Archive for Hyundai

One of the first Hyundai cars to feature the new i naming scheme is now in Malaysia, but it is not the first i car in Malaysia, as that honour has gone to the i10.

The Hyundai i30 is a C-segment contender designed by their European center for the European market, but that has not stopped it from offering it elsewhere unlike the Kia cee’d’s European exclusivity. The i30 shares the same platform as cars like the cee’d and the upcoming Forte. Proof of that is the fact that the i30 is now here in Malaysia and the wagon version is even in the US, called the Hyundai Elantra Touring.

Three variants are sold here, and the good news for manual fans is that there’s a manual version for the 1.6 liter. The following are the prices of the Hyundai i30 variants here in Malaysia:

• Hyundai i30 1.6 (M) – RM92,388.00
• Hyundai i30 1.6 (A) – RM97,888.00
• Hyundai i30 2.0 (A) – RM112,888.00

The 1.6 liter engine makes 121 PS at 6,200rpm and 154Nm of torque at 4,200rpm, while the larger 2.0 liter unit makes 143 PS at 6,000rpm and 186Nm at 4,600rpm. The 2.0 liter engine is the same as the one in the Elantra/Avante, and not of the GEMA series found in the Sonata.

The 5-speed manual 1.6 gets 15 inch wheels with 185/65R15 tyres, the 1.6 auto goes up one inch with 205/55R16 tyres while the 2.0 auto gets 17 inch wheels with 225/45R17 tyres for a sportier stance. The car rides on a 2,650mm wheelbase chassis (the i30 wagon/Elantra Touring has an extended wheelbase of 2,700mm) with MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link suspension setup at the rear.

In terms of safety features, all cars get 2 SRS airbags at the front as well as ABS brakes, and good news is that the 2.0 liter automatic gets ESP stability control. Another safety feature for your wallet – a 5 year or 300,000km warranty.

Hyundai is offering 1.99% loans for 5 year tenures, and this also applies to the rest of the Hyundai range except the Starex. Speaking of the rest of the Hyundai range, it looks like the Elantra has been renamed the Avante in the new Hyundai-Sime Darby line-up.

This probably happened when the Hyundai franchise was unified here in Malaysia – there are no longer two separate companies selling different Hyundai models, only the Sime Darby unit. The i30 will be in showrooms August onwards. If you like the car and are already thinking of how to pimp it up once you’ve bought one, here’s some inspiration.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai i30 1.6 and 2.0 launched in Malaysia!

The first images of Hyundai’s mid-life refreshing of the Hyundai Santa Fe has been revealed, and it looks like the odd grille that first appeared on the facelifted “angry crab” Accent/Verna Transform will be making its way onto many other Hyundai models. The most significant change is under the hood, where the new R-Engine turbodiesel engine family will be installed. The 2.0 and 2.2 liter engines have an all-aluminium construction and produce 184PS/392Nm and 200PS/436Nm respectively. These are pretty strong numbers for turbodiesel engines of these size, especially with only a single turbocharger. More details and pix to be revealed as they are released.

The model that we know as the Hyundai Accent has been updated in Korea and called the Hyundai Verna Transform, a naming scheme that seems to echo the Sonata facelift which was also called a Sonata Transform.

Most of the equipment and engines remain the same and the only other change from the exterior looks seem to be an Eco indicator on the instrumentation panel which lets you know when you are driving economically, a revised dash design and blue backlighting for the dashboard instead of green. Those stuff they put on the grille don’t really look too good on such a narrow grille.

While its sibling Kia’s cars are all very aesthetically pleasing now, it looks like Hyundai still has to work hard on establishing its own corporate design language. It went one direction with the i30 and i20 but everything suddenly changed with the Genesis, and then now we have this. Kia’s design language thanks to Peter Schreyer is very stable with its simple but sleek and dynamic-looking designs and the Schreyer grille identity.

Check out more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Hyundai Verna Transform (facelifted Accent)

In the land of the hatchbacks, the D-segment wagon is popular. We’re talking about Europe of course, which has stuff like the Toyota Avensis Wagon. In fact when I was in Germany I saw way more E39 wagons than the sedan model. So it’s quite apt that Hyundai-Kia’s efforts to further deepen its penetration of the European market includes a wagon model of the upcoming Hyundai Sonata YF. It will apparently be called the i40 in Europe, which rightfully positions it above the C-segment Hyundai i30 hatchback.

This is the new Hyundai Nuvis, likely a preview of what’s coming up in the compact MPV segment for Hyundai. Perhaps we are looking at an early preview of the next generation Hyundai Matrix, or whatever they decide to call it.

Hyundai says its styling mimics the interplay of natural, fluid elements with more rigid surfaces and structures to create the illusion of constant motion. Hyundai’s designers studied the way water splits across and flows around the hull and sides of a boat, creating a wake, or the way wind shapes a snowdrift or flurries through trees.

And of course with it being a concept car you just have to top it off with outrageously large wheels – 22 inches in this case. To me somehow it reminded me of a scaled down Toyota Venza.

Under the hood is Hyundai’s Hybrid Blue Drive system, which combines its 2.4 liter Theta II engine with a 30kW and 205Nm electric motor, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. There is also a start-stop ignition system, and regenerative braking, features that are pretty much standard on any hybrid these days. The 270V batteries for the hybrid motor are of the compact lithium polymer type.

Interestingly Hyundai aims to be the number 1 brand in the US in terms of fuel economy by the year 2015, which is only 6 years from now. This means some fantastically efficient engines combined with lightweight construction.

Will Hyundai be able to pull it off?

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Nuvis Concept unveiled at NYIAS 2009

Hyundai’s BLUE-WILL concept is scheduled to be displayed at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show this year, which will start on the 2nd of April 2009. Looks like Hyundai decided to create some kinda 4-door CRX of sorts.

Under the hood is a hybrid powertrain much like the Kia Forte LPI Hybrid, but much more beefed up, since its a concept. The electric motor alone puts out 100kW, or 134 horsepower, and this is addition to a 1.6 liter engine that has gasoline direct injection, which should be good for another 120 horses or so.

Like the Forte LPI Hybrid, power for the electric motor is stored in a Lithium Ion Polymer battery pack neatly bundled with the fuel tank under the rear seat in order to maximise luggage space. The upcoming Elantra LPI Hybrid will also feature a Li-Po battery.

Hyundai has also incorporated dye-sensitized solar cells in the panoramic glass roof to generate power for the batteries.

More details at the Seoul 2009 show, look after the jump for two more photos of the BLUE-WILL (Blue Whale?!).

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai BLUE-WILL Concept set for Seoul debut

Nicolas Stone, a recent graduate from the College of Creative Studies has designed the concept you see above, dubbed as the 2020 City Car Concept with the help of Korean-based auto maker, Hyundai.

Featuring a naturalist theme, the futuristic 2020 Hyundai City Car Concept seems to feature a front end that looks a little like the Mitsubishi i MiEV.

The “green” theme can also be seen in the airy interior, with a design that mimics “leaves growing off a stem”. Electricity is obtained via transparent solar panels mounted on the car that will then channel electricity into a water tank to split hydrogen molecules from oxygen molecules (Hydroxene anyone?). Just like a plant, the eco-friendly car uses stored hydrogen to power to vehicle while oxygen is released into the atmosphere (this is the plant part). This method is in fact called “artificial photosynthesis”.

Continue reading to view an image gallery.

Click here to read the rest of 2020 Hyundai City Car Concept

Story by Dr. Max Long

Size does matter. Super size me. Some of the corny Hollywood movies tagline and script, right out of box office flicks, with the latter referring to upsizing of portion at fast food outlets, another one of American hegemonic foray into our societal food culture.

However, it is interesting to note that the fully-auto washing machine I paid for close to a decade ago at 13.5kg capacity is a maxed-out tumbler available only from a notable Korean appliance maker. Not from the Japanese, not even at any price at time.

I am not sure about the Americans then but they are unlikely to be competitively priced by the time brands like Maytag – of equivalent size and wash load – gets shipped to our beloved country.

And now we have this ‘Starship Enterprise’ of a people mover, van, minibus or full-size MPV or whatever you might want to call it. Hyundai themselves call it by at least 3 names. Over here it’s known as the Hyundai Grand Starex. It’s simply huge.

Read our test drive review after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Grand Starex Malaysian Test Drive Review

Korean-based auto maker Hyundai has released more details of its latest product, the Equus premium sedan, along with its arrival in showrooms across Korea. With a total of $337 millions spent on developing this second generation Equus, there are two engine options to choose from, with four trim levels for the entry level Equus VS380 model and the Equus VS460 Prestige.

The base model of the Equus VS380 which measures 5,160 mm long, 1,900 mm wide, 1,495 mm high and which features a wheelbase of 3,045 mm, comes with a 3.8 liter Lambda V6 what is able to produce 285HP at 6,200 revs and 358Nm of torque at 4,500 revs while delivering 100 kilometers with 10.8 liters of fuel. The VS460 on the other hand comes fitted with a 4.6 liter Tau V8 that is good for 360HP at 6,500 revs and 439Nm of torque which returns 100 kilometers with 11.4 liters of fuel.

Suspension wise, the front and rear of the new Equus, which is set to take on the Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 Series is fitted with a 5 link suspension featuring lightweight aluminium control arms, with Amplitude Selective Dampers (ASD) which features an innovative relief valve. The air suspension is electronically governed to minimize body roll, nose-diving and other undesirable characteristics when you push it harder.

In terms of safety, the Equus comes with a bunch of them including Vehicle Stability Management which integrates the Lane Departure Warning System, Pre-Safety System, Third Generation Smart Cruise Control (SCC) and other sub-systems to provide active and passive safety systems.

With the Pre-Safety System, the car can detect a potential collision and will subsequently apply the brakes and trigger a flashing warning light on a TFT-LCD which is then followed by an audible alert and a vibration in the seat belt harness. If a collision is unavoidable, full braking force is automatically applied and front seat belts are reeled in within a split of a second in order to maximize protection.

Other features include 9 airbags in total including a Knee Airbag for the driver, video cameras in the rear and front to eliminate blind spots during parking and reversing, which works with a Parking Guidance System to provide a computer graphic overlay on the display screen to assist the driver as well as High Intensity Discharge Head Lamps with Adaptive Front Lighting System. Continue reading for the rest of the report and to view an image gallery.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai’s new flagship model, the Equus

Korean based auto maker Hyundai has revealed the much awaited i20 3-door super mini in Geneva. This 3 door super mini is offered with a choice of seven fuel efficient, Euro 4-compliant power plants in petrol and diesel forms including a 78HP 1.2 liter “Kappa” petrol engine that uses 5.2 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers on a combines cycle while releasing 124 grams of emissions per kilometer and a 75HP 1.4 liter diesel which consumes 4.4 liters per 100 kilometers, while producing 116 grams of emissions per kilometer.

Sharing its styling with its 5-door big brother, it comes available in three trim levels including Classic, Comfort and Style. Just like the 5-door variant, the i20 3-door comes with features such as climate control, multi-function steering wheel, keyless entry and electrically-operated windows and side mirrors.

The modern radio/CD system is MP3-compatible and has four powerful speakers. Standard safety fitments are made up by a total of 6 airbags, active head-restraints, latest-generation anti-lock brakes, Electronic Stability Control, and Electronic Brake Force Distribution. Continue reading to view two high-res images. We will update the image gallery as soon as we get more images.

Click here to read the rest of Geneva 2009: Hyundai reveals the i20 3-door