BHPian GauRanVid recently shared this with other enthusiasts:Hyundai Alcazar: 5376 km Ownership UpdateHello everyone. I am again writing to capture my observations after my last post. The below observations are only mine and does not reflect anyone else’s opinion. The last 976 Kms were done in almost 2 months and I am happy that I get to drive the car more and more now. I am still doing WFH but the catch-up with friends and family made sure, I drove the car a lot. Let me divide the experience in various categories as:What ChangedWireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto – Tired of connecting my iphone using cable as my daughter used to play songs on Spotify, I finally decided to purchase Wireless dongle. I checked with Hyundai and they are selling genuine accessory at INR 4500/- which was too high. Searched for some recommendations on our Alcazar WhatsApp group and many suggested Portronics. Used coupon from Hyundai app and purchased Tune Wireless Dongle at INR 1938/- (Cash on Delivery) on 8th Sept. Initially, I felt I have wasted the money as the adapter did not work but eventually I found out, it was my mistake as I was not following the correct process. Later, I followed the correct process and now, wireless Apple Care Play works like a charm as soon as I switch ON the car. No fuss. It has been more than 15 days now and it’s running well. Did not try the Android Auto yet but I assume it will also be same.Tune Wireless Dongle from Portronics website Slots neatly, can charge my phone wirelessly with no wires hanging aroundUse of E10 petrol – Post 1st Sept, I switched to almost E10 petrol instead of E20, even though Alcazar is officially E20 compliant. My reason is better to protect the components from hazards of oxidation by ethanol as much as possible even though this means buying costly petrol. Till now, I have done 2 refills of Speed (Bharat Petroleum) and one of Power95 (HP).Speed costed me INR 101.75 per litre in Ghaziabad whereas Power95 costed me 102.04 per litre in Rampur (UP).Speed has 12% ethanol whereas Power95 has 15% ethanol.I filled 1000/101/75=9.82 litres for my journey from Ghaziabad to Rampur (my hometown) which is approx 180 kms. With 100% AC ON and me as single person, driving at around 85kmph, I got more than 18 kmpl mileage as per odo.During my return journey, I filled 2000/102.05=19.5 litres. With 2 people on board and full load in trunk (3rd row down), AC at the lowest setting for first 30kms and then at 23 degrees, driving between 85-95 kmph, I got almost 17 kmpl.This was almost at par which I have got till now in my highway journeys. So, except some extra pinch to pocket, I am still getting same mileage.BP bunk on CISF Road, Indirapuram knew the Ethanol blend in Speed and pointed to 12% whereas HP bunk in Rampur told me that Power95 has 20% ethanol. When asked again, he got confused and said that its less than normal petrol, he was not aware of the mix. So, in Tier 2 or 3 cities, this knowledge has not reached and everyone is still selling or buying normal petrol. Also, I noticed at BP bunk in Indirapuram, only 2-3 machines has Speed petrol dispensers and rarely does someone ask for fiiling from it.I have also shifted to Speed for my Hero Pleasure scooty which is 2015 make and wanted to make sure it lives with me for long.Filled Speed today After driving back from Rampur and driving to Rohini with jam at ISBT, Kashmere gate, Bhansla, Rohini and back to home Overall mileage since the date of ownership My Driving Style – You might recall the issues I used to face in second gear on low speeds and rpms. The car used to jerk when picking in 2nd gear at red lights, traffics, etc. Not anymore. I think I get used to the tuning. Initially, I tried switching off the Auto ON-OFF feature guessing that it is leading the car to stall in low speeds or rpms but then I started feeling the engine rpms and how it is behaving and found out that I can still pick the car if I remain patient. Previously, I was releasing the clutch a few seconds faster but then eventually, I started holding back for few extra seconds and releasing the clutch a bit slowly. Now, even without any acceleration, the car crawls forward and gains momentum and then I give the acceleration. I have now stalled the car only once at a mall security check. But it was again my impatience.What SurprisedLO mode in AC – Accidentaly on a very hot summer in September, we discovered LO mode in Auto AC. As we entered the car which was super hot, my daughter kept on reducing the temperature while I was busy in opening all the glasses – windows and sunroof, she reached to LO which is below 17 degrees and we were very surprised. No where I could remember watching this LO mode. No ad, no video, not on website. Might be I missed it all. But this was a surprise and well discovered and useful feature especially in hot summers of Delhi/NCR.Build Quality of Alcazar – On two occasions in September, got hit from behind. On both the occasions we were in market, when red light turned to green, there was a mad rush to cross and suddenly vehicles in front applied brakes. To prevent my car from hitting, I had to naturally apply brakes. First time, a bike hit the back of the car below the camera area on the bumper and second time, a bike hit on the left side of skid plate. On both the occasions, there was no damage or any mark left on the car. Just a minor, non-noticeable scrub which is bound to happen in Delhi traffic. So, I am satisfied that the car build is good and all the bumper locks are well made and slotted.Steering and Brakes – I am very surprised and at the same time satisfied with the weight of steering and brakes of the car. Being with all disc brakes, the car stops with an assurance and in straight line. On highways, the steering weighs much and does not feel light. Both these give lot of confidence to me as a driver. In city, steering is super smooth and light and parking becomes very easy. Even 3-point turns becomes a charm. Also, the steering is very nice to hold. Thumb contours are well placed and bottom hand being flat, does not affect sitting. The two knobs at the bottom are useful in resting hands on long drives when roads are clean and straight.Representational pic – convienent to place hands for a while What I Don’t LikeDoor lock from inside – If I had to step out of car while someone stays inside, they had to reach to driver door handle to lock the car from inside. This is super tough with passenger seat belts and even without it. In my Duster, the center console had the door lock/unlock button right next to hazard light button.Representational pic – the door lock and unlock button in center console was convenient for passengers to lock car from inside Representational pic – the door lock and unlock button is placed too far from the passenger seat leading to lot of inconvenienceApple Car Play screen space – I don’t know what Hyundai was thinking when designing the UX/UI of entertainment screen. When using Apple Car Play, 35-40% of the area on the right side is useless and shows vertically scrollable Hyundai specific apps info like – Default Hyundai map, Calendar, Sports News, Weather, Clock, Gyrometer. This leaves only 60-65% usable area and with Apple Car Play itself divided in 3 columns – right band for apps and basic info, middle section for Google Map (in my case) and left section for voice search, music change, etc. When using Google Maps, this 60-65% area feels less and the visible map and route are inadequate. I hope in a future update, Hyundai corrects this and gives 100% slate area to Apple Car Play or more than what we have now. This will improve the user experience. Yet to experience how Android Auto looks like. Will update in next post.Waste of usable area on right side. Even the notch arrow on right side, collapses the apps but still the area is unusable. My Tyre inflator – I have an old tyre inflator which I bought in 2022/23 before our trip to Gwalior for my Duster. Car changed but I kept it with me. I never had to use it except for the date of purchase for testing. In early July, when I plugged it in Alcazar, it did not work. I thought the 12V/180W socket fuse is not working and got it checked at service center. They replaced the fuse but still the inflator did not work. Being an Engineer, I thought, its already not working what more could go wrong. So, I dismantled it. It was a simple piston mechanism. Had a bit of black grease inside. Cleaned it and oiled the piston properly. Assembled it back and to test it, gave it 12V DC from inverter battery but it did not work. Found the fuse at the plug is blown, replaced it and retested. This time it worked. Went to car and after turning the car ON, plugged it in. It started working. Connected the nozzle to one of the tyres, but after 5 mins, it stopped working. Fuse blown again. Need to get a high resistance fuse to prevent it from blowing or need to buy a new gen tyre inflator. Any recommendations.All 5 Glasses – All 4 window glasses and windscreen seems to be of low quality compared to my Duster. They are not as thick, nor had that tint preventing some amount of sunlight. A general search on Google showed that Windshield of Duster is 8 mm thick whereas that of Alcazar is 6.35 mm thick. There is no mention of Window Glass thickness but I assume it will definitely be less. I drove my Duster more than 60,000 Kms and I am pretty sure many small stones would have hit the windscreen in my 9 years of ownership but the windshield did not crack. However, in Alcazar, you might remember what happened last time. I believe this is definitely one area where Hyundai should improve in Alcazar. I am not sure about Creta but if it’s same, then both. It not only improves NVH but also strengthens glass and hence the safety of people inside.Backlit switches – When Hyundai can give illuminating strip light, practically it would have made much better sense for them to give backlit switches as well. Imagine, someone new sitting in car, it becomes a struggle for him to locate the switches unless you switch ON the overhead lights. This a basic miss and should have been given. Even now, I find hard to locate window and door lock/unlock switches in dark.What is PendingDashcam – Dashcam installation is still pending and I know its very important now a days. I finalised Qubo but was not able to take the plunge as none of the installers seems professional enough. No one knows that in a curtain airbag car, the wiring for rear camera should go from bottom of B pillar rather than top. Also, in Alcazar, since the right side of 3rd row has AC vents and knob, so the cable routing has to be done from left side. This means that one cable for hard wiring from top follows the right A pillar down to fuse panel below the bonnet release button and the second cable for rear camera should follow left A pillar down to sill and running along the bottom of B pillar to C pillar, rising up and upto rear door. I might be wrong as I can’t find any image or video of Alcazar doing similar wiring and so, I am not getting enough confidence to try it via Qubo’s installation person. I am 100% sure he will not do it as I want, neither he will have knowledge of the associated problem with deployment of airbag in case of mishap.Representational pic – Fuse panel below the bonnet release handle on the right side Representational pic – Rear AC vent and knobSecond Service – Second service is approaching in Nov or early December which is also the time for insurance renewal. Will post all details then. Also, there are two trips happening before service, so hoping to have a nice write-up.Thank you for reading to the end. I hope that you would have found the post interesting as I tried to cover the practical pointers which I experience and could not find any details anywhere. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
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