Hyundai Trajet Car Review

Hyundai has entered the rapidly growing people-mover market with the recent release of its seven seat version called Trajet, pronounced "Trar-shay'. While the name is derived from the French, meaning journey, route or distance, its design concept was developed in Hyundai's European design studio located in Germany and its Euro styling is obvious at first glance.

With a development term of just 30 months, Hyundai has geared the Trajet to satisfy what it believes to be the three main criteria for an ideal people-mover: size, performance and price. When Trajet's competitors are measured up against these requirements, Hyundai believes that each one fails to satisfy in at least one of these areas. With the belief that Trajet satisfies all three criteria, Hyundai is confident that this vehicle will have particular appeal to women drivers who will appreciate its manoeuvrability, vision, performance, compactness and its flexible, but spacious seating arrangements.

Although the Trajet is priced to appeal mostly to the lower end of the people-mover market, the GLS model is equipped to attack the top end of the market at a more acceptable price. It is therefore conceivable to expect competition from Voyager, Odyssey, Carnival, MPV, Nimbus, Starwagon, Spacia, Tarago and Caravelle. The market is relatively small, but the competition is obviously fierce.

There are just two models of the Trajet, a GL and a GLS. The GL has a V6 engine, automatic transmission, driver's airbag, impact absorbing bumpers, power windows, mirrors and steering, dual air conditioning, central locking, engine immobiliser, Michelin tyres, a lower specification brake system with drum brakes on the rear and optional anti-lock brakes and is priced at $34,990. For an additional $4000 the GLS adds disc brakes on the rear, anti-lock brakes, CD player, alloy wheels, keyless entry, front passenger airbag, cruise control, roof rails, driver's seat lumbar adjustment and armrests on the front and second row seats.

Features & equipment

Trajet follows its competitors in the trend to V6 power, using a 2.7 litre, quad cam, 24-valve engine with an impressive 132 kW of power and 247 Nm of torque. This engine is a development of the Sonata's 2.5 litre 'Delta' engine with a larger diameter cylinder bore, optimised intake ports and low inertia pistons, conrods and crankshaft. Hyundai has made good use of the latest technology in engine design with four valves per cylinder, four camshafts and lightweight alloy conrods, and claims to achieve smooth running without using balance shafts. The air conditioner compressor and alternator are mounted directly onto the engine block, making it a more compact power unit.

Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a four speed electronically controlled transaxle with a column mounted gear selector, enabling a flat floor space between the front seats and walk-through access to the rear.

Trajet uses a fully independent suspension with McPherson struts supported by lower control arms and coil springs at the front and trailing control arms and coil springs at the rear. Anti-roll bars and gas filled dampers are used front and rear.

Both GL and GLS models are fitted with ventilated disc brakes at the front using a floating calliper and incorporating a pad-wear warning device. However, all GL models have leading/trailing shoe, drum brakes at the rear, while all GLS models are equipped with disc brakes at the rear, together with electronic brake force distribution and ABS. The GLS brake system is an option on the GL model.

Hyundai has adopted the very popular jewelled-lens front and rear lamps for both contemporary looks and efficiency.

Standard safety features on the GL Trajet include a driver's airbag, front seatbelt pre-tensioners and load limiters, front, side and rear impact absorbing bodywork, high-tensile steel bracing in the doors, roof and floor and anti-submarining pans under all the seats. A front passenger airbag is standard on the GLS and optional on the GL.

Both models are equipped with an engine immobiliser and three 12-volt power sockets, one in the lower centre area of the dash and two on the left rear trim panel inside the tailgate.

Body & finish

The Trajet's style is consistent with competitive makes and while it is not outstanding in any way, it is pleasing to the eye and functional to use. The grille, front lights and bumper style are a pleasant departure from the typical Korean look that tends to place a country of origin stamp on vehicles sourced from that country. The large sloping windscreen has become a feature of people mover vehicles and the move away from forward control design allows the engine compartment to form an impact absorbing area that increases the occupant safety level. Although the body is basically a monocoque structure, a separate bolt-on subframe with a controlled crumple rate is used to house the engine and transaxle assembly, and adds to the ease of replacement and repair.

Comfort & space

The Trajet has seating for seven people with two in the front, two bucket seats in the outer positions of the second row and three seats in the third row which has a sixty/forty split. This format provides a narrow centre walk-through passage from the front to the rear. The seats in the two rear rows are quite small in width and cushion length and as the seat height and legroom is limited, they are more suited as child seats than they are for adults. Both the second and third row seats can be easily removed leaving the whole of the rear floor space for a cargo area. The third row seat split allows some flexibility in seating and luggage arrangements.

Access to the cabin area is via front and rear hinged doors as opposed to sliding doors on each side as used by some competitors. Both types have their advantages and disadvantages depending on where the majority of parking takes place and the amount of space that is available beside the car.

All four side door trims incorporate pockets for storage and there are various other stowage compartments for convenience, plus ten cupholders. Aircraft-style food trays, supported by small gas struts, are located in the rear of the two front seatbacks for the convenience of the second row passengers. The second and third row seats have a tray and cupholder moulded into the seatback trim that can be used only when these seats are folded flat. The rear luggage area has a cargo net for holding smaller items like supermarket bags preventing items in the rear from falling to the ground when the tailgate is opened.

Only the GLS model provides roof rails, and there is no indication that these are available as an option for the lower specced GL.

It is considered a necessity with vehicles of this type to give special attention to air flow and cooling for passengers in the third row seating. Hyundai has addressed this issue by providing a dual air conditioning system that can be operated in conjunction with the front cabin cooling or separately in the rear with controls adjacent to the rearmost seat as well as on the centre dash panel. The system incorporates a pollution sensing switch and a pollen filter.

Behind the wheel

While the driving position is not the most comfortable I have experienced, the tilt adjustable steering column provides sufficient movement to enable a reasonable variation of positions. Most of the controls and instruments are placed in a typical Asian/Australian layout with the exception of the gear selector and the parkbrake. To enable a walk-through thoroughfare between the front seats, the parkbrake is an underdash foot operated lever with a hand-operated release positioned above it. For the same reason, the gear selector is mounted on the left side of the column. However, it is awkward to use and the in-dash indicator is confusing, as it operates in reverse direction to the lever movement.

With the sharp rake of the front windscreen, the top of the dash is a larger than normal area that allows the sun to reflect onto the inside of the screen causing an annoying haze with all forward vision while driving into the sun.

On the road

The 2.7 litre V6 is quite a sprightly performer with acceleration figures that were impressive for a vehicle of this type. With five adults in the Trajet there was little difference in its performance and it was able to maintain quite respectable acceleration and hill climbing ability under these conditions. The engine was responsive, smooth and relatively quiet and whilst it was a little harsh under hard acceleration, there was little difference when compared with other engines of this size.

Although the automatic transmission is reasonably basic by today's standards, it was an adequate match to the engine power and met the demands placed on it with a minimum of fuss.

The basic brake system on our test GL model functioned very efficiently during our braking distance tests, with the usual tendency of disc/drum combined systems to lock-up the rear, particularly with a light load. There was no discernible brake fade during our endurance testing. However, as the system heated up, the front disc brakes became noisy and more efficient, requiring less pedal pressure to achieve effective stopping power.

The most noticeable difference compared with competitive vehicles was the ride quality, particularly when driving over concrete road joining strips, where the suspension lacked the ability to soak up the road shock. Although the ride quality could do with some additional development, Hyundai has achieved reasonable handling characteristics that do not deteriorate noticeably with additional passengers on board.

Servicing

Like most east west V6's the Trajet's engine compartment is very crowded and access for service personnel is not an easy task. Regular service schedules are set at 15,000 km or twelve-month intervals with a major service occurring every 30,000 km. Hyundai's warranty is an impressive five-year or 130,000 km with additional cover for the battery and paintwork.

The Trajet is not designed as a towing vehicle, nor does it lend itself readily to this purpose. However, if towing is to be undertaken, Hyundai recommends a maximum of 1350 kg for a trailer with brakes and 450 kg for an unbraked trailer. A maximum roof load is specified at 100 kg.