Hyundai Accent CRDI hatch or Hyundai Elantra?

[Quint]

1. FC (Diesel vs Gas)
2. Comfort
3. Safety (Hatch vs Sedan)
4. Performance
5. Reliability
6. Maintenance

Looking forward to your much needed help and suggestions. We are also open to other vehicles as long as it wouldn't get to more than what the cars cost. Thank you!

1. FC: diesel wins hands down. With the route that you have, you will have a LOT of savings if you go diesel. Accent wins.
2. Comfort: Elantra wins. Bigger, wider, more interior space, longer wheelbase.
3. Safety: Both have ratings some where but I'd go with the Elantra for that extra cushion called the rear compartment.
4. Performance: Accent. Power-to-weight ratio, turbo, size makes it more nimble, though width and center-of-gravity may mean less stability. Accent still wins.
5. Reliability: brand-wise, same. Diesel vs. gas. Diesel. Accent wins. For all other aspects of reliability i.e. suspension, electricals, etc., I'd leave it to the brand. I'd watch the suspension on both though. Hyundais have soft suspensions so I'd recommend stiffer shocks and springs to make the car more stable, though you may sacrifice comfort.
6. Maintenance: diesel. Accent wins. Common maintenance items are oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter. Occasional cleaning of EGR if you're stuck in traffic a lot. Otherwise, the diesel is a low maintenance work horse. Just make sure to put in a turbo timer as you will seem to working the turbo a lot in your mountainous and long distance drives, so you would need to properly cool down the turbo. This will help prolong your turbo's life.

You didn't mention the size of your family though so this can be a huge factor you may also need to consider especially if they're still toddlers and you need to bring their stuff with yayas in tow... In that case, consider the Innova diesel variant.

Hope this helps.

[TheMikProject]

To the TS, since you're in Baguio, I think the Accent diesel would suit you more. You'd definitely appreciate the extra torque the diesel engine has when climbing steep inclines. (Btw, have an Elantra and a CRDi Starex, both are fast, but the CRDi shines more when climbing inclines) Just be careful where you gas up your diesel Accent though, as these new CRDi engines are very sensitive to dirty fuel. (Not only Hyundai CRDi's, but also Toyota, Mitsubishi, etc common rails)

there is also the additional 5 minutes or so you will need to warm up the diesel engine every morning, and the crdi does not like idling for too long. if the crdi idles for too long the catalytic converter tends to plug up and then you will need to bring it down to flat land for some cat recycling

Although diesel do require more warmup time, I don't think modern CRDI's wouldn't have a problem when it comes to cold starting. The high pressures in the rail would easily start the diesel engine as easily as you would start a gasoline engine. Also, I don't think it's the catalytic converter that plugs up during long idles, it's the diesel particulate trap/filter that does. To avoid this, you just have to push/gun your engine once in a while (especially during long drives when the diesel has warmed enough for it to easily burn the soot in the filter) to burn the soot trapped in the filter.

Source: Is the Hyundai Grand Starex's CRDi diesel engine unreliable? - Motormouth Online | TopGear.com.ph

[viper888]

I would get the accent as the diesel engine is superior for going around mountainous areas and is very efficient
the more expensive maintenance of the accent will be more than cancelled out by the fc

unless you need the style or the trunk, get the accent
but the elantra has a manual mode in its 6 speed (might be useful going downhill) not to sure about the automatic 4 speed accent (probably it has gear locking, not recommended to be used often)

[niky]

I have heard many Pinoys talk about this so-called issue, but I have yet to see concrete evidence of the diesel being more expensive to maintain vs. a gas powered engine.

My diesel vehicle only needs the occasional oil filter, oil change, fuel filter replacements with gas savings to boot. My gas vehicles need the additional spark plugs, and not to mention more costly fuel. Give it a few ten thousand kms more, and you need to replace the ignition coil(s), the distributor cap or rotor, and the high tension wires for the gas, and yet just change the oil and filters on the diesel. Can you kindly elaborate where the extra costs for diesel will come from? Unless I'm changing common rails, and all, I don't see where the expense will come from.

Kindly educate us...

It's a bit of a tricky thing...

New gasoline engines no longer have distributor caps, or expensive high-tension wires. They have electronic ignition and ignition coils on each plug. In the long run, things like MAF sensors, electronic throttles and coils will incur maintenance costs, but these typically cost around 5-10k each to repair.

Diesels nowadays use direct injection systems running at something like 15,000 - 20,000 psi, and high pressure piezo injectors. When these go, due to dirty fuel, they often cost in the realm of 30k pesos. Each. The fuel pump is also pretty expensive. They also mostly use variable geometry turbos, which cost in the hundreds of thousands to replace, but can sometimes be repaired for 30-50k. Then you have EGRs, which are more prone to failure or clogging than gasoline EGRs due to the nature of the fuel and engine, and diesel particulate filters (to be fair, gasoline catalytic converters and O2 sensors also go bad... at around 100-150k kms or so...). And you have to change oil more often due to fuel dilution, especially if the vehicle runs a DPF cleaning cycle which involves injecting diesel into the chamber after the combustion event to clean out the DPF... this allows diesel fuel to wash into the oil, and was cited as a problem with the new Mazda SkyActivD in particular. DPF regeneration is also the reason why you can't use biofuels with many new diesels.

Then there are dual mass flywheels. These are used on some gasoline engines, but their use is more prevalent on diesels due to the excessive vibration. They have to be changed every time you change a clutch, at about 30-50k each change.

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This is not to say gasoline engines can't be maintenance nightmares... but at this point, diesels are more sophisticated than gasoline engines, and as such, maintenance costs if you keep them past 100-200k kms are a lot different from before. My Crosswind might not be as clean as these new diesels, or as powerful, but at least when something breaks, I only have to pay a fifth to a tenth of what a common-rail owner pays to fix it.

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For Hyundai small engines, though, I've been impressed with the longevity of the fuel system relative to some other makes, and the Accent CRDI should be easy (and very cheap) to care for. That said, I think the Hyundai gasoline 1.6 is also an excellent engine.

[seawind]

hello to everyone. just a newbie here since this is my first post though a member since many years ago. I'm planning to buy a car and have narrowed it down between an accent diesel or an elantra. Having read your notes from the above posts, it seems to be a question of how much cheaper will it be between maintaining a diesel engine (but savings due to lower diesel prices than gasoline) or a gas fed engine (but higher gasoline prices) for five years driving in metro manila? Can anyone give an estimate of costs and savings between the two? In other words, will I be spending more with a diesel engine or gas engine during the five years? thanks for the reply.

[chocomansi]

Hi Tsikoteers!

We already made a decision and we would like to thank everyone with their inputs. The decision came from Wifey (at bilang lambing, she always has the last say) and to tell you honestly, the decision came unexpectedly and abruptly - with just one look! Couldn't argue more , she's fixated with her beauty in Veloster Red - our hunting ended with the Accent CRDI A/T. I'm hoping against hope that the reliability will last 10-15 years. (But we know that our fellow tsikoteers are always willing to share their knowledge should such circumstances arise).

[weisshorn]

Hi Tsikoteers!

We already made a decision and we would like to thank everyone with their inputs. The decision came from Wifey (at bilang lambing, she always has the last say) and to tell you honestly, the decision came unexpectedly and abruptly - with just one look! Couldn't argue more , she's fixated with her beauty in Veloster Red - our hunting ended with the Accent CRDI A/T. I'm hoping against hope that the reliability will last 10-15 years. (But we know that our fellow tsikoteers are always willing to share their knowledge should such circumstances arise).

wow accent hatch in veloster red!! congrats sir ganda nyan. anyway in my own experience, hindi naman problema ang pag alaga ng hyundai crdi engine, di rin siya expensive. my 2007 1st gen tucson with 65k++ km odo is still kicking hard. regular change oil, oil filter & fuel filter lang ang katapat sa service station of my choice (pag ayaw ko dumihan kamay ko). 2 times ko na nilinis ang egr, on both occassion malinis pa sia pati ang egr cooler kahit na minsan sa small station ako nag fill up ng diesel kasi minsan matigas din ulo ko (pero wag nyo po ko gayahin, doon po kayo mag refuel sa siguradong malinis). with proper care, i'm sure matagal ang pagsasamahan nyo ng accent mo. Congrats po!!

[Zyrus]

Congrats bro! I believe you've got the right car. I have been driving a diesel hatch(di nga lang hyundai) for 2 and a half years now and have clocked almost 45K on the odo. I have no issues with the engine and the whole car itself. I have been into your dilemma of choosing between the gas and diesel car but the performance of in the diesel ride tipped the scale.. Like you, im very happy i went for the right choice.. Drive safely.

[millean]

FC of this sir. M/T = highway and city driving. And A/T - highway and city driving. TIA

[Cala Chuchi]

congrats sa inyo chocomansi and wifey!

i am currently having the same problem, nalilito between accent hb crdi and elantra.
we will use it mostly here in metro manila to meet clients. (kalimutan muna ang pangarap na SF3!)

impressive ang fc at power ng crdi, very practical. also, bago pa siya sa market so madali pa ibenta in about 5-8 years.
pero impressive din ang elantra in terms of looks and overall package kahit yung 1.6 lang (kahit medyo matagal na siya sa kalsada).

mas nauna ko minahal si elantra kaya malamang yun na kukunin namin. mahaba din kasi pila sa accent hb at wala pa enough units.
ang tanong ko lang, saan po ang best deal? meron po ba bigger discounts dahil medyo luma na siya at may parating nang elantra coupe?
parang may kakatapos lang kasi na promo yung hyundai, di ko naabutan.
pwede niyo po ako i-refer sa mga SA ninyo na okey ang discounts at freebies at maasikaso talaga?
we need the unit sana by next week.

salamat po in advance!