The new Hyundai Elantra was launched some time ago and it has the distinction of being one of the few 2.0 liter C-segment sedans priced under RM100,000 which is sure to attract a few customers in this increasingly price sensitive market. We have just finished testing this Korean car. Here is what we found out.
Read Harvinder Singh Sidhu’s review after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Elantra X20 2.0 CVVT Test Drive Review
The Hyundai Veracruz will be making its European market debut in the form of the Hyundai ix55. The Hyundai ix55 is essentially a Veracruz with styling and other changes to suit the European market. It will be displayed at the upcoming 2008 Paris Motor Show and further details will be released then.
In the US, the 7-seater Veracruz is offered with either a 3.8 liter V6 or a 3.0 liter turbodiesel engine. It’s a no brainer which engine will be more popular in Europe.
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Hyundai has released the first image of the new Hyundai i20, a 5-door 5-seater hatchback which will replace the Hyundai Getz in the Korean automaker’s line-up.
According to Hyundai Motor Europe president Kun Hee Ahn, the new i20 is built on an all-new platform and is tailored to European tastes both in terms of looks and in ride and handling which calls for a firm and agile drive.
The car will be displayed to the public at the 2008 Paris Motor Show together with a “green” i20 i-blue concept which will feature a 90 horsepower 1.4 liter turbodiesel engine mated to a 6-speed manual. The i-blue concept is expected to achieve 68mpg and put out only 99g/km of CO2 emissions.
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After getting some pretty good reviews for the new Hyundai Genesis, the Korean automobile manufacturer wants to take it a notch higher with a new rear wheel drive luxury sedan that will take the place of the current Hyundai Equus (a model shared with Mitsubishi, which called it the Mitsubishi Proudia).
The new flagship Hyundai will go against the likes of the Lexus LS, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the BMW 7-Series. It is said to be called the Hyundai VI.
Above is a recently released teaser image of the new car. Expect it to have Hyundai’s largest engines under its hood such as the Tau V8 or the Lambda V6.
Hyundai is throwing massive discounts on the Hyundai Getz in the UK as the public unveiling of the Hyundai i20 nears. The i20 replaces the Hyundai Getz and is supposed to be unveiled at the upcoming 2008 Paris Motor Show.
The basic Hyundai Getz now starts at £5,995 in the UK (a discount of £1,610), which translates to financing plans of just £99 per month. A customer pays just £1,287 as a deposit and a first payment of £245, and this is followed by another 35 months of £99 monthly payments. The last payment is £2,264 to own the Getz, or just return it to the dealer. There is another financing plan with zero downpayment with a £285 one-off first month payment and £139 per month for 35 months.
The promotion above is for the 3-door 1.1 liter petrol Hyundai Getz GSI. Hyundai offers the Getz with a 5 year warranty in the UK. These prices are only valid until the 30th of September 2008. With the last batches of the Getz sold off in the UK with discounted prices, we will soon welcome the new i20 and then wait patiently for it to arrive in Malaysia as the new “Inokom i20″.
Hyundai has revealed that a gasoline-electric hybrid version of the Avante will be launched in 2010, followed by larger hybrid vehicles. But before that, Hyundai will be launching a Hyundai Avante Hybrid (or Hyundai Elantra Hybrid) in the Korean market next year.
The 2009 car will run on a hybrid system that combines a combustion engine fueled by LPG instead of petrol. The electric motor will be powered by lithium ion batteries. Sales of at least 50,000 units annually are expected in Korea alone.
Kah Bintang is currently marketing the Elantra based on fuel economy. If the Malaysian government amends tax structures to encourage the use of hybrid vehicles, there is a possibility that the Elantra Hybrid will make a debut in our local market. More details to be posted when the car is launched in Korea.
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Hyundai Sime-Darby Motor has launched the new Hyundai i10 5-door hatchback in Malaysia. The i10 replaces the Atos in the Hyundai global line-up but in certain countries like India, both the Atos (Santro) and the i10 is offered, with the latter being the more premium product. In fact, the i10 we get here comes from India where both the Atos and i10 are very very popular products, instead of Korea.
All the basics that will make the new Hyundai a popular runabout are there: a small luggage space extendable via the foldable rear seats and a 4-speed automatic. It chugs along via a 1.1 liter Epsilon family engine (sadly not the new Kappa 1.2 liter) putting out 65.8 horsepower at 5,500rpm and 99.1Nm of torque at a lower than usual 2,800rpm which should allow it to feel pretty zippy around town.
Safety features include a 4-star Euro NCAP body, dual SRS airbags and anti-lock brakes. In-car entertainment is an integrated 2-DIN audio CD player with MP3 and aux input support. The interior is rather monotonous and basic with endless fields of grey but there is a slight touch of “high-end” thanks to the dash-mounted shift lever instead of it being in the conventional position between the two front seats.
So you have decent safety specs, an acceptable level of in-car entertainment, an automatic gearbox, an engine that puts out peak torque at a low-mid RPM, and a price under RM50k. This should theoretically be very popular with city dwellers, especially since its claimed to have a 17.2km per liter combined fuel economy. It’s also got nice styling, being the first Hyundai car in Malaysia with the new naming scheme and design language that debuted with the i30. But Malaysians are just too brand conscious.
The 4-speed auto model retails for RM48,888 OTR with insurance and comes with a 5-year (300,000km) warranty. It is available in five colours: alpine blue, blushing red, stone black, sleek silver and champagne gold. A 5-speed manual version (that is claimed to get 20km per liter) is also available but strangely Hyundai’s press kit does not mention its price. This story will be updated later when the price is available.
The badging on the car is a little confusing but somehow expected. It has a combination of both Inokom and Hyundai logos and badges around the car.
More images after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Hyundai i10 compact hatch launched in Malaysia
The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has now set foot in the top 5 automakers list globally, moving up from 6th place to the current 5th place with annual sales of 3,961,629 units in the year 2007 according to the 2008 Global Data Book by Automotive News.
The following are the top 10 list ranked by the 2008 GDB:
| Manufacturer | Ranking | |
| 1. | Toyota | 9,366,000 |
| 2. | GM | 8,902,252 |
| 3. | Volkswagen | 6,191,618 |
| 4. | Ford | 5,964,000 |
| 5. | Hyundai-Kia | 3,961,629 |
| 6. | Honda | 3,831,000 |
| 7. | Nissan | 3,675,574 |
| 8. | PSA Peugeot Citroen | 3,428,400 |
| 9. | Chrysler | 2,676,268 |
| 10. | Fiat | 2,620,864 |
Sales of CKD kits to CKD partners for assembly and sales such as Malaysian Kia distributor Naza Kia Sdn Bhd are not counted in the number above and adds up to another 185,114 units.
Hyundai Motor India managing director HS Lheem announced that Hyundai will be developing a Rs 1.5 lakh (RM11,360) car for the Chinese and Indian markets.
The car will be developed in India at R&D facilities in Hyderabad and Chennai with support from Korea, with a target launch set somewhere in 2011 or 2012. Hyundai is the number two car manufacturer in India and their cheapest car is the Hyundai Santro (Hyundai Atos) which sells for Rs 2.7 lakh (RM20,450).
India is a market where both the Hyundai i10 (rebadged 2008 Picanto) and the Hyundai Santro are offered, but the more expensive i10 are slowly eating into Santro sales because the Indian market is maturing, and at that price point they’d rather pay a little bit more in terms of monthly installment to get something that looks better and more modern.
Hyundai has unveiled the Hyundai i800, which is actually the UK market name for the Hyundai H1 Starex. It will go on sale on the 20th June 2008 onwards for £19,495.
The i800 moniker most likely refers to its ability to carry 8 people comfortably with 851 liters of boot space remaining even when all 8 people are on board. Each passenger has their own individually controllable overhead vent. Admittedly it is a minibus-style MPV, but Hyundai says they have tried to give the i800 a more car-like ambiance.
The Hyundai i800 is 5,125mm long, 1,920mm wide and 1,925mm tall, and has a turning circle of 5.61 meters. Under the hood is a 2.5 liter CRDi turbodiesel engine with a variable geometry turbocharger producing 170 PS and 392Nm of torque. Hyundai says with its 75 liter tank filled with diesel, the i800 can achieve more than 900km of mileage.
A lower powered, lower spec version for more industrial usage will come later at a cheaper price.
More images of the Hyundai i800 after the jump.
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