A 2008 Hyundai Elantra that has covered more than a million kilometers was the subject of an exhaustive restoration project, thanks to a partnership between Hyundai Canada and a Canadian show.
Over the past few months, the Roulez au Suivant (“Move on to the Next” in English) team, led by its host and co-producer Antoine Joubert, have carried out an exhaustive restoration project including the mechanics, bodywork, and interior.
Now, the well-maintained sedan is now the first vehicle for Éloïc Lachance, a 16-year-old teenager from Rougemont, Québec. He was selected by the Roulez au Suivant team from among hundreds of applications received.
It was Joubert himself who had the honor of crossing the millionth kilometer aboard this Elantra in 2020. Throughout the vehicle's restoration process, he and his team said they were impressed with the overall condition of the vehicle.
To bring this project to fruition, Hyundai Canada donated the vehicle to Roulez au Suivant, accompanied by a list of over 100 parts to facilitate the most complete restoration possible.
Among these parts were major mechanical components, including a brand-new engine short block. Though the original engine was still “in excellent running condition with no faults,” Hyundai Canada replaced it as part of the overall theme of restoration and to provide the best possible ownership experience for the new owner. Initial inspection of the cylinders and rotating assembly reveals it to be in very good condition. This documented vehicle is a testament to how far vehicles can go with regular maintenance.”
Aside from the installation of the engine block and certain other mechanical components which were carried out at a Hyundai dealership. Even the dashboard was refurbished, and the counter reset to zero since it stopped at 999,999 kilometers. The Hyundai Canada team still took care to add a “1” in front of the odometer to highlight how far this vehicle has come.
When the time came to paint this revered 2008 Elantra, Joubert and his team opted for a complete transformation by choosing a light blue color, in homage to “Performance Blue” which is available exclusively on the award-winning models in Hyundai's “N” performance vehicle lineup. On the sides, the N logo has been added with the mention ‘’INSPIRED’’ underneath. The red lined skirt going around the vehicle is also a good tribute to the current 2024 Elantra N’s design.
Most of the mileage on this Elantra is attributed to Mr. Jocelyn Roy who purchased the vehicle from Hyundai Granby in 2011 when it only had 30,000 kilometers on the odometer. As a delivery driver, Mr. Roy quickly racked up the kilometers behind the wheel of his Elantra, covering an average of no less than 107,000 kilometers per year. Thanks to a strict maintenance schedule, Mr. Roy’s 2008 Elantra now holds the highest number of kilometers on a Hyundai vehicle in Canada.
In 2020, when he was very close to reaching the symbolic milestone of one million kilometers, Mr. Roy purchased a Kona from Hyundai Granby. His Elantra was then bought back by the dealership, who then sold it to Hyundai Canada.
Four years later, Mr. Roy has clearly not forgotten his old Elantra. It was he who handed over the keys to the vehicle to Éloïc Lachance, in the same dealership where he himself had taken possession of it almost 15 years ago.
There are a couple of auto repair shop videos belittling Hyundais and Kia engines lasting 150k miles only in the US needing new engines. This hard to believe indeed, maybe this guy is just extremely lucky or.. just a Hyundai prop.
ReplyDeleteMany engine failures in Hyundais and Kias, as shown in many YouTube videos...
ReplyDeleteThe majority of Hyundai's cars' technologies were all based on Mitsubishi vehicles because Mitsubishi Motors (along with Ford) were the ones who helped Hyundai in its early days, its worth to examine that its also a good thing Mitsubishi opted to partner with Nissan. (To which people claim that the latter's engines like the CA18, SR20, etc. are successive hence tuners recommend them.)
DeleteBilib ako sa reliability ng Hyundai. 2011 elantra ko bushing lang na replace
ReplyDeletePuro mga pang Mitsubishi ang parts ng Hyundai, ang platform ng Elantra ay nanggaling sa Lancer, pero nung nabenta yung mga Elantra sa Pilipinas, mas dumami pa ang sales ng Lancer at Galant kaysa sa Elantra at Sonata - kasi parehas silang gawa sa Mitsubishi basa sa mga mechanical parts nila.
DeleteNoon yung nag start pa siguro Hyundai pero ngayon Mitsubishi patay na sa buong mundo except dito dahil sa poor quality. Ngayon Pilipinas na lang pinakamalaking market nila sa buong mundo
DeleteIbig sabihin na mas bumenta pa yung Lancer kaysa sa Elantra, yung 2011 model na Elantra (parehas ng platform sa Hyundai Tucson/Kia Sportage) ay bumagay siya sa paggamit ng mechanical parts ng Lancer na 2008 model, ganun rin sa Excel at Accent/Kia Rio, compatible sila sa pagkabit ng parts galing sa Lancer at Mirage.
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