Local debut driving: Who are you really Hyundai Bayon?
It has the logo, it has the look, the price starts at NIS 124,000, on the surface it seems that nothing stands between Hyundai Bayon and a sales hit.
is that so?
Kenan Cohen
08/16/2022
Tuesday, August 16, 2022, 13:53 Updated: 14:24
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Comes to the market with sharp lines and a striking appearance, the hot commodity of the category (photo: Keinan Cohen)
Just before we talk about Hyundai Bayon, a few words about this model at Hyundai and Hyundai in general.
The company's current model offering in Israel includes no less than 6 crossovers, from the small Hyundai to the huge Palisade.
In this way, it stands in a very comfortable position to allow every customer who enters the showroom to find the right vehicle for him, both in terms of meeting needs and in terms of budget.
Regarding Hyundai in general, as a manufacturer, it marks the way in which it has long since completed a transformation into a global manufacturer that knows how to do everything, including the production of similar models for different markets, and with an offer that puts under the same logo cars that are in a very large quality range;
The Hyundai Ioniq 5, which left us full of appreciation after every encounter with it, is an excellent example of how high it is capable of reaching.
Not as tall as some of his competitors (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
It is clear that one of its main assets is the external appearance.
Hyundai rode a wave where the manufacturer revolutionized its design and did not hesitate to release some of its models with a very unusual appearance.
Ionic 5, Tucson, Staria and this little guy too.
The cabin takes some of the wind out of the sails.
Underneath the design that tries to be creative and advanced are very simple materials, rigid and uninviting to the touch.
On a positive note, this unpretentious simplicity also allows for a driver environment that is easy to understand and operate.
A large and clear physical button for every important function from the audio system, the climate control to the driving modes.
Even when the touch screen needs to be manipulated, it is done conveniently with large and clear icons.
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A simple passenger compartment, but this is its great advantage (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Despite driving in the highest finish level "Superim", there is no dizzying sense of richness in the accessories.
An 8-inch multimedia screen with Android and Apple compatibility, a simple and clear digital dashboard that doesn't do much beyond displaying detailed data on the central screen and changing wallpapers depending on the driving situation.
The climate control has one zone (which is greatly affected by the load on the engine and the driving situation), without rear air conditioning ports, two USB sockets in the front and one for passengers in the back, the handbrake is not electric (which is an advantage in my opinion), nice and simple fabric upholstery for the seats, only the driver's window goes down and up by touching On the other hand, there are also surprises here, such as a wireless charging pad for mobile phones, two-tone painting, a smart key, and more.
The safety specification is impressive, with lane deviation correction including keeping the center of the lane, automatic braking, warning of a vehicle in a "dead zone", detection of cross traffic when driving backwards including braking, speed sign detection, warning of the start of a vehicle in front and a reminder to help prevent forgetting Children in the car.
The space in the back will accommodate two passengers (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Front clearance is good, good considering it's a car based on the Super Mini i20.
Getting in and out of it is also really not like what we are used to seeing from crossovers and requires bending down, so the advantage of its "height" is mainly to allow sitting higher and looking out.
In fact, with a belly clearance of 16.5 cm, there are even sidewalks that will challenge the small Bayonne.
Even in the back, the seating is like in an average super mini, that is, two adults or children - no more than that.
Here, too, the plastic is very simple, and these are only its two shades that lift the atmosphere a bit.
The modest trunk of the Bayon stands at 373 liters and in this version it is even more modest due to the moderate hybrid system battery and offers 334 liters and without a spare wheel.
The loading threshold is high, but the floor is flat and its structure is square with a large loading opening.
The trunk is square and useful, the loading threshold is high.
Under the cover are the batteries of the electric assistance system that cancel the spare wheel (photo: Keinan Cohen)
The Bayon is powered by a gasoline engine with 3 supercharged cylinders with a volume of 998 cc.
This engine has two forms of delivery, a normal one in which it produces 100 horses and 17.5 kgm (and is available in the two lower trim levels) and an electrically enhanced version, the so-called "mild hybrid", which has 120 horses and 20.4 kgm.
It is connected to the front wheels by a gearbox with a double clutch and 7 transmission ratios.
On the road, what you get is a vehicle that is not in a hurry to go anywhere, and that's really gently.
It's fine in the city, where it's just the gearbox that's good in general, but less refined than in cars from the Volkswagen group, for example.
But outside of the city, when you go above the intermediate speeds, the feeling begins that the car is running out of oxygen, above 100 km/h when you have to accelerate and merge into traffic or go overtaking, you really have to spur all the horses and be patient.
If the business is in the air or you carry passengers, it is better to give up the detour.
1.0 liter engine with light electric assistance (photo: Keinan Cohen)
Its suspension calibration reminds us that this is a "budget vehicle" in the end, both in terms of handling disruptions and in the area of road behavior.
The ability to absorb bumps is not impressive and he has difficulty neutralizing small disturbances that fail to stay outside the passenger compartment, neither in terms of their passage inside nor in terms of the noise that accompanies them.
Other cars in its segment, such as the Citroen C3 Aircross, were much more impressive in this area.
Its road behavior matches its vocation as an accessible and unpretentious means of transportation.
The steering wheel is very light, with little dead space at the beginning of its turn.
It will be perfectly fine with the reactions to the steering command and the grip up to a certain level (and makes sense in relation to a small crossover) when on top of that it showed understeering and has difficulty dealing with rapid changes of direction, for example, which require the brakes to deal with weight transfers.
In terms of fuel consumption, here and like other drivers, the use of a small, supercharged engine produces an economical combination only when the vehicle is driven at its best.
The use of a mild hybrid system, here and as in other cases, is really not impressive when you look at the result at the fuel pump.
The total consumption in the test was 13.1 km per liter, and just to understand if it was him or I also went for a particularly moderate driving episode of daily driving, the consumption was 14.7 km per liter, it was him.
When they give free rein to designers, great things come out of it (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
In the specific case of the Bayon, Hyundai is putting a vehicle in the bottom line that is a renewed implementation of an idea that it already tried with the i20 Cross in the previous generation of the super mini.
So, in a car that was just a make-up and slightly raised version it didn't work.
The customers are looking for the different performance in a distinct and unique way.
I mean, they didn't have a problem in principle with the car but with the way it was presented.
Bayon has the opposite situation, it comes with a very attractive outer packaging, but with the exception of an excellent safety equipment list at this trim level, it has trouble leaving a significant mark or making a convincing argument as a product.
At night, this business is impressive and very different from what is walking around on the roads (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Still, the Hyundai Bayon has a good "case", because inside the Hyundai showroom, it sits on an optimal slot, offers more space than its competitors, and costs less than the buyer.
How does it stack up against competitors like the Toyota Yaris Cross, Citroen C3 Aircross or Volkswagen T Cross?
This is another question for a comparative test.
Of its three versions, the basic one that starts at NIS 124,000, the intermediate version at NIS 130,000 and the tested version at NIS 134,000, in the absence of a significant added value for fuel consumption and given the performance gap is not large and without too many concessions on the equipment, if you are in the direction of the Bayon, go for the intermediate version.
The electric boost here too does not produce real value (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
On the technical side: Hyundai Bayon 1.0 liter, mild hybrid
Engine, drive:
gasoline, 3 cylinders, turbo, front
volume (cc):
998 cc
power/rpm (hp):
4,500/120
torque/rpm (kgm) :
2,000/20.4
Gearbox:
robotic, double clutch, 7 gears
Dimensions:
Length (cm):
418
Width (cm):
178
Height (cm):
150
Wheelbase (cm):
258
compartment Cargo (liters):
334
Performance:
Acceleration 0-100:
10.4 seconds
Top speed:
185 km/h
Test fuel consumption:
13.1 km per liter
Competitors:
Toyota Yaris Cross, Volkswagen T Cross, Seat Aruna, Citroen C3 Aircross
Price :
134 thousand shekels (test)
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Hyundai
Crossover
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