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The iMax's 2.5-litre 125kW diesel engine is reasonably quiet on startup and on the open flat road, but not when hills are encountered. Photo Gallery
- Hyundai iMax is so big that the driver sits high enough to nearly eyeball bus drivers.
- Fuel economy runs around 10L/100km and it does boast a big (75-litre) tank.
- The iMax is priced at $39,990.
David Fitzsimons road tests and reviews the Hyundai iMax CRDi as a people mover.
Not all people movers are the same. You may think that they can be simply lumped together as the family bus or van that people with a lot of kids need to buy. The sort of car that would never be anyone's first choice. Well, as someone who has driven most of them, through both need and interest, I can tell you they're not.
They roughly fall into four categories. There's the small, such as the Kia Rondo, Toyota Avensis, Renault Grand Scenic and Citroen C4 Grand Picasso which really should be considered five-seaters given the lack of real rear legroom and even smaller cargo areas.
Then there's the mid-range, the ones whose ads boast of sex-appeal such as the $40,000-plus range including the Honda Odyssey, Mitsubishi Grandis and the Dodge Journey. In that size too falls the popular Kia Carnival. Above all that are the really big ones. There are the luxury machines such as the up to $77,990 Chrysler Grand Voyager and the Toyota Tarago.
Somewhere in that mix sit the people movers that started life as vans including the offerings from VW and Mercedes. And then there's the Hyundai iMax. It's one of the newest people movers on the market and it's no shrinking violet.
At $39,990 it combines both the price range of the smaller people movers and the van-like conversion capability of the larger movers. And this one is big. So big that the aerial smacks the roof of underground carparks, so big that the driver sits high enough to nearly eyeball bus drivers, so big that the huge rear door is a wrench to open and shut and so big that you can almost walk through it.
But it is also so big that it offers heaps of luggage space in the rear even when the third row of seating is in operation. That's something very few people movers, and basically no SUVs that offer third-row seating can boast.
The iMax as tested is a basic machine. Essentially it is a commercial vehicle likely to be mainly used as a company shuttle or by basketball teams needing head room and walk-through space. But as a family van, as tested as a holiday escape machine on the recent long weekend, it lacks a lot of the features seen in comparitively priced cars. The huge gap between the two front seats cries out for a console where you can put cups and mobile phones etc. Honda's Odyssey has for years boasted a neat fold-away tray for this space.
Sat-nav and indeed even a display screen with trip information such as average fuel use etc is also missing here. On the steering wheel where cars half the price have push-button controls the iMax just has holes where the controls should sit.
Around town road noise is seriously noticeable. There's distinct rattles from the sliding doors as the car hits potholes and Sydney's damaged roads. It sounds like a van or a minibus, not a car.
Having said that the improvement in road noise is significant when it escapes the city and hits the highway. But this leads to a new problem. The 2.5-litre 125kW diesel engine is reasonably quiet on startup and on the open flat road, but not when hills are encountered. Laden with two adults and four teenagers and their luggage, it roars when it sinks through the automatic five-speeds of the gearbox up decent hills.
Surprisingly the revs don't climb significantly as this happens, indicating there's plenty of torque (392Nm) in the diesel power plant but it is noisy.
Apart from independent front and rear air-conditioning and the CD/radio player there isn't much else as far as interior features go for your $40,000.
Cloth seats with only manual positioning are standard. This is particularly annoying for the driver who constantly feels as though they are sitting too high. You feel as though you are sitting too upright, which only serves to enhance the idea that you are driving a mini-bus rather than a car.
There is a wide-range of options including even a fridge but as a standard unit the car lacks a family-friendly feel.
Fuel economy in the diesel runs around 10L/100km and it does boast a big (75-litre) tank meaning we didn't need to even think about visiting a petrol station in our four days away.
This is the sort of car that will prove ideal only for a niche of the market. Hyundai boasts that is significantly cheaper than its true competitors but comfort and features are also important.
If you don't need to seat eight large people and their goods on a regular basis there are plenty of more suitable options available on the market today.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Fit for a purpose that will suit only a few families but a lot more companies.
Hyundai iMax CRDi
Price: $39,990
Engine: 2.5-litre/4-cylinder turbodiesel 125kW/392Nm
Transmission: 5-speed auto
Economy: 9.8L/100km (claimed)
Body: 5-door wagon
Rating: 70/100
Rivals
Chrysler Grand Voyager: 75/100, from $57,990 Honda Odyssey 78/100, from $43,990 Kia Grand Carnival: 74/100, from $39,390 Dodge Journey: 73/100, from $36,990 VW Caravelle: 72/100, from $50,490
The only problem we encountered was having no reasonable air through the back windows. But this car is seriously recommended if looking for fuel efficient luxury for a large family…
