipped with a small number of buttons to control the multimedia and it is possible to adjust the depth of landing wheel. The dashboard together with the screens got rid of the bright blue backlight, which was very annoying when driving in the dark.

Now we see only a black background, and only a small part of the design remains blue. Of course, there are no many multimedia and service features in this salon, but the whole range of services is present and very rationally located. There is no need to stretch from the driver’s seat to use this feature. Even on curves, this will not be a big inconvenience to you.  The gearbox control lever, respectively, is located slightly lower and is also easy to operate.

The second row of this car also has its own peculiarities. For example, the doors in the area of handles are covered with pleasant to the touch leather, and in the back have got small pockets for small things and places for bottles. In the top version you can even decorate the salon as a tree, but the feasibility of this still remains questionable.

Nevertheless, landing on the rear seats is very inconvenient because of the domed roof – style style, and practicality was missed. And as in the majority of budget cars, if it will be convenient for two, the three located behind will not be very comfortable that will cause some inconvenience.

The luggage compartment doesn’t cause a nag. The convenient enough compartment holds up to 465 litres of luggage. And transforming the rear row of seats we get more than a thousand liters for load placement. In general, the entire interior is made quite ergonomically and even with its not most comfortable forms is inside quite comfortably.

Specifications

For the Solaris model, Hyundai presents a familiar range of Gamma engines that are mounted on both hatchback and sedan. Any restyles did not touch the engines themselves. The first and less powerful engine is a unit with four cylinders located in a row and working in tandem with 16 valves of DOHC type and volume of 1,4 liters. The version is also equipped with multipoint fuel injection and gas distribution phase change system.

Horsepower at the junior 107, 6,300 revolutions per minute. And the torque peak is 135.4 N*m at 5,000 rpm. The engine structure allows it to fully comply with Euro-4 environmental standards. Torque is transmitted through a manual gearbox with five stages or 4-stage automatic transmission.

The mechanically equipped sedan can reach 100 km/h in 11.5 seconds. In the presence of “automatic”, this figure drops to 13.4 seconds. Also the maximum speed of acceleration is reduced.

Fuel consumption is also good: on average, Solaris uses 5.9 liters on average, processing 7-8 liters when driving around the city, and just over 5 liters per 100 kilometers outside. The automated version requires slightly more similar indicators are equal: 6.4 – on average, 8-9 – in the city and 5-6 on the road.

The second, larger and stronger power unit, copying the younger brother has a four-cylinder structure with a 16-valve gas distribution mechanism such as DOHC has a system of phases of gas distribution, but the working volume is already equal to 1.6 liters, which increased its sharpness to 123 hp at 6300 rpm. The maximum torque of this Hyundai Solaris engine is 155 N*m, thanks to a mark of 4200 rpm. The Koreans have done everything possible to ensure that both engines in this range meet the Euro-4 standards, so this version is also okay.

And the gearbox of the ship is offered more durably – “mechanics” and “automaton” of six stages, coming from the model “Elantra”. If there is an ICPC and a top engine, the new Solaris will take you up to 100 km/h in 10.3 seconds, and with an automatic transmission up to a hundred on the speedometer you will go in 11.2 seconds.

The maximum speed of this sports sedan is accordingly equal to 190 and 185 km/hour. When using mechanics, in the city you will have an average of 8 – 9 liters per hundred liters on the average, on the track for the same distance you will spend 5 – 6 liters. Accordingly, that the modification with the presence of the automatic transmission will consume much more: now 8.8 liters in urban traffic and 5.2 liters when driving on the road.

It is impossible to omit the fact that the engines are adapted to work in the Russian conditions and can work without problems on 92m of gasoline. Suspension in Hyundai Solaris Sedan after restyling did not make any special changes, only slightly adjusting the settings for the smoothness of the car.

The front part is mounted on the popular and proven reliability of multilever design MacPherson and reinforced transverse stability stabilizer. The rear part is supported by a semi-independent torsion beam supplemented by springs. The brake system is typical: ventilated disc brakes at the front and only available in the basic set at the rear. On top of that, the rack and pinion control mechanism works with the help of electric power steering.

Safety

Security systems:

• Central lock;
• Immobilizer.

Passive safety:

• Airbags for driver and front passenger (can be installed 4 more);
• Rear driver warning system for emergency braking (ESS)
• Height adjustment of the front seatbelts.

Active safety and suspension:

• Anti-blocking braking system (ABS);
• Electronic brake force distribution system (EBD);
• Rear disc brakes.

Airbags. The presence of six cushions (only two in the drain) and curtains for the rear doors allow our sports sedan to be among the most protected cars of its class.

Belt tensioners. In the event of an accident, special sensors detect the impact of the impact by tightening the seatbelts to ensure that the body is stationary, thus contributing to better protection.

Highly efficient braking system. A combination of ABS and EBD generates smooth braking and braking even when driving dynamically. When the brake is activated, the antilock system is activated to keep the vehicle under control and prevent skidding.

Crash test

The bodywork is made of galvanized steel 0.6 – 0.8 mm thick. This fully corresponds to the conditions set by the Russian car market. And everything would be fine, but during the Hyundai Solaris crash-test of the frontal collision. The body has absorbed part of the inertia, but the legs and chest of those sitting at the front are protected very mediocre because of the extraordinary elasticity of many elements of the same body. However, with six airbags in the kit, Solaris scored five stars in the ratings from IIHS and China NCAP.

Complete sets and prices

Despite the fact that there were 5 packages for Hyundai Solaris in the beginning, now their number has been reduced to three. At the moment the car is available in the following versions: Active, Comfort and Elegance. The family version is equipped with a heavy engine of 1.6 (123 hp). For all the others it is lighter with a volume of 1.4 (107 hp). Here’s a list of all the kits presented:

• “Active“

It can be said that this version has purely basic functions. On board with the “Active” package there will be an ABS and EBD system, and a pair of front airbags, an on-board computer, front windows will be equipped with electric drive, central locking, steel discs with nice hoods, optics, as mentioned at the beginning, halogen, side mirrors of the rear view are equipped with heating and electric adjustment, driver’s seat with heated and adjustable height and an audio system with four speakers.

With either an automatic transmission or a top engine, it’s all standard equipment. The price of all this in 2016 varies depending on the configuration of the sedan: 623 900 – 753 400 rubles.

• “Comfort“

The whole list from the previous package becomes standard accordingly. Here, the rows have been added, the heating of the windshield in the area of wipers, electric rear window lift rear doors, a full audio system and a steering wheel equipped with keys to control the multimedia system.

Options for the “Comfort” version are parktronic at the back (the image is displayed on the screen built into the rear view mirror), the possibility of adjusting the depth of the steering wheel, handlebar and lever leather, heating the steering wheel and the entire area of the windshield and side airbags at the back. The price list for Hyundai Solaris in 2016-2017 will be within the framework of 699 900 – 764 900 rubles.

• “Elegan“

The equipment package for the top-of-the-line Solaris model has taken everything from the “Comfort” version with the exception of a few options, such as: directional stability system, fog lights, solid windscreen heating, light sensor and safety can be increased by adding side airbags.

In addition, the following additions can be made: rear view camera, button start, central locking on the remote control and a small detail – side “curtains”. Elegant” package will cost the buyer in the price range from 766 400 to 831 400 rubles.

All versions of Hyundai Solaris in Russia have a full-size spare wheel in the trunk, and for the body color – beige metallic will not have to pay extra. Moreover, starting from summer 2016, an integrated navigation system will be available as an option.

We sum up

Of course, with so many drawbacks it’s easy to say that the car is bad, but you shouldn’t turn a blind eye to the positive aspects of Hyundai Solaris, because there are also many of them. The functionality for the budget car level is very good. Sitting inside you feel comfortable and cozy despite the abundance of plastic.

A wide range of equipment and tooling allows the customer to choose the option that suits him best. And among other things, even if you buy a basic package, you will still be driving an interesting and distinctive car with a good engine, which makes this sedan one of the best in its class.

We advise you to read the article: History of Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Solaris 2014 photo

Test drive

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