I had a test drive of the iload the other week, took out the manual 2.5l turbo diesel, ive never driven a van before but was supprised at how good it was to drive. It will tow my Jayco van easly and is just long enough for the type of boards I sail without going the long wheelbase in the other brands. It also has a 5 year 160,000 km warrenty! Anyone got an oppinion or know anybody who has one?
www.hyundai.com/au/en/cars/people-movers-and-commercial/iload
From experience of having owned various brands of vans for the last 20 years I would say you get what you pay for...
actually, I have looked at the iLoad simply because the price seems to good to be true. From business point of view it's a pretty good proposition. Not sure I'd buy one privately... different story if you can buy it through your business.
The biggest problem with the Hyundai brand in general is that the re-sell value is quite poor. I remember a friend if mine had an Excel a few years back. It was cheap to buy but after about 3 years the car started falling apart... and I mean that literally. Some parts of the car simply fell off. Luckily they weren't essential to the operation of the car. Then when it came to selling the car he had a pretty hard time.
Of course that was a few years back. Hyundai might have improved since.
What are the asking for it? Given the current market you will have a lot of bargaining power even with brands like Volkswaagen or Mercedes... or better especially because the market is tough at the moment.
The iLoad is a surprisingly good vehicle. It is much quieter and more 'car like' to drive than a Transporter. It is a much smoother ride too.
I can't comment on the iLoad, but I drove a VW Transporter a few weeks back and wasn't at all impressed with it. Underpowered and not at all that comfortable, but it was only the 1.9l TDI model. Also drove the VW Caddy Maxi, same engine but heaps more get up and go. Surprisingly nice to drive and quite a bit of room for the gear.
It really isn't worth rating any Hyundai based on the Excel. That was basically built as a peoples car, cheap to build, cheap to buy and didn't last in our conditions at all well.
After spending some time in South Korea a few years ago I have a high opinion of the Hyundai brand, they produce a lot of quality products over there, just unfortunate that our first taste of the brand was with the Excel. But the more recent model they have produced certainly seem to hit the mark.
A mate of mine worked for a dealer that serviced Hyundai as the head technician and raved about the iLoad.
I'm not sure I would rate them as high as some of the euro models, but after taking a new Hiace for a drive not so long ago I don't think you would have to look to far to get a more comfortable, better riding van. The Hiace seems to be built for small people, I couldn't comfortably fit in the passenger side at all.
