Likes
- Simple and surprisingly fun to drive
- Affordable to own
- A great blank canvas for a track car, if you’re inclined
Used Hyundai Excel review
1994 - 2000
Dislikes
- Not exactly the safest thing on four wheels
- Surprisingly, they’re becoming rare
- Some cosmetic parts can be difficult to find
Stuff you should know
Ok, surely the Hyundai Excel must be one of the worst used cars money can buy right? Brand new, they were one of the cheapest cars available, made at a time when Hyundai were still trying to figure out how to make cars in the first place.
Now they’re pushing 30 years old, even though they’re incredibly cheap, would buying one be insane? The humble Excel does have quite the dedicated fanbase and being such a simple machine, could that mean not much actually can go wrong with them?
Before we get to that, as far as options go, you’ll also have 8 variants to choose from, but just be aware, early base models can put the capital B in Basic bare essential. We’re talking no power steering, steel wheels, possibly no air conditioning and purely a radio, that means no CD or even a cassette player.
However, the later higher-spec models can include a slightly larger range of features.
But what’s an Excel worth these days, well at the very bottom end of the market, and talking about cars that actually work and are registered, you might be able to pick one up for $500, at the top end of the market, you’ll be looking at around $12,000 at most.
Even when it comes to parts, pretty much everything on this is super affordable to replace, actually the whole car can cost you less than what a single headlight in an Audi RS6 can ask. Plus, these weigh under a tonne so they can be really light on their consumables like brakes and tyres.
That said, thanks to existence of the various Hyundai Excel racing series, parts like bumpers and headlights can be hard to find and might be expensive-ish.
What goes wrong?
Exterior:
Thanks to our harsh Aussie sun, faded clear coat should be expected. Generally the fade starts on the roof and bonnet and anything made of plastic. However, if an example has been garaged and polished say once a year, the paint and clear coat can last.
However something that won’t last are the door handles, these are just known to snap without warning. To the point some owners we spoke to recommended keeping a spare door handle on you for when it happens. The good news with that is these door handles are easy and cheap to buy.
The electric windows seem to avoid this but the glass on manual winding windows can have a tendency to misalign and the mechanism can jam up if the manual winders break, which they can. Just keep the channels well lubed and you should be right.
Something you might think would surely be a major issue here in Australia is rust, but it’s actually not too bad, but it’s not perfect. On the 3- and 5-door-hatch models, the mounting spots for the gas struts can form corrosion but keep the area clear of dirt and debris and it should be ok.
In saying that, no matter if it’s a sedan or a hatch, if any accident damage has been repaired on the cheap or even under the car, if it has had an impact with say a speed hump, where the paint has been scuffed off, rust can form. So it is best to go right over the entire car and look for any corrosion or accident damage.
Now obviously you might come across a handful of other sporadic issues like windscreen washer squirters playing up or door rubbers that have seen better days, but overall the exteriors seem to be really resilient.
There are a host of newer cars asking tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars more than these that won’t match an Excel for exterior resilience in 30 years time.
Also there are various Excel racing series out there, or Accent racing series if you’re watching this from overseas, but thanks to how competitive and aggressive some of the racing can be, spare parts like headlights and taillights can ask a premium, or a premium in terms of 90s Hyundai.
Also the racing has shown up that the brackets that hold the front and rear bar on, can be a little flimsy and the edges of the bumpers can come loose, nothing some screws or cable ties can’t fix though.
Interior:
Pretty much everything aside from the seats and fabric trim are made from plastic and after 30 years of Aussie sun, the plastics can suffer.
Interior trim
Exterior:
Thanks to our harsh Aussie sun, faded clear coat should be expected. Generally the fade starts on the roof and bonnet and anything made of plastic. However, if an example has been garaged and polished say once a year, the paint and clear coat can last.
However something that won’t last are the door handles, these are just known to snap without warning. To the point some owners we spoke to recommended keeping a spare door handle on you for when it happens. The good news with that is these door handles are easy and cheap to buy.
The electric windows seem to avoid this but the glass on manual winding windows can have a tendency to misalign and the mechanism can jam up if the manual winders break, which they can. Just keep the channels well lubed and you should be right.
Something you might think would surely be a major issue here in Australia is rust, but it’s actually not too bad, but it’s not perfect. On the 3- and 5-door-hatch models, the mounting spots for the gas struts can form corrosion but keep the area clear of dirt and debris and it should be ok.
In saying that, no matter if it’s a sedan or a hatch, if any accident damage has been repaired on the cheap or even under the car, if it has had an impact with say a speed hump, where the paint has been scuffed off, rust can form. So it is best to go right over the entire car and look for any corrosion or accident damage.
Now obviously you might come across a handful of other sporadic issues like windscreen washer squirters playing up or door rubbers that have seen better days, but overall the exteriors seem to be really resilient.
There are a host of newer cars asking tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars more than these that won’t match an Excel for exterior resilience in 30 years time.
Also there are various Excel racing series out there, or Accent racing series if you’re watching this from overseas, but thanks to how competitive and aggressive some of the racing can be, spare parts like headlights and taillights can ask a premium, or a premium in terms of 90s Hyundai.
Also the racing has shown up that the brackets that hold the front and rear bar on, can be a little flimsy and the edges of the bumpers can come loose, nothing some screws or cable ties can’t fix though.
Interior:
Pretty much everything aside from the seats and fabric trim are made from plastic and after 30 years of Aussie sun, the plastics can suffer.
Interior trim fading and dashboard cracking is a thing, worst case scenario they can pretty much disintegrate.
The carpets are about as synthetic as it gets and can be a nightmare to clean. You might need a forensic cleaner rather than an auto detailer of you want to get rid of really tough stains
Also, but this age a child care centre worth of rattles should be expected too.
But if the interior has been cared for and the car has been garaged for most of its life, owners have reported excellent levels of resilience, even cars with north of 300,000 kms, if maintained can look in great shape. That’s the one advantage of everything being made of hard plastic.
But again like the exterior, very few things tend to go wrong on the inside. Maybe because there’s not much to go wrong, and that’s interesting because while these were heavily criticised when they were new for being at best basic and at worst cheap and nasty, it’s interesting they’re standing the test of time.
Mechanically:
At this point its age related issues you’ll be contending with mainly. Cooling system hoses and pipes with o-rings are all potential weak points. Pretty much anything made of rubber like fuel lines and brake lines are all going to need checking.
The timing belts are schedule to be replaced at 90,000km or 6 years, and these engines being an interference engine, if the belt breaks it gets pretty messy.
While you’re replacing the timing belt, obviously do the water pump while you’re in there.
Back in the day, blown head gaskets were fairly common repair, though you don’t tend to see that these days.
Distributors in the single cam and coils in the twin cams were a common issue too, as too are the inlet manifold gaskets, they can fail too and cause a vacuum leak and run terribly, meaning the idle speed control valve can fail. You’ll notice this if you get a fast or slow idle.
Overall, chances are if it exists now, it’s a survivor. Meaning someone has looked after it at some point.
Interesting fact, the Hyundai Excel race series has pushed the price of these up. After they’re all raced and crashed, the remaining road-going versions might actually be worth something. (Maybe)
Exterior:
Thanks to our harsh Aussie sun, faded clear coat should be expected. Generally the fade starts on the roof and bonnet and anything made of plastic. However, if an example has been garaged and polished say once a year, the paint and clear coat can last.
However something that won’t last are the door handles, these are just known to snap without warning. To the point some owners we spoke to recommended keeping a spare door handle on you for when it happens. The good news with that is these door handles are easy and cheap to buy.
The electric windows seem to avoid this but the glass on manual winding windows can have a tendency to misalign and the mechanism can jam up if the manual winders break, which they can. Just keep the channels well lubed and you should be right.
Something you might think would surely be a major issue here in Australia is rust, but it’s actually not too bad, but it’s not perfect. On the 3- and 5-door-hatch models, the mounting spots for the gas struts can form corrosion but keep the area clear of dirt and debris and it should be ok.
In saying that, no matter if it’s a sedan or a hatch, if any accident damage has been repaired on the cheap or even under the car, if it has had an impact with say a speed hump, where the paint has been scuffed off, rust can form. So it is best to go right over the entire car and look for any corrosion or accident damage.
Now obviously you might come across a handful of other sporadic issues like windscreen washer squirters playing up or door rubbers that have seen better days, but overall the exteriors seem to be really resilient.
There are a host of newer cars asking tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars more than these that won’t match an Excel for exterior resilience in 30 years time.
Also there are various Excel racing series out there, or Accent racing series if you’re watching this from overseas, but thanks to how competitive and aggressive some of the racing can be, spare parts like headlights and taillights can ask a premium, or a premium in terms of 90s Hyundai.
Also the racing has shown up that the brackets that hold the front and rear bar on, can be a little flimsy and the edges of the bumpers can come loose, nothing some screws or cable ties can’t fix though.
Interior:
Pretty much everything aside from the seats and fabric trim are made from plastic and after 30 years of Aussie sun, the plastics can suffer.
Interior trim fading and dashboard cracking is a thing, worst case scenario they can pretty much disintegrate.
The carpets are about as synthetic as it gets and can be a nightmare to clean. You might need a forensic cleaner rather than an auto detailer of you want to get rid of really tough stains
Also, but this age a child care centre worth of rattles should be expected too.
But if the interior has been cared for and the car has been garaged for most of its life, owners have reported excellent levels of resilience, even cars with north of 300,000 kms, if maintained can look in great shape. That’s the one advantage of everything being made of hard plastic.
But again like the exterior, very few things tend to go wrong on the inside. Maybe because there’s not much to go wrong, and that’s interesting because while these were heavily criticised when they were new for being at best basic and at worst cheap and nasty, it’s interesting they’re standing the test of time.
Mechanically:
At this point its age related issues you’ll be contending with mainly. Cooling system hoses and pipes with o-rings are all potential weak points. Pretty much anything made of rubber like fuel lines and brake lines are all going to need checking.
The timing belts are schedule to be replaced at 90,000km or 6 years, and these engines being an interference engine, if the belt breaks it gets pretty messy.
While you’re replacing the timing belt, obviously do the water pump while you’re in there.
Back in the day, blown head gaskets were fairly common repair, though you don’t tend to see that these days.
Distributors in the single cam and coils in the twin cams were a common issue too, as too are the inlet manifold gaskets, they can fail too and cause a vacuum leak and run terribly, meaning the idle speed control valve can fail. You’ll notice this if you get a fast or slow idle.
Overall, chances are if it exists now, it’s a survivor. Meaning someone has looked after it at some point.
Interesting fact, the Hyundai Excel race series has pushed the price of these up. After they’re all raced and crashed, the remaining road-going versions might actually be worth something. (Maybe)
Should you buy one?
If you should buy a used Hyundai Excel really depends on which category of used Excel we’re talking about, because let’s be honest here, they all tend to fall into two categories.
Either clapped out shit boxes selling for next to nothing or well maintained and therefore reliable, resilient and dependable little nuggets.
Unless you’re buying one as a project car or to turn into a race or rally car, don’t buy one of the shit boxes. Sure, it’s probably under $1500, but honestly it’s probably not worth the hassle.
Also, maybe avoid any that were hire cars at some point in there life, because who knows how enthusiastically they’ve been driven.
But, as for the good examples out there, if it passes a pre-purchase inspection and you’re happy to care for it in the way a 30 year old car requires, and you’re not too concerned with a lack of safety measures, yeah, 100% buy one.
These Excels will obviously ask a little more on the used market but they are worth every cent.
But then again, the same can be said for the Hyundai Getz.
If you should buy a used Hyundai Excel really depends on which category of used Excel we’re talking about, because let’s be honest here, they all tend to fall into two categories.
Either clapped out shit boxes selling for next to nothing or well maintained and therefore reliable, resilient and dependable little nuggets.
Unless you’re buying one as a project car or to turn into a race or rally car, don’t buy one of the shit boxes. Sure, it’s probably under $1500, but honestly it’s probably not worth the hassle.
Also, maybe avoid any that were hire cars at some point in there life, because who knows how enthusiastically they’ve been driven.
But, as for the good examples out there, if it passes a pre-purchase inspection and you’re happy to care for it in the way a 30 year old car requires, and you’re not too concerned with a lack of safety measures, yeah, 100% buy one.
These Excels will obviously ask a little more on the used market but they are worth every cent.
But then again, the same can be said for the Hyundai Getz.
Should you buy one?
If you should buy a used Hyundai Excel really depends on which category of used Excel we’re talking about, because let’s be honest here, they all tend to fall into two categories.
Either clapped out shit boxes selling for next to nothing or well maintained and therefore reliable, resilient and dependable little nuggets.
Unless you’re buying one as a project car or to turn into a race or rally car, don’t buy one of the shit boxes. Sure, it’s probably under $1500, but honestly it’s probably not worth the hassle.
Also, maybe avoid any that were hire cars at some point in there life, because who knows how enthusiastically they’ve been driven.
But, as for the good examples out there, if it passes a pre-purchase inspection and you’re happy to care for it in the way a 30 year old car requires, and you’re not too concerned with a lack of safety measures, yeah, 100% buy one.
These Excels will obviously ask a little more on the used market but they are worth every cent.
But then again, the same can be said for the Hyundai Getz.
Need help with finance?
Powered by
Buying a used car? Buy a PPSR report first.
Have ultimate peace of mind when buying a used car by purchasing an official PPSR report.
In the market?
Disclaimer
Please note that pricing information is subject to fluctuations in the automotive market.
Information correct as of July 13, 2025.
The advice provided on this website is general advice only. It has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on this advice, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs.
Read our full terms and conditions here.
