Hyundai Problems

The Hyundai would be my bet. They are popular with young drivers and dealers like to have them in their yards for that reason. The fact that it has a bigger engine will also give it more appeal when you come to sell it. The Daihatsu's 1.0-litre engine is a little small and that will hold it back. If, however, you were planning to keep the car longer, I would be tempted to go for the Daihatsu as they have greater reliability than the Hyundai. The Daihatsu seems to be the favoured final transport of older folk who want a reliable run in their last years.

IF IT'S a manual it might be a case of getting the right balance of engine revs and clutch slip. If it's auto it might just be a case of applying the right amount of revs to keep the engine firing. As for the doors, lower the window slightly and the doors will close more easily. The Getz has a small cabin and closing the door compresses the air inside. Lowering the window allows the air to escape as you close the door.

GENERALLY the Sportwagon was a good car with plenty of features for the price. Hyundai mechanics report the engine starts to use oil once it clocks up 100,000km. Look for a well-cared-for car and get it checked by a mechanic. Also consider a Mazda 626 wagon or a Toyota Camry. It's hard to beat the Camry.

There is nothing that points to a problem with the Lantra auto in general that might cause your troubles. Given that the car is fine when cold -- when you would expect it to be getting extra fuel enrichment and perhaps some added spark -- and not when hot, I would have someone check the engine electronics for a fault. The only thing I would check on the auto would be the pulse generators. There are two, one on the input and one on the output. If they are faulty or dirty they can cause erratic shifting. Sometimes they will force the gearbox to hold a gear instead of shifting up or down. Starting off in a higher gear would feel like it has lost all performance the way you describe. The only thing to do is to take it back to a dealer and have it checked.

EXCELS do have dodgy manual gearboxes, as you've been told. Reverse is hard to select, but there is a way around the problem: select a forward gear first, then select reverse as you would normally, and you'll find it goes in OK. Second-gear synchro is the other problem area with the Excel gearbox. The problem wasn't really fixed until the Accent was released.

THERE is no reason to dump the Excel before it gets to the 100,000km mark. They are a reliable car and I have seen some with more than 200,000km up and running sweetly. Maybe people are getting out before the warranty runs out, but I see no reason to justify doing that.

THERE shouldn't be any problem leaving your car for that time. Ask a friend or neighbour you trust to start your car once a week and let it warm up, allowing the oil to run through the engine. It's a good idea to have the battery hooked to a trickle charger to keep it up to charge (letting it run down shortens its life), but that may be difficult to do in a carport. Likewise, I recommend leaving it under a cover, to protect it from the elements, but doing that can be a signal to burglars you aren't home.

FIRST to your last question. You will wonder why you haven't had fuel-injection before, it is so much better in all respects than a carburettor that you will love it. Your car will start without drama at all temperatures, will drive smoothly at all times, won't suffer from fuel vapourisation, will deliver better fuel economy and have more power. As for the Accent and Rio, I can't give you a definitive answer other than the Accent has a good reputation within the trade. The Rio isn't quite as well regarded. The feeling is that Kia is about where Hyundai was five years ago in build quality and reliability. I would favour the Hyundai, but don't have any major Kia objection.

THE Australian Design Rule calls for a speedo to be accurate to plus or minus 10 per cent, so at 100km/h your speedo could be showing anything from 90km/h to 110km/h. If it is showing 112km/h when you're actually doing 100km/h, it doesn't comply with the standard. The problem I have with your dyno test is that you don't know the accuracy of the dyno. It is also a machine with tolerances and you need to know what they are to determine the results' accuracy. Remember the speedo is built with tolerances so is unlikely ever to be 100 per cent accurate. Many other factors affect the accuracy of the speedo reading: the rolling diameter of your tyres, wear on tyres, inflation pressure and so on. The RACV regularly checks speedos for accuracy and results show speedos of modern cars are much more accurate than those on older cars. Most speedos checked fall on the conservative side -- that is, the indicated speed is higher than the actual speed.

ACCORDING to the trade, the Excel doesn't have a problem with pinging. The advice about using a higher-octane fuel to check for the source is correct. As the pinging wasn't present when PULP was used, it suggests you have a problem with the fuel you're using. Try switching brands and buying from an outlet with a high volume of sales. It's possible you've had some poor-quality fuel. If that doesn't work and you aren't satisfied with what your dealer has done, contact Hyundai's local office and express your concerns directly.