Preloved Wheels Hyundai Lantra 1995-98
Newcastle Herald
Wednesday February 23, 2000
WHEN Western Australian businessman Alan Bond started bringing the Korean Hyundai cars to Australia back in the mid-1980s the venture was seen as a bit of a joke.
Unknown cars with iffy quality and a strange name would, it was generally thought, sink faster than a torpedoed Americas Cup yacht.
But history was far kinder to Hyundai than anyone would have thought possible 15 years ago and the marque not only persisted, it flourished although not under the stewardship of Mr Bond.
Move forward to May 1991 and there was a new, bigger Hyundai in town. The little Excels had done their job in whipping-up sales and getting noticed.
Now it was time for a second-string vehicle and its name was Lantra.
By August 1995, the period we are dealing with here, Lantra was in its third generation and, like its baby brother Excel, was improving all the time.
Compared to the car it replaced it was a whole new ball game, bigger in every direction and with a slightly smaller but slightly more powerful engine.
Measuring 4420mm from stem to stern and sitting on a 2550mm wheelbase the car stood 1395mm tall and had a total width of 1700mm making it 32mm longer, 10mm higher and 12mm wider than the previous model with a wheelbase 50mm longer.
The fuel-injected, double overhead camshaft, 1795cc engine was 41cc smaller in capacity than the second generation car but made 94kW, one kiloWatt more than the older model.
When it was released in 1995 the Lantra came in just one body style, a four-door sedan in two trim levels, GL and GLS.
Equipment levels varied from reasonable to excellent depending on the model.
The base GL, for example, offered buyers power steering, full dress wheel trims, a split/fold rear seat, four-speaker AM/FM radio/cassette, combination vinyl and cloth trim, height adjustable front seats, intermittent windscreen wipers and, unusual on a car in that class, anti-lock brakes.
The more upmarket GLS added central locking, full cloth trim, power operation for mirrors and windows, front map lights, power radio antenna, cup holders and a tilt-adjustable steering column to the package.
And a bigger price tag. In 1995 the GL model cost $24,850 new while the GLS cost $26,850.
In February 1996 Hyundai chose the Brisbane Motor Show as the launch pad for an even more upmarket Lantra, the SE, and a station wagon variant called Sportswagon.
The SE came in below GL as the entry-level model, Hyundai pulling $2000 from the price and some equipment from the car, most noticeably the anti-lock braking and four-wheel discs, reverting to a disc/drum set-up.
At the same time the GL gained a tilt-adjustable steering column.
But all attention was turned to the Sportswagon, one of only a few station wagons then available in the compact/medium class.
Initially released in GL and GLS trim levels the wagons carried the same standard equipment as their sedan counterparts and gained a couple of useful items, notably integrated roof racks and cargo area blinds.
Lantra's styling was pleasant but noticeably different to cars coming out of Japan and Europe. It had a slightly `bum high' look and the design, in profile, reflected contemporary cab-forward design philosophies.
The first third generation models had their radiator grille openings below the front bumper bar. Lantra still lives today and has been supplemented by a couple of even bigger cars, the Sonata and the Grandeur, a genuine Magna/Camry chaser.
But despite the fact that bigger cars have been added to the range Lantra will always be remembered as the car which helped change Hyundai's reputation from cheap and iffy to cheap and cheerful. Brent Davison.
At a glance
What to look for
THE perception remains in the market place that Korean cars are still cheap and nasty and that can play into a buyer's hands.
True, some of the early cars from Hyundai and co did have build problems but that was not a big issue for later models.
Still, it does not hurt to give the Lantra a good lookover, particularly around the panel gaps and trim areas to see what (if anything) has moved away from where it should be.
Rust will not be a problem in young cars and spare parts are cheap and plentiful.
Just remember: buying cheap means selling cheap down the track. Korean cars still do not have great value retention.
What to pay
Lantra GL sedan: 1995, $14,000; 1996, $14,500; 1997, $16,000; 1998, $18,000
Lantra GLS sedan: 1995, $14,800; 1996, $15,300; 1997, $17,200; 1998, $19,500
Lantra SE sedan: 1996, $14,300; 1997, $15,300; 1998, $16,800
Lantra GL Sportswagon: 1996, $15,000; 1997, $16,800; 1998, $18,800
Lantra GLS Sportswagon: 1996, $15,800; 1997, $17,800; 1998, $20,000
Lantra SE Sportswagon: 1996, $14,800; 1997, $15,800; 1998, $17,600
(Retail prices courtesy of industry analyst Glass's Guide)
© 2000 Newcastle Herald
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