Seems like I started late for the blog:

Being in Dubai, I started having a crave for a 4WD; The feeling became intense when my office parking space in buhairah corniche started to become full every time I came in and could see my colleagues with 4wd jeeps simply parking in a real sandy area. When the parking situation became much worse I took a chance with my Camry in the Sandy area which was a 200% percent failure! - Stuck!!

By then the car which took all my stress and strains was tired and I made up my mind in a Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tucson. Reviews after Reviews (Thanks to Google) I found that Tucson was a better rated. Hyundai also had this offer of less 3K aed which I instantly fell for.....

Black was my Fav colour and I had no other colour in mind. I started looking for black tucsons on roads and noticed:
1. They should be kept spot shiny - A little dust made it look lot dirty.
2. Scratches would showup highlighted.
3. The car gets really hot in a black car (From my experience in other black cars)

The above two factors were unavoidable in the tight parking situations of Sharjah!
Also, gulf was a place where the you find yourself melting in the hot sun. A black shade can act like an oven with 4 wheels........ I was confused and as usual finding it difficult to come with an answer.

Went to the showroom with my uncle and Aunt who also were fond of black colour. Silver was my second choice, but did not have a beige interior (I needed it like anything). Finally after all those reviews again, chose a 'light gold' colour which had its own elegance. Actually I never liked gold colour....
I kept upgrading my choice from 50K (Manual - 2WD), 55K (Auto - 2WD), 60K (Auto -4WD) then 62 (Auto - 4WD - with ABS and TCS). Finally on 01-March-2008 I got my first car under my name

Thanks guys for the comments...:liebe011:

I tried hard to drive it in the smoothest way possible especially when I was usually late to office and still needed to reach on time...

I tested the 4WD in the 'Real sandy Area' i spoke about in the previous post and worked pretty well. I also tried climbing a steep hill in Dubai Knowledge village and again scored well.... Still the driving was done smooth as I intend to use this as a long term car and did not bother about the Resale value as many typical Dubaiites do..

I managed to finish the 1k by 2nd April (Without going to Abudhabi or any far emirates) and the first thing that I did was testing the speed at emirates road. Unlike my expectations the 140 Kmph was smooth and wondered how much I benefit just because the Hyundai brand is not as highlighted as the others.... There was no beep sound at the 120 Kmph mark unlike other cars in the same category. Things I noticed after my 1 month experience with the Car:

1. A 2.0 Ltr engine gives the best economy for people like me who drive a lot at own expense. 70 AEd for a full tank and 400 Kms mileage.

2. Power lacks if you need to race in the 'D' Mode - Use the Sports Shift if you need to race.

3. Compared to Prado (My Father's Car), the vehicle is pretty light weight as a result even a small bump on road can be felt in the car.

4. The speaker system is pretty good (I bought a Kenwood mp3/ usb player).

5. Steering is a bit tight.

6. AC Cooling is excellent - eventhough there is no rear AC vent.

7. Luggage space is excellent.

Overall I put this car as the best 'Value for Money' if for Long term use.

1st August: :banana: Pulled out a Mercedez SLK out of the sand yesterday. I understood that the 4WD is functioning properly. The mileage has slightly reduced and now is giving only around 350 Kms which is still pretty good and my car crossed 7k Kms eventhough There is only 5 Kms ride from my office to House.. :thumbsup:

31th August: Noticed a couple of times that when going @ 160 Kmph a wierd noise like a buzz seems to appear from the right front tyre. Went to Service centre yesterday and checked with a good driver and technician. HE drove at the same speed and told it is a wind noise and may need to replace the door rubber panels. Maybe it is right as the noise appears only after I cross 140. He gave a lot of advise and reasons not to go at high speed... The best thing is .... I am really convinced except for the fact that my adviser was driving like crazy to test the faults...

This post has been edited by nitinvn82: Aug 31 2008, 09:35 AM

welcome to the forums :00000732:

congrats. on your new ride

Hi and :00000732: to the forums

Your Tucson will make you smile whenever you take it out for a run-believe me I have been smiling now since 2004 :thumbsup:

Cheers
Itza :460: :460: :460:

Welcome to the forum. I love my Tucson; good luck with yours!

Sounds great, Can't wait to have mine, only a few more weeks.

What warranty was available, did you buy the car from a hyundai dealer?
Have fun, keep us updated...

and :liebe011: for the info!

mm

Hi

I recently got 1 and ran 3200 kms already.
Initially, i used to get 380-400 kms (hor-al-anz to burdubai) and after my first service at 2000kms (supposed to be at 1k), it gradually reduced and now only running 300 kms / 71-75 dhs.

And whats the standard tire pressure to be maintained?

Thanks
Ilyas

In the UK 30lbs per sq inch is normal but you should have a sticker inside the drivers door piller that will state what is normal for your area.

Cheers

Itza

Hi,

Are you satisfied about the AC so far? Specially there is no air vent on the rear seats, it is getting warmer here in Dubai 45c ! I'm expecting the 2009 V6 soon.

The cooling is very good even though without the rear AC. Only negative point I faced is the lack of pulling.. Sometimes you step on the accelerator, but vehicle does not respond that much. So I use the trip tronic gear shift, shift to a lower gear, increase the RPM and then shift to higher gear...