Hyundai H1 Elite Bus Diesel – Just Hop on the Bus, Gus!

By Stuart Johnston

Hyundai’s H1 Bus, along with the Van variant, has been around since 2009, and since that time over 18 000 examples have been sold in South Africa, about 15 000 of them being of the people-carrier variety. H1 buses are everyday sightings in just about every part of the country, and they’ve gained an excellent reputation for being as reliable as a Gauteng thunderstorm on a summer afternoon. And even so, Hyundai backs them up with the best warranty currently on offer.

But times change, and arch rival Volkswagen was starting to outsell this perennial market-leader in the family bus arena, so, clearly it was time for a change.

Styling

The new H1 bus is for all intents and purposes the same as the old H1 bus. Like Porsche discovered with the 911 over the past half century, why fix something if it ain’t broken? Nevertheless the styling updates Hyundai have made for the face-lifted model, introduced in May this year,  have given the H1 a real shot in the image-consciousness artery. The new grille and headlight arrangement, complete with projector lights, make it stand out clearly as modern rendition of an old friend. So, too, do the 17-inch alloys fitted the Elite version of the bus. They are a little bit on the fancy-chintzy side of the styling spectrum, but so much sheet-metal, unavoidable in a bus with a length of well over five metres, needs a bit of bling to make you sit up and take notice!

The addition of polished metal to the grille makes a huge difference in turning this into more of a lifestyle bus than what it resembled in the past, which was more of an airport shuttle, image-wise.

Space and comfort

Aah. What is the H1 all about, if not space? And a fair degree of comfort too. This vehicle is rated as an eight-seater, but up front in the cabin there is a fold –down jump seat that can be employed to turn it into a nine seater! Not only that, but unlike many seven-seater SUVs and some MPVs, when all eight seats are in the upright position ( not all of them fold flat in the H1 bus, by the way), there is a still a huge amount of luggage space. No less than 842 litres worth, about twice the amount of luggage space you get in an average-sized sedan. The third row of seats feature full backrest adjustment

Although the second and third row of seats are of the bench variety, there is still good side-bolstering for the occupants engineered in the design. And head room is out of sight, which is what these devices are all about. If you have lots of children, this will be heaven for them.

The new model now sports an upgraded infotainment pod in the centre of the dash, which looks funky, and can also be upgraded to a full-on Nav system for under R3 000!

Safety

Hyundai manufacturers its own steel, and the H1 design sees a good proportion of high-tensile steel used for the cabin structure, which, in fact, comprises most of the vehicle. A special ring hoop design of high-tensile steel provides side impact and roll-over protection. In addition to a strong structure, the raised ride height of vans such as this means an extra level of protection against larger vehicles colliding with your vehicle. This Elite bus version features four airbags for the front seat passengers, and pre-tensioner-type safety belts for all occupants. Central locking is standard and child-proof safety locks are provided for the rear doors.

The Drive

Paull Simon sang about hopping on the bus, Gus, as if it would be an enlightening and indeed, joyful experience. And with the H1 it is! The first thing that strikes you about the H1 is that it is just so darned easy to manoeuvre. This is thanks to an excellent turning circle of 11,2 metres, a short stubby nose that enables you to gauge where the bumper is when parking, and, now, for the facelift model, a reverse camera, that makes itself visible in the rear-view mirror.

The 2,5 CRDi Elite bus comes only in automatic, while the petrol-engined (much cheaper!) bus comes with a manual transmission. The ride is extremely comfortable and effortless, and you find yourself enjoying hopping on the bus, Gus, for each and every trip. It is almost like a magic carpet ride, to plagiarise yet another song lyric from the classic era of rock and roll.

Talking of rock and roll, the H1 stays extremely flat around corners, and there is none of the lurching that you may associate with, say, a taxi. Part of the key to this stability is that the H1 has its engine longitudinally located, and is rear-wheel-drive. We believe it adds an extra dimension of stability at high speed to this large vehicle.

Performance

Talking of size, the H1 Elite Bus  weighs some 2,15 tons, but it is no slouch, despite making do with just125 kW. That’s because it puts its 440 Nm to excellent use, especially through the five-speed automatic gearbox. There is imperceptible turbo lag when pulling away which is great for making cross-traffic turns at intersections. The engine is reasonably quiet for a diesel even when pushing hard. If you are obsessive enough to do any standing start acceleration runs with the H1, you will note it takes just over 14 seconds to reach 100 km/h, and goes on to a top speed of 180 km/h – an academic figure for a vehicle like this.

Fuel consumption

It all depends on how you drive this car. Use a heavy foot and you will achieve figures of over 12 litres/100 km around town, but take her easy, using a light foot to build up speed, and you will get close to the claimed average of 9,8 litres/100 km. That’s a lot lighter than what you will achieve with the petrol model, by the way. A high torque engine in a heavy body is always going to beat a low torque engine in a heavy body, simply because you have to rev the lower torque engine constantly, using the gears to keep momentum. By the way, once of the H1’s big attributes is a big 75-litre fuel tank.

Pricing

Those of us who were around in 2009 when the first H1 broke cover will remember that it squeaked in at just under R300 000! Those days are long gone, and with the rand losing huge value and Korean currency strong, today the H1  2.5 CRDi Elite Diesel Bus will cost you R639 900. If you can live with higher fuel consumption, less go and a manual transmission, you can buy the petrol version for a lot less – R499 900 – but it wouldn’t be our choice. The Elite’s pricing still sees it undercut  it’s natural rival, the VW Kombi Comfortline 2.0 TDi, by about R27 000.

The Hyundai comes with a massive five-year/150 000 km warranty, with an additional two years/50 000 km manufacturer’s powertrain warranty, as well as a 5 year/150 000 km roadside assistance plan and 5-year/90 000 km service plan.

Verdict

The Hyundai H1 bus has a wonderful elegance about the way it operates in traffic or the open road. It’s cavernous cabin space makes huge sense if you have plenty of family or friends to cart around. Yet even if you are driving on your own as a commuter, it’s relaxed gait and commanding driving view, way up there, make it an absolute pleasure. And it’s a lot easier to park than your average 4X4 in an underground parking lot. It isn’t cheap, but then neither is its natural rival, the VW Kombi. The Kombi still outguns the H1 for style, but with Hyundai’s excellent reputation for reliability and that great warranty and service plan, it is easy to see why so many of them have sold her since 2009.

Expert rating: 4 out of 5