Driving the new Hyundai Exter in South Africa – This is going to sell like hotcakes

Hyundai’s new entry-level crossover has landed in South Africa.

At a starting price of R269,900 and going up to a maximum of R334,900, the wallet-friendly Exter sits in the sweet spot of many buyers’ budgets and is backed by a solid brand.

Hyundai went all out when it introduced the crossover in the Western Cape this week, heralding the event as one of its most important for the year. It clearly has big targets in mind for its “little giant.”

The company afforded media the opportunity to explore the curvy roads around the Mother City and beyond from early morning to late afternoon and discover what its newest and most attainable SUV in the country is all about, and having done so, we suspect dealers will have a tough time keeping stock on showroom floors.

The little giant

While looks are subjective, I found the Exter to be fetching in the metal albeit a bit oddly proportioned in certain areas.

The greenhouse section of the crossover – which refers to everything above the window sill – is a rather bulbous affair, and the flattened rear has a characterful appearance.

Even so, with its signature H-shaped daytime running lights, aggressive front end, and stylish 15-inch alloys, you wouldn’t mistake it for anything else, and that is one of its strong points.

The Hyundai comes in at just 3,815mm long, 1,710mm wide, and 1,631mm tall, making it one of the smallest vehicles in its segment. It boasts a ride height of 185mm, enough to keep the bumpers and side skirts out of harm’s way on farm roads, or if you accidentally hit a curb in the parking lot.

The advantage of its small stature is that it has a tight turning circle of just 9.7m rendering it highly manoeuvrable in narrow spaces.

The large greenhouse also ensures excellent outward visibility and class-leading head and shoulder room. Luggage capacity in five-seater configuration is pegged at 290 litres – not bad, but not outstanding – growing to a maximum of 1,275 litres with the rear bench down.

The Exter family makes do with a 1.2-litre petrol mill generating 61kW and 114Nm which in the example I drove was matched with a five-speed manual gearbox.

I had no problems getting the crossover up steep Western Cape passes nor staying with traffic on the freeway. Don’t expect break-neck performance, but it’s unlikely to be outshined by anything else in its category.

For reference, Hyundai says its newest offering can sprint to 100km/h in 12.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 165km/h, I didn’t test these claims but I’m inclined to believe them after spending a good few hours behind the wheel.

Fuel consumption on our 200km-odd trip worked out to around 7.0l/100km on the fresh engine, so it should get closer to the claimed 5.7l/100km once broken in.

The Exter also remained composed on the road despite the coastal province doing its best to treat us to all four seasons in one day.

Over the span of five hours we were hit with everything from sunshine and clear skies to rain and intense gusts of wind, and the quirky crossover stayed stable and well-behaved through them all.

It’s worth noting that first gear is on the shorter side so you have to be quick with switching to second, and the engine periodically suffers from noticeable rev hang, once again, though, when considering its price these are hardly dealbreakers.

The launch fleet comprised only the Exter Executive trim, which sits above the base Premium and below the flagship Elite.

It’s a well-considered mid-ranger that offers luxuries such as automatic headlights, a multifunction steering wheel sheathed in artificial leather, a 4.2-inch multi-info driver’s display, an 8.0-inch central touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a reverse camera.

Safety is at the forefront with six airbags as standard across the range, as well as tyre-pressure monitoring, rear parking sensors, ABS, and Isofix child-seat anchors.

The only feedback I could give is that Hyundai should maybe consider more accommodating chairs for the next evolution of the Exter.

The firm seats take their toll after half a morning on the road and they have no adjustable headrests, as a result, the top of the fixed headrest dug into my neck every time I leaned back.

Verdict

The Exter has landed in a tough segment where value-for-money is the ultimate decider on which model buyers take home.

It counts cars like the Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, and Suzuki Ignis as its biggest rivals, which all enjoy relatively strong demand in the domestic market.

The Exter has two aces up its sleeve – a unique design and expansive after-sales agreements that include a 7-year/200,000km warranty.

Whether this will be enough to see it come out on top is a question only time will answer, but I reckon it stands a very good chance.

Hyundai Exter Executive