The compact sedan Hyundai Solaris consistently occupies the first lines of various ratings. The car has repeatedly become the best-selling model in Russia, the most popular sedan in our country, as well as the most popular model in the secondary market. Since the first generation of the car, which came out in 2011, our compatriots fell in love with this small but attractive sedan, which, when compared with our car industry, looked like something new and original. Today Solaris is produced at the Hyundai plant in St. Petersburg, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, and our website published material following a visit to production:
The new generation of Hyundai Solaris came out this year, the car has changed a little in appearance, but still retained the family traits. Yes, now some modifications of the car have received a nice new radiator grille, which visually makes the Solaris more mature and angrier, but when you look at the car from a different angle, you immediately see a certain absurdity of the profile inherent in the compact class of cars. Still, it is difficult to make the design of a small sedan completely harmonious, the Korean manufacturer, of course, managed to find a balance, but the car remained a little unsightly.
The headlights and taillights have retained the shape of the previous generation, which was produced from 2016 to 2020, but the pattern has changed, and the headlights have already received adult LED running lights. And in general, the light from Solaris is very good for this class of cars. The side mirrors remained small in size, well suited to the design of the car, but not providing the best view.
The interior design has also not changed much in comparison with its predecessor, but here it is clear that the manufacturer needs to maintain a price / performance balance, and cardinal changes even in the front panel can significantly affect the price, which has already increased due to the ruble exchange rate. But in general, I would call the Solaris interior pleasant and not particularly outdated, for a budget car just right. Yes, you can, of course, complain about the straight, rather boring front console with a simple stamping, the strangely protruding 8 ”display of the media system, which looks alien, as if the taxi driver stuck his tablet on the panel. But if you keep the cost of the car in mind, then things don’t get so bad. According to the materials, there are no revelations, for the most part hard plastic with a visually pleasing texture is used, which, unlike some Chinese, does not have a specific pungent smell. To the assembly, too, especially without questions, however, in the test car in the front panel settled “cricket”, which disappeared, then reappeared.
Even a tall person can get a job behind the wheel, despite the compact class of the car, all the adjustments are enough with a margin. At least with a height of 187 cm, I was able to get quite comfortable, and even the steering wheel adjustment for reach was more than enough. Chairs in the “solarium” are quite decent, with a good profile, with a kind of lateral support, it’s a pity, with a short pillow and too soft. There are also mistakes in ergonomics: if I move the center armrest forward, and it is more convenient with my height, then it blocks access to the cup holder.
I could no longer crawl behind myself, the child could not be put in the chair either, if only someone with a small stature can seep there. Having moved the front passenger slightly forward, I can easily sit behind him, the doorway is wide, but the threshold is too high, so the landing is not the most comfortable. Behind the almost flat floor with a small tunnel, there is legroom. I would not agree to a long trip as a rear passenger, but it is quite possible to drive there for a short time. The Isofix mounts are located along the edges of the rear sofa and are tucked away between the cushions, so you have to sweat a little when installing the chair. Even two massive child seats will fit in the back, but it is clear that there will be very little space between them, for a bag and nothing more. Another not very pleasant moment, I note that Solaris has very light doors, especially the rear ones, and you still need to get used to slamming them so that they close the first time.
Despite the fact that there is not much space in the back in the Hyundai, the car has a quite decent trunk of 480 liters, and in the underground there is also a full-size spare wheel hidden. You can increase the amount of usable space by folding the backrests of the rear sofa from the passenger compartment separately, which, when folded, form an almost flat floor. It is clear that there is no electric luggage compartment lid here, but it is spring-loaded and opens slightly by itself. If the model is equipped with keyless entry, then if you stand for 5 seconds next to the trunk with the key in its pocket, the car will open it by itself. The only sad thing is that there is only one closing handle on the right side, which is not always convenient.
In terms of filling with electronics, the car is rather meager, yet it is a budget sedan, although time will pass, and on such machines we will see an abundance of various electronic assistants. So, in our configuration there was a rear-view camera with a trajectory and a very good picture, as well as rear parking sensors. And we also had a simple cruise control with steering wheel control buttons and a light sensor, while there was no rain sensor.
The media system in our case was with an 8-inch display, which, as I said above, looks alien, like a tablet that the owner has put up. Such a strange decision is caused by the fact that the manufacturer did not change the architecture of the front panel, but at the same time increased the size of the display, so it was easier to push the screen forward a little than to make another stamping. The quality of the screen is not bad, but the resolution is low, although if you do not constantly change from one car to another, then you probably will not even pay attention to the latter. The system can work with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay over the wire, there are no difficulties in operation, and in some Solaris modifications the pre-installed Yandex.Auto is also added here. Several standard applications can be displayed on the main screen of the media system, and as a special feature I will note the presence of voice notes.
Smartphones connect to the system via Bluetooth without any problems, and the connection is always stable. The speakerphone works average, sometimes you have to raise your voice so that the interlocutor can hear you. All manipulations with calls are carried out from the screen of the media system, only music data goes to the color 4.2 ”screen on the dashboard. It’s strange that many manufacturers still don’t transfer phone data to the dashboard. Still, being distracted by a call to look at a contact on the central screen is not only inconvenient, but rather unsafe.
There are two USB ports for connecting devices in the car, one in the front and one in the back of the car. The devices are not charged too quickly from the on-board network, but if the charging speed is important, then adapters can be used, since two car sockets are available in front at once. Yes, the niche in front of the center console is small, and even the iPhone 11 does not fully fit into it, not to mention the larger devices. So the smartphone has to be put partially on the side, which is not very convenient, plus it will ride there.
Between the analogue instruments, which are easy to read, there is a small 4.2 ”display, which displays service information on the vehicle, and it is also possible to display the speedometer readings on it, which is convenient. And also for the display, you can change the themes from three preset options, but two of them immediately show a low refresh rate, which is not very pleasant for the eyes, especially while driving.
The single-zone climate control has its own display and convenient knobs for adjusting the temperature in 0.5-degree increments. The climate system works in automatic mode without any complaints. For our winter, Solaris is fully equipped, in addition to two-level heating of all seats, there is also a heated steering wheel and heated windshield.
In terms of comfort, the car is not bad for its price, but it is inferior to more expensive models. It is noisy, and not only the noise of the tires, but also the sound of the engine, especially during acceleration, as well as noise from the street, clearly breaks into the cabin. No, it’s not to such an extent that you won’t even be able to talk to the passengers, but you can still hear these extraneous sounds in the cabin. On the other hand, name a car in this price class that will provide a high level of noise insulation, in my opinion, there are none. As for the operation of the suspension, it copes well with minor defects in the roadway, but at the same time it can shake quite a bit on large irregularities.
In Russia, the car is offered with front-wheel drive and two petrol engines 1.4 and 1.6 liters, with a capacity of 100 and 123 hp. respectively. A choice of a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic. We had a car with a more powerful engine and automatic transmission. Such a car does not drive very cheerfully in the normal mode, although if you constantly drown the gas pedal, it becomes more fun. By the way, I figured out why some individual Solaris drivers run around like that. If you push the accelerator and spin the engine, then inside you feel like in a racing car, at 60 km / h you are already “rushing” at full speed, and in the cabin you can hear the sound of the engine so well, as if it were taking off. Although from the outside it certainly looks funny. But in fact “Solaris” is more tuned to a leisurely manner of movement, the box reluctantly jumps down, and if you need to accelerate, you have to press the gas or switch to manual mode. The Polo, which is a direct competitor, is more playful, albeit less comfortable than the Solaris. Yes, the consumption of the test car was stable at the level of 10 liters, both in the city and in the mixed mode, but you can refuel it with 92 gasoline.
Today the new Hyundai Solaris starts at 790 rubles, it will be the most empty version on the mechanics, for the version with an automatic machine they already ask for 000 rubles. The maximum complete set of “Solaris” is estimated at 911 rubles, another 000 will have to be paid for mother-of-pearl or metallic, since only the basic white color is free. Yes, Hyundai was the first in Russia to have a full-fledged platform for online sales, so you can not only book on the manufacturer’s website, but also pay for a car in the desired configuration and color right away. And the manufacturer will provide free delivery of your car to any official dealer of the brand in our country.
Share:
we are in social networks:
Anything to add ?! Write … eldar@mobile-review.com
