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On the engine front, everyone was of the firm opinion that the Corolla’s unit was, clearly, a few notches above the other car. Though both cars claim 125 bhp, the Elantra’s engine feels like it’s some 10-15 bhp down on the Corolla’s mill. That said, the Hyundai actually surprised me with its smooth, seamless power delivery. It isn’t as dramatic as the Corolla’s, but I found little to complain about. In fact, when I first drove the Elantra 1.8 from office to home, I had a great time and enjoyed myself thoroughly. The Korean car rolls and wallows more than the stiffly sprung Jap, but there’s a trade-off in ride quality – the Elantra certainly rides better than the Corolla. The one area (not relevant to this PET, but I’ll mention it anyway) where the Elantra is significantly lagging behind, is interiors. I said this last month, when we compared the Elantra CRDi to an Octavia TDI, and I’ll say it again – the instrument console looks quite dated, usage of red, blue and green lights is visually jarring and the rear seats aren’t very comfortable either.
Surprise, surprise!
Let’s sum this one up. The Corolla lost the PET to the Elantra, with the Korean car posting the fastest time of the day. Most of us reckon that a manual Corolla could well have turned the tables on the Hyundai, but that’s just conjecture. The stopwatch doesn’t lie and hats off to Hyundai for whupping Toyota in the PET. The Elantra’s also absolutely loaded with kit and makes the Toyota look rather poverty-spec in comparison. What’s with Toyota? Sure, their engineering brilliance is noteworthy, but why is the Corolla so sparsely equipped? Despite the hefty price premium, there’s no anti-lock brakes or airbags on this car. Why?
The answer to that question will also reveal why the Corolla failed to win any of our Car Of The Year awards in December,last year.
So, while my heart is still with the Corolla, the head votes for the Elantra. And since comparison tests must be decided on the basis of cold logic, and not emotion, the Elantra is the shock winner here. The Korean car is a true value-for-money deal – it’s better equipped than the Jap car, rides better and has a significant price advantage. Its engine is not quite as energetic, but in the real world, on the road, there’ll be very little between the two. And in tricky weather and road conditions, the Elantra, with anti-lock brakes and traction control, may well prove to be the safer of the two. Toyota have a worldwide reputation for longevity and supreme reliability, but we haven’t ever had any serious problems with our test Hyundais either. The Koreans have been playing catch-up for a long time. This time around, they’ve not only caught up with, but also passed the Japanese competition, so there.
[This test was conducted in a controlled environment, by professional drivers. Don’t replicate it on your neighbourhood streets.]
The PET is not meant to be a race. The PET circuit was designed to test and evaluate all aspects of the Corolla and the Elantra. To begin with,drivers were required to accelerate hard from the start-finish line, execute a lane change manoeuvre (at whatever speeds they were comfortable with), and come to a complete halt (brake as late as possible) before executing the U-turn which leads to the slalom section. To test tyre performance,drivers had to try and go through the slalom at a steady 50 kph before taking the second U-turn, followed by a 360-degree turn (acting as a skidpad simulator) and across the start-finish line. The total distance was 1 km, and parameters evaluated were acceleration, steering, braking,stability, and tyre performance. Quickest Elantra time was set by Shumi, at 52.62 seconds. Quickest Corolla time was Sameer’s, at 53.66 seconds.
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