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New Hyundai Elantra to be launched in fourth quarter 2011

June 23, 2011 at 10:25 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Koreans, Local News

The new Hyundai Elantra will be coming to Malaysia this year, and the estimated time of arrival is the fourth quarter of 2011, possibly in October. While the C-segment sedan was first shown to the world in South Korea a year ago, it’s only now that the fifth-generation Elantra is ready to be launched in general markets – Hyundai factories producing the car have been running at full capacity plus overtime to cope with the huge demand.

Our sources hint at two engines being offered – a 1.6L Gamma engine (Dual CVVT) and the newer 1.8-litre “Nu” engine. Both units will be paired with Hyundai’s six-speed automatic transmission with manual override. The smaller of the two units puts out 130 PS and 157 Nm of torque, decent for an NA 1.6. The Nu engine is rather new – rated at 150 PS and 178 Nm, the engine, which made its debut in the Elantra, has D-CVVT and VIS. Hyundai’s GDI and diesel engines won’t be available though – they’re not taking chances on our fuel quality.

Those drivetrains will be housed in a new body that is 4,530 mm long and 1,775 mm wide. That means it’s 25 mm longer than the old car, but with the same width. Most will swear that it’s wider though, thanks to the flowing “Wind Craft” design that rides on the brand’s “Fluidic Sculpture” direction. Sitting on a new platform, the Elantra’s wheelbase has grown by a substantial 100 mm, now matching the Honda Civic’s 2,700 mm.

We’re speculating that two trim levels will be offered – Standard and High Spec – as per Hyundai-Sime Darby’s latest offerings, the Sonata and Tucson. Range topping models could be equipped with toys such as a sunroof, keyless entry with start/stop button and six airbags.

And if you’re wondering, this model will be called the Elantra in Malaysia, as it was called before Hyundai-Sime Darby renamed the later batches of the previous gen car to Avante. This is in line with Hyundai’s naming policy for the model, which will be called Avante only in Korea. The Avante to Elantra name switch also applies to Singapore.

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Hyundai i40 Tourer to begin selling in Europe in Q3

June 2, 2011 at 1:47 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News, Koreans


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Hyundai has announced specifications and trim levels for its i40 Tourer, which goes on sale in Europe in the third quarter of this year. The wagon will be available in three main trim levels – Active, Style and Premium – with three engine choices offering four power outputs and manual and automatic transmission options.

The three engines are the 135 PS 1.6 GDi and 177 PS 2.0 GDi petrol, and 115 PS and 136 PS versions of the 1.7 CRDi diesel. Blue Drive tech – incorporating Intelligent Stop & Go technology – are fitted as standard on all Active derivatives and on the Style 1.7 CRDi Blue Drive model.

Standard features include 16-inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth connectivity with voice recognition, leather steering wheel with audio controls, electric heated door mirrors with integrated LED indicators and an electric parking brake with an automatic hold function.


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Moving on to the Style trim level, touchscreen satellite navigation (with rear view camera), front and rear parking sensors, cruise control and dual zone climate control come as standard fitment.

Meanwhile, the Premium range gets leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, keyless entry and supervision instrument cluster with LCD colour display as standard, plus Lane Departure Warning and Smart Parking Assist, a heated leather steering wheel and ventilated front seats as optional items.

The estate will be joined in the market by the sedan version, which made its debut at the Barcelona Motor Show last month, before the year is out.

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Hyundai reaches five million unit milestone in Europe

May 30, 2011 at 3:32 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News, Koreans

Hyundai has reached the five million vehicles sold milestone in Europe, 34 years after the first Hyundai Pony was imported in 1977. The five millionth vehicle was an i30, a Golf class hatchback launched in 2007. Hyundai has shifted over 320,000 units of the i30 across Europe since then.

The momentum only picked up strongly in recent times. It took until 1996 before Hyundai recorded its first million sales, but the last one million was achieved in just three years. The two millionth car was sold in 2001, three millionth in 2005 and four millionth in 2008. For 27 consecutive months up to March 2011, Hyundai has outperformed the market sales trend in Europe. Its 2010 market share stands at 2.6%.

Designed for Europe. it was the introduction of the i30 in 2007, the first of the company’s products to carry the ‘i’ prefix, that started the recent climb. The i30 was soon followed by the i10 and i20 supermini, and more recently the ix20 compact MPV and ix35 SUV (Tucson to us).

“Hitting five million is a wonderful achievement for Hyundai, but this is just the beginning for the brand. We are planning for further sales growth during 2011, to take us to 3% market share. And in the longer term we expect the quality and desirability of our cars to help us maintain our momentum and deliver our next five million sales in a much shorter time frame,” said Allan Rushforth, Senior VP and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe.

Output from Hyundai’s manufacturing plant in Nošovice, Czech Republic increases this year to 300,000 units, even as its European R&D centre in Germany leads the company’s work on diesel technology.

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Hyundai Genesis Prada – one very large, stylish bag

May 18, 2011 at 11:25 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News, Koreans


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Hyundai has introduced the production version of its Genesis Prada in Korea, two years after a special edition was unveiled at the Seoul Motor Show. The limited edition variant is based on the 2012 Genesis sedan, equipped with a 430 PS Tau 5.0 GDi engine.

The company says the the joint project is the result of both companies’ approach to create a highly unique version of the Genesis model, addressed to the most sophisticated clientele.


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The edition comes in three special colours, these being Black Nero, Blue Baltico and Brown Moro, and these are applied with a three-layer coat technology with stereoscopic gold pearl.

Dark chrome accents, in a nod to the unique palladium-coated buckles on Prada’s bags, are to be found, with the radiator grille, emblem and door handles wearing the material. The innovations introduced by Prada include also 19-inch alloy wheels and an outer, wedge shaped antenna.


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Inside, there’s definitely no shortage of leather – the dashboard and the upholstery in the Genesis Prada get the artisan-crafted treatment in the form of “saffiano” leather, which is Prada’s signature top quality leather. Genesis Prada badging and a GP500 emblem round off things with this one.

Hyundai says the car will be produced by customised personal orders, and that it will work together with Prada to carry out exclusive VIP marketing activities on the vehicle, of which there will only be 1,200 units available for the Korean market. There are plans to offer the car to a limited number of Middle Eastern and Asian countries, including China, at a later point.

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Hyundai i40 sedan debuts in Europe, to market late 2011

May 13, 2011 at 2:53 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News

Hyundai’s new i40 sedan has been unveiled at the 2011 Barcelona Motor Show – the Europe-only offering follows in the footsteps of the i40 tourer, which made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The 4.74-metre long i40 is the latest model to be unveiled under the company’s new brand slogan – ‘New Thinking. New Possibilities,’ and will go on sale in Europe in the fourth quarter of this year.

The car bears cues taken from the ‘fluidic sculpture’ philosophy, though here there are also elements of what is tagged ‘premium wing’ – Hyundai says its designers wanted to emphasise on creating fluidic volume with a modern touch as well as a sophisticated wing-like detail. The D-segment car has a wheelbase measuring 2.77 metres, and the company says it delivers best-in-class dimensions for front head (1,025mm), shoulder (1,455mm), and leg (1,170mm) room.

It will enter the market with a choice of four Euro V-compliant engines – two petrol and two diesel, with both manual and automatic transmission options. The diesels are 1.7 litre units, in 115 PS and 136 PS form; Hyundai is expecting the 136 PS unit to be the most popular engine among private and fleet buyers.

As for the petrol unit, these will be the 1.6 litre Gamma mill, offering 135 PS, and the all-new four-cylinder, 2.0 litre GDI engine called the ‘Nu’, which makes its debut in the i40. The Nu GDI lump generates 177 PS at 6,700 rpm and 208 Nm of torque at 4,700 rpm, and offers a 0-100 kph time of 9.7 seconds in an i40 equipped with it.

Transmission-wise, all four engine variant forms come with a six-speed manual gearbox, with only the 136 PS 1.7 litre diesel version also available in six-speed auto form. In terms of environmental performance, the car features the latest Blue Drive-derived technologies, including Intelligent Stop & Go (ISG), low rolling-resistance tyres and an alternator management system (AMS).

Elsewhere, the diesel-powered versions feature a new acoustic package developed for the variant/s – it utilises materials such as an air permeable carpet, sound absorbing layers for engine-room encapsulation, and textile wheel-arch liners to absorb noise sources from engine, road, and muffler, providing a 20% improvement in interior noise levels and a reduction in outside engine noise when idling, compared to an i40 without these features.

As for equipment levels, there’s smart-parking assist, a lane departure warning system, Bluetooth connectivity and full map navigation with a rear view camera, among others. There’s also standard day-time running lights with optional Xenon headlamps (optional) somewhere in the mix.

The company is looking at the i40 to build on the momentum gained on the continent in recent years, and is expecting to sell 60,000 units of the i40 in a full year.

Gallery after the jump.
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Hyundai Veloster with heavy disguise spied in Glenmarie

May 11, 2011 at 9:12 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Local News

By the looks of it, the Hyundai Veloster is in town – a car looking suspiciously like it, wearing front and rear anti-spy cladding, was spotted over the weekend in Glenmarie by reader Akmal, who has graciously sent us the photos he snapped of it.

There are giveaways – that distinctive door line that rises sharply to the C-pillar, the striking wheels the car wears and the equally distinctive exhaust configuration.

It’s already confirmed that the RHD variant is bound for Australia, expected to arrive in the market in late 2011, so it’s looking quite likely that Hyundai-Sime Darby will be bringing this one in, if the mule is any indication.

More photos after the jump.
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Hyundai i40 sedan to debut at Barcelona Motor Show

May 9, 2011 at 10:58 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News

The Hyundai i40 wagon that made its debut in Geneva earlier this year will have a sedan sibling very soon – the i40 saloon is set to make its world debut at the Barcelona Motor Show on May 12.

There’s only a single teaser image rendering of the vehicle, and though no specific details have been mentioned, the company states that the saloon will feature a low, elongated roof line that lends it a coupe-like silhouette, and its styling will keep with the dynamic design element as presented with the i40 estate.

The vehicle, like the estate version designed and engineered at Hyundai’s European R&D headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany, promises to be spacious inside, delivering best-in-class dimensions of 1025 mm (front headroom), 1455 mm (shoulder room) and 1170 mm (legroom).

As for the reason for a Spanish debut, the company says that the saloon market in Spain is a very strong one, accounting for almost 40% of the D-segment, so Barcelona is a logical choice for a reveal of such importance.

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INTERVIEW: Casey Hyun, Creative Design Manager at Hyundai Motor Company and designer of the Sonata YF

May 6, 2011 at 3:47 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Feature Stories, Hyundai, Koreans

In the previous part of this story, we looked at how Hyundai has moved on to the next phase of its evolution. Instead of focusing on just undercutting rivals on price and matching them on reliability, the Korean carmaker is now pushing tech and design in a move to make its cars desirable. This approach can already be seen on new “Fluidic Sculpture” models like the Sonata and Tucson.

The company’s fresh “New Thinking, New Possibilities” motto carries the idea of “Modern Premium”, which believes that the new premium isn’t always the most expensive or feature laden. Like the Apple iPhone 4 and Starbucks coffee, they’re desirable, but also relatively accessible. And one of the main pillars of MP is design.

Who better to talk about design than the designer himself? Here, we have a chat with Casey Hyun, Creative Design Manager at Hyundai and also the lead designer of the Sonata YF. What does he do? Which car design does he admire the most?

Continue reading after the jump.
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Embracing new thinking, searching for new possibilities: We look at the next phase in Hyundai’s evolution

May 3, 2011 at 9:44 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Feature Stories, Hyundai, Koreans

The statement ‘The Koreans are coming’ is about as outdated as the Backstreet Boys. They were coming in the past decade, even up until a few years ago, but with this latest generation of products from Hyundai and Kia, the Koreans have truly arrived. By the way, Hyundai-Kia is the fourth largest car manufacturer in the world today, only behind Toyota, GM and VW.

The tide really turned for Hyundai with this latest generation of products, which are obviously design led, with the tech to match. But looks weren’t always the priority. Study their relatively short history of making cars, and you’ll find a few phases.


‘America’s Best Warranty’ gave people less to worry about. Pic from my 1999 Road & Track

In the early days, it was all about value, undercutting established names by a few thousand bucks and drawing in folks who want more for less. Then came the quest for reliability, and what better way to convince than to offer epic warranties? Hyundai’s industry shaking warranties (they have trademarked “America’s Best Warranty”) appealed to those who wanted a reliable partner, a crowd that would normally head to Toyota showrooms without thinking.

Continue reading after the jump.
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Stunning Hyundai Accent projection mapping display

April 7, 2011 at 5:41 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, Koreans, Local News

If you regularly follow The Star’s thumbnails section, you may have seen this RM50 winner photo by Shereen Teh featured back in February. It’s basically the new Hyundai Accent hanging vertically on a wall, like some kind of automotive version of Spiderman.

There’s also a few crew members setting the place up. What could Hyundai be possibly up to in Malaysia? It seems that they were actually shooting a viral ad featuring the new Hyundai Accent.

Look after the jump for a stunning projection mapping display featuring the new Hyundai Accent. It must have looked pretty spectacular in real life. I have really no idea when it happened though – anyone here was at the shoot event?
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