Hyundai ix35 LM.II Highlander (2013-2015)

Average car which we purchased second hand to downsize – Use the car daily but have recently towed our caravan on a holiday for 10000 km. Had trouble and had to replace the fuel pump and injectors which cost 6,000 dollars. Not happy with availability of parts. The car is regularly serviced by a non Hyundai mechanic. It was was thoroughly checked out prior to going on our holiday.  Show details

Reliable car – Almost everything about this car is great, it's reliable and very fuel efficient. I love the leather interior and smooth drive, not had any issues thus far except for the plastics on the dash ruining quite easily. Hyundai are known for their poor quailty plastics and leather so i hope it doesn't get much worse.  Show details

Great Car Packed with features – I was quite pleasantly surprised when I purchased this vehicle. The car is packed with features which are too many to list. I wasn't expecting too much from the diesel motor but was really impressed by the power and acceleration provided by the 2L turbo. I have read a review that says it is lacking in power when traction control is activated but… Read more

that doesn't seem to be the case with my car. To put it simply, the acceleration, well it's awesome! The economy is quite good for a car this size (I can easily get 7L/100km on a trip, around 10L/100km city-depending how hard you push it), It is comfortable and handles quite well.

Pros:

Too many to list!

Cons:

The visibility is limited by the large pillars (that contain the air bags) and the smallish windows towards the rear.

The outside mirrors are curved giving the impression that the vehicle next to you is further back than it actually is, there are no warnings on the mirrors to indicate this.

Addendum. Since writing this review:

The car has now done over 100,000km, still going very well. It has developed a problem with the buttons (that I rarely use) on the steering wheel, maybe oxidation but either way very annoying. Developed a squeak from the rear sway bar (mechanic dabbed some grease on it, OK now).

Overall it is a great car, better than most cars I have driven.

love my ix35 highlander – drives like a car after long hours driving feel refreshed after getting out seats are comfortable great seating position , sure a lot of people complain about the brakes wearing out to soon but they do have a premium braking system and to achieve better braking something has to be sacrificed like pads are softer as well as discs, 26000klms never had a problem service costs are reasonable with fixed price servicing, would buy another tomorrow  Show details

Brakes a problem, but otherwise pretty great – My IX35 had only done 23 000 kms (!!!) before in needed its front brakes and rotors done (I was very disappointed). However, I checked with Hyundai and they said as it was a wear and tear issue (nonsense by the way) that I could have it repaired by my own mechanic and warranty was not voided. I had prepared for this by reading reviews before I… Read more

purchased. So I knew it might happen, but you don't have to get replaced by Hyundai which would have cost a fortune ( I have read anything from $900 to $1 800).. My mechanic replaced front brakes and rotors for $470....the rest of the car is running nicely.I will need to get the back brakes done in a couple of months though. I had considered buying a RAV 4 (had one before that I had LOVED) but to be honest the ix35 had better features for 10 000 cheaper (sat nav, seat warmers, sun/moon roof) so I do love those features...it was a risk, so just beware when purchasing if you get a lot of brake dust...take back to dealership before 20 000 and maybe they could do something about it (i didn't realize there was some form of coverage before 20 K )

Vibration on constant Speed. Auto isn't kicking down the gear when the load goes up – ix35 2.4 Petrol - When I drive the car on constant speed (60 km- 70km) it vibrates or call it humming, Instead of revving up it struggles to maintain speed until I accelerate or reduce speed to stop the vibration. Strangely it doesn't do that on cruise control. Car drives perfectly it revs up going uphill without any vibration. It happens more… Read more

driving uphill. Rpm of car stays just under 1500 rpm on constant speed while driving uphill as well.

I took the car to Hyundai dealer as it is still under warranty and they think it is because two different drivers driving the car, adaptive transmission control is confused. Hyundai service guy went for a drive with me and when I mentioned about that vibration. He said this is how these cars drives. Well that can't be true, I have driven few different cars and non of them had this vibration issue. They said they have reset the computer which should fix it. That didn't make any difference.

I am still having this vibration. It's a shame that Hyundai Dealership don't care about an issue unless it show a error on there monitoring system. Hyundai should design better diagnostic computer for their cars .

No point giving 5 years warranty if you are not gonna fix the car.

Great value and fuel economy – After 50000k the fuel consumption stands at 7.3 litres per 100. This is based on 120k round trip to and from work each day involving 25k of city driving and 35k of country driving each way in hilly countryside. Heated seats are a great idea on these frosty mornings. Better value than CX5 more room than Sportage better economy than Xtrail or CRV.… Read more

Plenty of features that are standard, great value for money, plenty of room for size do you really need a Sante Fe, lots of power. Services can be expensive, brake pads need doing every 35000- 40000k.

Disappointing – We have been very impressed with our Hyundai 2013 ix35 Highlander. It is comfortable, rides well and looks good. We have had it serviced every 6 months since new. Our service today was very disappointing in that with only 31,000 Kms on the clock we were told we required new discs on the front. Our last service was at 15,000 Kms and all… Read more

appeared to be fine. We also had a service at 5,000kms so we have not neglected the car!

No previous car we owned ever required new discs so we are extremely disappointed with Hyundai.

Before today I would have recommend the car and had planned to buy another Hyundai when the time came for a new car.

No longer. We will be researching different brands as we do not want to be up for new discs every 30,000 Kms!