October saw my wife deliver a bouncing baby boy. As pleased as parents would be at having a long-awaited baby boy, this bundle of joy, whom we named Aled, posed some new challenges in terms of family transportation requirements.
You see, we now had four children and sitting room in the family station wagon was in huge demand. The constant bickering and fighting over who would occupy the “dog box” on the next family outing had me pulling out my hair. After much discussion the search was on for what would best fit our expanded family’s requirements.
A minibus was the logical choice as we have vast amounts of baggage – prams and the like that big families with young kids haul around when on holiday or commuting around Joburg.
My first choice for a minibus was the Mercedes Vito range. I liked the 116 or a V6 122 shuttle, but these came with some drawbacks.
The price on the Merc bus range came at a premium with seating for eight. Ideally I would opt for the Mercedes Viano with its air suspension and great leather interior, but at R750 000 this was way out of the question.
My wife kept referring to the Hyundai H1 and convinced me to have a look at the bus.
THE WAITING GAME
At first glance the H1 looks good… but with a few minor tweaks it would look even better. The H1 was agreed on, but getting one in Hyper metallic silver with a 2.5-litre diesel engine proved to be a three-month exercise.
After chatting to some contacts, a deal was eventually negotiated and the bus was delivered to a dealership for some optional extras to be fitted.
Among these were the Smash and Grab tint, tow bar, Bluetooth, running boards (chromepipes) as well as a chrome nudge bar.
High on my agenda were the wheels, which needed to be replaced, as the 16-inch alloys the vehicle came fitted with never did it justice. Have a look at the Mercedes Viano, which looks great with the 19-inch bespoke alloys which come as standard.
The trend these days with most manufacturers is big, stylised rims which often make or break the aesthetic appeal of a vehicle.
I approached the guys at A1 who showed me some options, with the important factor being the rolling diameter of the rim and tyre, which has to match that of the manufacturer or you will have gear ratio problems which could lead to bad performance, fuel-economy issues and gearbox damage.
All this said, the rolling size fitted was a 245/30profile on a 20-inch rim, which looks great on the H1 and has had quite a few positive comments from Joe Public. The wheel set put a significant dent in my wallet.
The kids love the bus, as each one now has a window seat and there is space for three extra people (visiting family, for example).
Positives
The H1 offers the best value for money in the family minibus market.
Nine seats are on offer, as opposed to eight from rivals.
The 2.5 diesel auto has 125 KW with 392 Nm of torque and the engine is perky.
Mp3/iPod connectivity is standard. Air-con, back and front. Rear parking sensors
Five-year/150 000 km warranty and a five-year/100 000 km service plan, and 15 000 km service interval.
Negatives
The H1 comes with a basic sound system.
The H1 offers great value with basic interior fitment and comfortable leather trim in a price-beating package.
Expect to wait for diesel derivatives as demand is high. You’ll pay R424 000 for the Hyundai H1 2.5 VGT diesel auto. -Saturday Star
Hyundai h1 9-seater
Engine:2.5 litre, four-cylinder, turbodiesel, 125kW.
Fuel requirement: Low sulphur (50ppm) diesel.
Fuel consumption: Hyundai claims a combined figure of around 10 litres in 100km. Real-world driving brings 11 litres/100km in the city and around 8 litres/100km on the open road; good returns for such a capacious vehicle.
CO2 emissions: Hyundai claims 257g/km from European testing… but then says its petrol-engined version, which uses more fuel (and therefore should emit more CO2) has an official figure of 240g/km. Sloppy, we think…