Hyundai sharpens price point for Getz five-door

HYUNDAI has added a smaller 1.4-litre four cylinder to its Getz five-door lineup, lowing the entry price for a five-door Getz by $1000.

The Getz 1.4 five-door manual is priced at $14,490 with a four-speed automatic $16,380, identical pricing as for the three-door Getz 1.6, which recently reclaimed the NRMA/RACV Australia’s Best Small Car crown in 2005.

The Getz range now spans from $13,490 for the 1.4 three-door manual to $17,380 for the automatic 1.6 five-door.

In last October’s Getz range upgrade, the entry level Getz lifted its performance appeal by moving up to a 1.4 litre, twin-cam 16-valve Alpha engine variant from the previous model XL’s older single-cam 12-valve 1.3, boosting peak power 7.5kW to 70kW at 6000rpm and lifting torque by 9Nm to 126Nm at 3200rpm.

All Getz models have active front head restraints that cantilever forward to minimise whiplash neck injury in a rear-end impact.

The NRMA recently gave Getz the maximum “Good” rating for neck injury protection as a result of its performance in a series of internationally conducted sled rear-end crash tests of 115 new vehicles.

All three rear head restraints are low-profile, wrapover designs that retract down out of rear vision when not used.

Other Getz safety features include dual front airbags, front seatbelt pre-tensioners and load-limiters, height adjustable upper pillar front seat belt mountings, anti-submarining front seats, retractable lap-sash centre rear seatbelt, two side-impact beams in each front door and one each in rear doors, a full-size spare wheel and belt snap-on brackets fitted to all three child restraint top tether strap anchor points.

Tactile touches include perforated leather trimming of the thicker, new design steering wheel and gear shift knob, steering wheel-mounted audio controls and MP3/WMA-compatible audio.

Other standard equipment includes air-conditioning, power windows, electric door mirrors, remote central locking with alarm, power steering, heater ducting to rear footwells and split-fold rear seats.

Capping off a strong equipment list is a warranty period of five years or 130,000km.