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jbfr economist suntribune february 25 1987 iv smess beat test drive excels performance a pleasant surprise by alex law for no reason i can think of i went to hyundais head office in markham to pick up an 87 excel li irmly convinced that i wouldnt like it that driving it was just one of those lumpy bits of road every automobile reviewer faces then about a mile away from the steelcase rd facility i real ized that the 6795car wasnt so bad after all five miles up the 404 roaring along toward new market i decided i like the excel a lot contemplation ensued how i asked myself did you come by this bizarre prejudice against a vehicle youve never driven or even ridden in the best answer i could come up with was that it was a common lyheld prejudice and id just let it seep into my porous brain then i began to wonder if most of those other people who didnt like the excel had any good reason not to good opinion my feeling is they dont that if they drove one themselves theyd have a very good opinion of the excel l especially at that price thats my opinion after some se rious thrashing and testing and parking and loading and whatnot around metro and to top that off thats the opinion of people whove owned and driven excels but me first im a big guy over six feet and two hundred pounds so any car i sit in that doesnt push at me from all sides is halfway home on this score the excel well excels room room room with a fair deal of comfort thrown in despite the bargainbasement price this is not a barebones econobox the front seats provide good support and tilt into the position of your choice the back seats another story as it is on all subcompacts so no reason to hand out demerits there at least it splits 6040 or folds flat stuffing a major household ap pliance through the hatchback is out of the question but you could business directory unionville broadloom interiors 4418 hwy 7 4773100 unionville 4772700 f irst ouality merchandise and guaranteed prices boadloo f lodrm3 waupaofa 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lloyds bank rrsp carries our unique best rate guarantee thats your assurance that our interest rate will match the best rate offered by any of the other major banks for compara ble plans and terms no exceptions put your retirement plans into action open your lloyds bank rrsp today i iv tn f rrujur ruril- tantm u icnl montreal lrim lnini iijnv itjlk of ntvj snlu i jpjt tun imprf i jl itjnl if men fir riiyal lljuk lloyds bank canada a thoroughbred amongst banks 3000 steeles ave east markham ont 4753777 get a dishwasher and a couple of boxes of dishes in no problem interior plain the interior design is func tionally plain but the space be hind the steering wheel where the tachometer goes on the more ex pensive models shows up quite dramatically when its barren re minding you that youre too cheap to buy a tach but a tachs something of a joke on a car thats almost always ready to have you shift into a high er gear the 1500cc engine does not loaf at any time which brings me to my major quibble with the excel l the en gine noise at highway speed is a trifle annoying maybe they make it that way so youll ante up another couple of hundred dollars for a radio either that or in crease your repertoire of humm- able songs a fifth gear would smooth out the road noise and serve up bet ter consumption figures bui to get a fifth gear costs a sobering 900 more you have to hate low- level road noise a lot to cough up that kind of money hyundai says that according to the federal governments tests the excel hatchback with a manual transmission no dif ferentiation between fourspeed and five is offered youll need 84 litres of gas to go 100 kilometres of combined highway and city driv ing which is 336 mpg on mostly highway driving and on a new en gine i did a little better than that good handling as for handling the front- wheeldrive excel feit better tool ing around urban streets than it did on the 404 but dont get the impression that it was like an overpowered rollerskate out there the road conditions were ideal while i drove the excel however so i didnt get a chance to drift it through snow or across a sheet of ice the one time i had to go for my brakes in a hurry 1 felt like id put my foot onto a plastic container full of jello the car stopped just fine but it wasnt the most reas suring feeling the world my bottom line judgment is for the price youve got to be a fool see above to dismiss the ex cel l without driving one my bet is that when you do drive one you probably wont dismiss it all other peoples opinions according to canadian auto mobile association figures repro duced in canadian motorist car facts 87 the excel got a very satisfied rating from the people who bought the car in 1986 and re sponded to a survey eighty per cent of them said theyd buy the car again their beefs were with the carburation and fuel systems the tires the brakes and passen ger space the other 12 categories of rating the car came out as being better than average or much better than average sluggish consumer guide touched on some of the complaints noted above and also felt the excel was sluggish from a dead stop the evaluators called the fuel eco nomy quite impressive and quiet on the road they had a five- speed the excel acquitted itself well on the road showing competent handling and a comfortable ride for a subcompact in summary they said overall were pretty impressed with the excels value for the money map personal budget before borrowing cash consumers facing monthly loan payments that total more than 20 per cent of their net incomes should be wary of getting any deeper in debt a credit expert advised if too much of your disposable income is committed to paying off i past expenses its difficult to save money and often impossible handle emergencies said ann rowan a credit expert with the ontario ministry of consumer and commercial relations mccr ms rowan said all consumers should set up budgets if only to get a clear picture of how their money is used once you know how much is spent on the necessi ties of life and existing debts its much easier to plan for the future debts require particularly careful scrutiny add up all the monthly payments for loans cre dit cards and any items purch ased on installment plans dont include mortgage costs if these payments total more than 20 per cent of your monthly in come after taxes it may be time to start cutting down on debts if- you end up overloaded with loans and cant make payments debt collectors could start knock ing on the door and your credit record may suffer for years to come its also important to keep in mind that credit costs money add up all interest charges owed on loans for the rest of this year you may be shocked to discover the total cost of all your debts on a more positive note credit can be a useful convenient tool if handled with care after taking a hard look at your current financial situation you may decide it is safe and reason able to borrow money for a par ticular purchase be sure to shop around for the best terms money lending has be come a fiercely competitive busi ness and financial institutiond look at your current financial situation you may decide it is safe and reasonable to borrow money for a particular purchase be sure to shop around for the best terms money lending has be come a fiercely competitive busi ness and financial institutions are offering a wide variety of incen tives to attract customers more than half a percentage point dif ference in interest rates can change monthly payments signi ficantly discussions with a few loan officers can help you find the best deals available along with the most suitable repayment plans remember the shorter the term of the loan the less interest youll have to pay of course it is not uncommon to be turned down for a loan credit is a privilege not a right and len ders want to be sure customers can afford their debts when calculating customers credit ratings loan officers look at many characteristics includ ing 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