Archive for Hyundai

As you’ve known, Hyundai has changed it’s naming scheme. Rather than using pretentious un-Korean names like Velacruz and Santa Fe, it has decided to adopt an alphanumeric naming scheme, ala BMW and Mercedes. All Hyundai cars will have an i prefix, a numeric segment identifier, and an alphabetical suffix to denote it’s body type. Hyundai chose i because of it’s association with technology products, as well as the association with the word inspire. As for the numbers:

i10 = A segment
i20 = B segment
i30 = C segment
i40 = D segment
i50 = E segment

If the car is a station wagon, it will receive suffixes like CW, which Hyundai says stands for Cross-Wagon. A Cross-Wagon is of course nothing more than a fancy name for a stationwagon. An example would be the Hyundai i30 CW stationwagon. A Hyundai i40 or i50 is also coming up soon, to be based on the Hyundai Concept Genesis V8 rear wheel driven sedan.

UPDATE: The i30 1.6 and 2.0 have been launched in Malaysia!

This is Hyundai’s new generation European car, the Hyundai i30. It is also the first in a new model naming scheme which will name models using a numeric series, with the i30 being the C-segment model. It was styled in the Hyundai’s Russelsheim Design and Technical Center in Europe.

Although it looks like it was inspired by a few other designs, like a Honda grille, a Mazda 3 side profile, 1-series rear, and etc the overall combination seems to look pleasing to the eye. On the interior, there is generous use of blue and white as these colours are easy on the eyes. Hyundai has also taken great care to ensure the ergonomics are good, with everything like gear shifters and steering column stalks within natural reach.

Engine options include a 1.4 liter DOHC CVVT engine making 108PS, a very commendable figure for a 1.4 liter engine indeed. The 1.6 liter engine makes 121PS, while the largest petrol engine is a 2.0 liter making 140PS. Turbodiesel options include a 1.6 CRDi with two outputs – a 90PS version and a 115PS version, and the top of the line oil burner is a 2.0 CRDi with a Variable Geometry Turbocharger, putting out 140PS, equal to the petrol version of similiar displacement.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai i30 5-Door Hatch

The second variant of Hyundai’s new i30 series of cars for the European market has been revealed. This is the Hyundai i30 Wagon. It doesn’t look bad at all, though the side profile reminds me a little of the Mazda3 – but what’s wrong with copying a nice design element right, as long as the results are nice!

Hyundai’s i30 series is the twin brother of Kia’s new cee’d series of cars, and the model range will end up mirroring each other with 5-door hatch, 3-door hatch, and stationwagon variants.

While Kia have been making some amazing progress with their vehicle design thanks to it’s new European-based design team, not much can be said about big brother Hyundai’s new designs. This Hyundai HND-3 Veloster Concept seems to be inspired from design cues with many of the cars already out there on the market, with the most obvious being Honda’s REMIX Concept.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai HND-3 Veloster Concept

Hyundai has released details on it’s Hyundai Concept Genesis, due to be revealed at the New York International Auto Show on April 4th 2007. Hyundai’s newly developed Tau DOHC 32-valve V8 powers this sedan. Front-rear weight distribution is respectable at 53:47. The 4.6 liter Tau V8 is mated to a 6-speed ZF automatic transmission with manual shifting, delivering over 300 horsepower to the rear wheels, launching the Concept Genesis from 0 to 100km/h in under 6 seconds.

Other than a good front-rear weight distribution, handling is further enhanced with a front five-link suspension featuring upper and lower arms linking the front wheels to the chassis. This arrangement creates a virtual king pin axis which reduces unwanted steering wheel kickback, improving feel and responsiveness. The rear also uses a five-link independent setup.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Concept Genesis details unveiled

How many of you go to motorshows not for the cars, but for the scantically clad ladies standing around the cars? I know that sometimes the intention can be split 50:50 between the two. If so, and you happen to be a Korean, or someone heading for the 2007 Seoul Motor Show in South Korea, you’re going to be in for a disappointment.

Hyundai and Kia wants to cut down on the number of models at the show, as well as switch to more modest dressing, hoping the attention will be focused more on the cars on display instead. “We would rather have the spectators’ attention on our cars than the attractive ladies,” said Jake Jang, a spokesperson for Hyundai Motor Company.

Renault Samsung Motors has already made a similiar move at last year’s motor show, where it’s usual skimpy models were given business suits and handheld computers to help them answer questions.

Source

Oriental-Hyundai Sdn Bhd and Hyundai Motor Company signed a Technical License Assistance Agreement last Monday for the local assembly of the new generation Hyundai Accent MC. The Hyundai Accent MC will be assembled at Oriental Assembler’s plant. The new Hyundai Accent MC will succeed the current Hyundai Accent LC available in sedan and hatch form that has been so popular with the Malaysian car buyers since it’s introduction, thanks to it’s Proton-rivalling price.

The new Hyundai Accent MC is expected to be a popular choice with the Malaysian buyers if it maintains a similiar price bracket to the Accent LC. It doesn’t look too bad at all, and has a pretty nice interior very similiar to the Kia Rio’s. It was first introduced at the 2005 New York International Auto Show, and is the first Accent available with a CVVT variable valve timing engine.

It is also marketed in Mexico as a Dodge, with two engine options – a 1.4 liter (96hp at 6,000rpm, 124Nm torque at 4,700rpm) and a 1.6 liter (110hp @ 6,000rpm, 143Nm torque at 4,500rpm). The US market Accent has a 1.6 liter CVVT with 112ps at 6,000rpm and 146Nm of torque at 4,500rpm.

Looking at the product planning choices of most B-segment cars in Malaysia, we will likely get the 1.4 liter model (Kia Rio 1.4, Naza Bestari 1.4, Inokom Getz 1.4), but then again nothing wrong with crossing our fingers for the 1.6 liter or the 1.6 liter CVVT.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Locally assembled new generation Hyundai Accent MC coming soon!

These are sketches of Hyundai’s Concept Genesis, a D-segment vehicle that will make it’s public debut at the New York International Auto Show this year. Rumours are that the Concept Genesis will eventually graduate as a production model Hyundai i50, also code-named Hyundai Equus. The Equus is supposedly Hyundai’s first rear wheel drive platform car. This might be the successor to the Hyundai Sonata, and with rear wheel drive, it should please the Americans and Australians.

A little bit about Hyundai’s new model naming scheme. Hyundai seems to have emulated BMW’s number scheme somewhat, with the Hyundai i30 being in the same segment as the 3-series which is the C-segment, while this new i50 will be similiar in size to the 5-series, a D-segment car. Following this trend, we might see a future large Hyundai called the i70?

One more rear view sketch after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Concept Genesis – D-segment competitor

While Kia’s new cee’d series looks absolutely gorgeous, by Korean standards of course, and truly shows their advancement in the automtive industry… the same can’t be said of it’s group sibling Hyundai. The Hyundai i30 is based off the previously showcased Arnejs concept, and it has ended up looking like a mere rebadged version of the Kia cee’d with elements of Mazda 3 side profile, BMW 1-Series plus Mitsubishi Colt rear and a Honda Accord front grille thrown in to differentiate it from the original. It’s not that it looks bad, it actually looks nice, but that Accord grille rip-off is just too blatant.

Engines will include 3 petrol powered engines – a 1.4 109Hp, a 1.6 122Hp and a 2.0 143Hp, as well as 3 diesels for those who love mega torque oil burners – 1.6CRDi 90hp, 1.6CRDi 115Hp and 2.0 CRDi 140Hp. This is the same as the Kia cee’d range.

Two more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai i30 photos leaked ahead of Geneva

Another concept vehicle which made it’s debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show is the Hyundai HCD10 Hellion Concept, a three-door compact SUV looking like it was fishes straight out of the Alien series of movies.

Hyundai used a tough safety cage concept (ala smart) to build the HCD10 Hellion Concept, using three ultra-lightweight structural ribs to create the HCD10 Hellion’s safety cage. These ribs connect to a suspended surfboard-shaped spine. This is probably what contributed to the car’s pretty much organic look.

The Hyundai HCD10 Hellion Concept was also designed not just too look tough, but act tough. Hyundai designed it to be a proper offroader, with short overhangs to allow more aggressive approach angles. The car has a removable canvas soft-top roof, but even though removed, the passangers are protected by some kind of cross bar.

The HCD10 Hellion Concept is painted with a paint scheme called Dakar Gold, to honor the famous Paris-Dakar 4WD rally and it’s influence on it’s design. Wheels are huge 20-inch aluminium 2-piece wheels, and are Teflon-coated for hardiness against tough environments.

On the interior, the same organic-looking ribs that are apparent from the outside are also visible on the inside, giving the occupants a sense of safety. An overhead console is suspended, which houses integrated interior lighting and a drop-down LCD monitor for rear-seat entertainment.

Enough about the looks – this concept is powered by a 3.0 liter V6 CRDi engine making 236 horsepower and 450Nm of torque.

More photos and detailed specs after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai HCD10 Hellion Concept at LA Auto Show