Hyundai i800When they first started to proliferate on our roads, a lot of people – some bloke called Clarkson in particular – criticised MPVs for being little more than vans with windows. Low on beauty and refinement, they still scored with practical motorists for their carrying capacity, elevated driving position and the cultural advent of the school run.In succeeding years, great efforts have been made to make the things drive and ride better, and designers have shown amazing inventiveness in disguising both their origins and their essential physical bulk. Probably the greatest exponents of beauty and the box are the C4 Picassos from Citroen, which have even succeeded in winning buyers by their funky looks alone, whether or not they thought they needed an MPV.For all that, though, there’s no getting away from the fact that the most successful people carriers of all time have little concern for outward appearance. Buses have been effectively moving people and their luggage for over a century, and their design hasn’t changed all that much in that time, because the brief remains the same – get the most you can into and out of a single vehicle.Without buying an Atlantean or a Duple Vega from E-Bay, the private motorist looking for real passenger carrying ability needs something that has at least some pretensions of being a proper car, but comes the nearest possible to being a bus.The Hyundai i800 comes close to being a bus. It seats eight in decent comfort and, unlike many of the MPVs that are less like a van with windows, it will also carry all their luggage. What’s more, because there is plenty of luggage space at the back, those sitting in the rearmost seats are not vulnerable in the way that is often criticised in other MPVs.It’s not a thing of beauty, but it has a presence and dignity that comes with its enormous bulk. I drove the test car over eighteen hundred miles and found its driving position excellent, as well as the big, torquey 2.5 litre diesel engine. The Korean makers have finally bowed to pressure and turned the indicator and wiper stalks round to match European practice, though there are other features that are a bit odd to our tastes.It’s unusual for a van, never mind a people carrier, on this scale not to offer armrests for any of the passengers – even at a basic level. Our test car seemed to have numerous controls for the heating and ventilation in the back of the car, which was impressive, but for some reason only the driver had a heated seat. I somehow don’t think many husbands reading this would dare enjoy the benefits of a heated seat that were denied to their wives....The middle row of seats has en enormous amount of travel, which means access to the rear row is easy, and the middle row would have legroom for a tyrannosaurus. I’ve heard the fact that there is nothing but space between the driver’s and passenger seats criticised, but we found the feature especially useful. In confined spaces, front seat passengers could easily pass further down the bus through this gap and leave via the convenient rear sliding doors.The rear row of seats is static, but it’s easy to come up with a configuration that suits all eight passengers. Visibility is excellent, with no ‘design features’ to get in anyone’s way, and a really high vantage point, which is equally helpful for the driver.There’s no denying it’s a big vehicle to manage, though this is greatly helped by the big van-style mirrors and rear proximity sensors on the test car (which can be switched off, mercifully). Its long wheelbase necessitates a certain amount of calculation when it comes to supermarket car parks and reversing manoeuvres. But, like anything else, you can get used to it in time, and the benefits far outweigh any minor inconveniences.Betraying its van origins, the ride and suspension is not terribly sophisticated, but that long wheelbase goes a long way to ameliorate its effects. On French motorways, where we did much of our test driving, progress is amazingly smooth and unruffled, and the thing was surprisingly confident on mountain roads, although the ride was sometimes caught out, and the rear-wheel-drive could sometimes suffer from a lack of traction in the manner of its kind.If there is one real criticism of the i800, it is a minor, and easily resolvable, one. It concerns the driving key, which is a basic affair with a single button on one edge, designed to perform the functions of both locking and unlocking the various doors and large tailgate. Unfortunately, the button is too unprotected and can be too easily set off by accident. Also, if you press it to open the doors, not all of them necessarily open, so you press it again and it locks the ones you opened the first time. For a quality – and it is one – people carrier, it needs a proper key with lock and unlock functions separated.That apart, nothing on the road can beat it for its combination of people carrying, luggage space, price, quality – and one of the best warranties in the business.Dave RandleFeb '09
Hyundai i800
When they first started to proliferate on our roads, a lot of
people – some bloke called Clarkson in particular –
criticised MPVs for being little more than vans with
windows. Low on beauty and refinement, they still scored
with practical motorists for their carrying capacity,
elevated driving position and the cultural advent of the
school run.
In succeeding years, great efforts have been made to
make the things drive and ride better, and designers
have shown amazing inventiveness in disguising both
their origins and their essential physical bulk. Probably
the greatest exponents of beauty and the box are the C4
Picassos from Citroen, which have even succeeded in
winning buyers by their funky looks alone, whether or not
they thought they needed an MPV.
For all that, though,
there’s no getting away
from the fact that the most
successful people carriers
of all time have little
concern for outward
appearance. Buses have
been effectively moving
people and their luggage
for over a century, and
their design hasn’t
changed all that much in
that time, because the
brief remains the same –
get the most you can into
and out of a single
vehicle.
Without buying an
Atlantean or a Duple Vega
from E-Bay, the private motorist looking for real
passenger carrying ability needs something that has at
least some pretensions of being a proper car, but comes
the nearest possible to being a bus.
The Hyundai i800 comes close to being a bus. It seats
eight in decent comfort and, unlike many of the MPVs
that are less like a van with windows, it will also carry all
their luggage. What’s more, because there is plenty of
luggage space at the back, those sitting in the rearmost
seats are not vulnerable in the way that is often criticised
in other MPVs.
It’s not a thing of beauty, but it has a presence and
dignity that comes with its enormous bulk. I drove the
test car over eighteen hundred miles and found its
driving position excellent, as well as the big, torquey 2.5
litre diesel engine.
The Korean makers have finally bowed to pressure and
turned the indicator and wiper stalks round to match
European practice, though there are other features that
are a bit odd to our tastes.
It’s unusual for a van, never mind a people carrier, on
this scale not to offer armrests for any of the passengers
– even at a basic level. Our test car seemed to have
numerous controls for the heating and ventilation in the
back of the car, which was impressive, but for some
reason only the driver had a heated seat. I somehow
don’t think many husbands reading this would dare enjoy
the benefits of a heated seat that were denied to their
wives....
The middle row of seats has en enormous amount of
travel, which means access to the rear row is easy, and
the middle row would have legroom for a tyrannosaurus.
I’ve heard the fact that there is nothing but space
between the driver’s and passenger seats criticised, but
we found the feature especially useful. In confined
spaces, front seat passengers could easily pass further
down the bus through this gap and leave via the
convenient rear sliding doors.
The rear row of seats is static, but it’s easy to come up
with a configuration that suits all eight passengers.
Visibility is excellent, with no ‘design features’ to get in
anyone’s way, and a really high vantage point, which is
equally helpful for the driver.
There’s no denying it’s a big vehicle to manage, though
this is greatly helped by the big van-style mirrors and rear
proximity sensors on the test car (which can be switched
off, mercifully). Its long
wheelbase necessitates
a certain amount of
calculation when it
comes to supermarket
car parks and reversing
manoeuvres. But, like
anything else, you can
get used to it in time,
and the benefits far
outweigh any minor
inconveniences.
Betraying its van origins,
the ride and suspension
is not terribly
sophisticated, but that
long wheelbase goes a
long way to ameliorate
its effects. On French
motorways, where we did much of our test driving,
progress is amazingly smooth and unruffled, and the
thing was surprisingly confident on mountain roads,
although the ride was sometimes caught out, and the
rear-wheel-drive could sometimes suffer from a lack of
traction in the manner of its kind.
If there is one real criticism of the i800, it is a minor, and
easily resolvable, one. It concerns the driving key, which
is a basic affair with a single button on one edge,
designed to perform the functions of both locking and
unlocking the various doors and large tailgate.
Unfortunately, the button is too unprotected and can be
too easily set off by accident. Also, if you press it to open
the doors, not all of them necessarily open, so you press
it again and it locks the ones you opened the first time.
For a quality – and it is one – people carrier, it needs a
proper key with lock and unlock functions separated.
That apart, nothing on the road can beat it for its
combination of people carrying, luggage space, price,
quality – and one of the best warranties in the business.
Dave Randle
Feb '09
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