Just picture the scene: 10 girls, lumo outfits, so much noise, too many bags and a weekend of excitement awaiting us… This was my best friend’s last weekend as a single lady. We needed a car that could fit five girls with luggage and food. The ix35 was offered to me and I jumped at it. What a perfect weekend getaway car for the girls!
Coincidentally, the other designated driver owns a previous-generation IX35. We did look as though we were somewhat sponsored by Hyundai that weekend. If we had had any clue on how to pack or even the time to repack things we could have probably fit everything between the two cars, however, with the heat of the day pounding down on our heads and Friday afternoon traffic starting to form, we decided it best to just add another car. So it was three ladies per car.
We hit the West Coast road to take us to Paternoster. The ride was smooth, all occupants were comfortable and there was minimal road noise (this may be due to having three excitable friends in one car who can’t keep quiet). We only had one issue, but it was a big one, the aircon stopped working! It was 35 degrees outside and as we got closer to Paternoster so it got hotter. I stopped at the One Stop to check what was going on and all seemed okay. I started the car and the aircon worked, but once we got to cruising speed again, the air blew hot. I seemed to have issues with th aircon on the local launch as well. Read my driving review of the Hyundai ix35.
Apart from this hiccup, I can’t really fault this model. It has enough low down torque (being the diesel engine) to overtake at any point. I had to constantly watch my speed as I would go over the limit without even noticing it. Thank goodness for the standard cruise control.
We arrived in Paternoster feeling relaxed. I drive many cars, and some just make a drive feel much longer than it actually is. The ix35 is not one of these cars. In fact it is just so easy to drive that you forget about the distance you have covered. This is a huge plus for me. And the friends I had with me all said that with kids in the back of their cars, they could do with an easy drive.
One thing you won’t be short on, whether it’s on a road trip or piling your car with kids and their friends, is storage space. It has a console storage tray, glove box, overhead sunglass storage, armrest storage compartment, two front-seat drink holders, two rear centre armrest drink holders, four bottle holders, four map pockets and a cargo area storage compartment. It’s impressive.
This car is great for so many reasons. It looks good, the interior looks and feels high quality, it is competitively priced and suits many different lifestyles. Whether you are a new mom, a single mom, without kids, with pets, single and ready to mingle, young, old, active or not, this ix35 ticks many boxes. Pricing ranges from R319 900 for the entry level model to R449 900 for the 2,0 Elite automatic.
If you already own an ix35 please tell us about your experience of this car in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
If you already own an ix35 please tell us about your experience of this car in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.