Hyundai Getz 2006 review

They are sought by young, first-car owners, parents seeking a second zippy machine and everyone else who wants an efficient but cheap vehicle in a time of rising petrol prices.

This market provides the opportunity to own something cute and reliable, that doesn't necessarily come with ageing appearance, kilometres clocked and pre-loved baggage.

At $16,880 for the 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, three-door model, the Hyundai Getz is a reasonable deal, if of course you arrive at the dealers with the right expectations.

The Hyundai Getz is the second bestseller in the light car segment, of small cars under $25,000, with 10,408 sales for the year to date, behind only the Toyota Yaris and beating the Holden Barina and Suzuki Swift.

The Getz comes with some accolades to its name. The 1.6-litre was named Australia's Best Small Car for 2005, judged by Australia's auto clubs, and was also declared as the most affordable light car to own and run by NRMA Motoring and Services.

But don't expect this little package to present anything too surprising.

It's your basic small, get-around car, producing 78kW of power at 5800rpm and 144Nm at 3200rpm. The real ability of the engine takes a while to kick in and drivers have to rev it hard to get it moving.

The four-speed automatic version tested felt flimsy with the delayed response and while it was suitable for city and suburban driving, it struggled a little on highways. A manual model, giving drivers greater control over their travels, may be a better option.

Just because this South Korean baby is a smaller, cheaper car, it doesn't mean safety has to be sacrificed.

The car we tested came with the Protectz package, which adds $1290 to the price of the 1.6-litre model, but is not available on the base 1.4-litre versions.

The Protectz enhanced safety pack adds dual front side (thorax) airbags and electronic stability program (ESP) to the standard safety features on the 1.6-litre Getz models, which include an anti-skid braking system (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), four-wheel disc brakes and soft deploy driver and passenger airbags.

As with most cars in the small segment, the Getz has that fun appeal to it.

Its tall but skinny-ish body looks good from the exterior, but step inside and it's all a little disappointing, really.

The dash has a plastic look and is rather unfashionable and basic, while the console panel appears bulky.

The front seats leave the driver feeling tall and in an unusual position to the steering wheel, due to the low dash and high seats.

The seatbelts in the front are located too far behind the seats, making the driver and passenger reach for them. Space can be, as is to be expected in this sized car, cramped at times in the back, but tolerable in the front.

It has adequate storage room for phones and accessories, but more would be useful.

It comes with features including airconditioning, power windows, keyless entry, central door locking, steering wheel audio remote controls and MP3/CD player. Metallic paint is $275 extra.

The Getz can get more "sexy" if budget buyers have extra cash for the SXi version, which gives pizazz. It adds a rear spoiler, 15-inch alloy wheels and front fog lamps.

The SXi also has a better looking interior, with hot red trim on the seats and doors. This is $18,380 for the SXi automatic, and $19,670 including the Protectz package.