Archive for Koreans

Total sales for the Getz in Malaysia recently hit 20,000 units since its 2005 launch, so Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors have decided to create a new limited run Hyundai Getz SE (Special Edition) to celebrate. The Getz SE will be limited to a 300 unit run and each unit will have a serialized plate in the car starting with the number 001.

The changes are all aesthetic as the 1.4 liter DOHC engine under the hood remains the same as before. The Getz SE is only available in a colour called “Icing White”. The front end receives a new grille and bumper. The side mirrors have integrated LED indicators. At the rear, the car gets a new bumper as well. The single exhaust tailpipe is hidden behind the mesh grille of the “diffuser-like” design.

On the inside, the center dashboard and the door handles has a new brushed-aluminium look to them. The interior seats and steering wheel comes in leather. Wheels are 15 inchers of a new design and are wrapped with Dunlop D01 tyres. Hyundai says they picked the D01 because of its double V groove pattern which does well on wet roads, making it suitable for the Malaysian tropical climate.

Other than that, the rest of the car is the same as the regular Getz. The SE version is available for both the 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic options.

The Hyundai Getz SE 1.4GL(M) is priced at RM 60,984.00 (OTR) in West Malaysia and RM 62,716.10 (OTR) in East Malaysia and the Hyundai Getz SE 1.4GL(A) is priced at RM 63,888.00 (OTR) in West Malaysia and RM 66,277.00 (OTR) in East Malaysia. Hyundai offers a 5 year or 300,000 warranty with the Getz.

Look after the jump for more shots of the Getz SE.

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Here’s a first photo of Hyundai’s new electric i10 set to make its debut at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show. The Hyundai i10 Electric will begin limited series production in 2010 and will initially be offered in Korea only. It will be offered to the Korean government, state corporations, and utility companies. No price has been revealed as of now, but the press release mentions “sell” instead of “lease”.

The i10 Electric is powered by a 49kW (66 horsepower) motor, mated to a 16kWh battery which promises a range of 160km and a top speed of 130km/h. Because of the switch of powertrain, the steering, air conditioning, water pump and brake vacuum pump systems have been modified to all run on electrical power now.

The Koreans have improved the standard of their powertrains tremendously in the past decade. From the initial set of engines based on Mitsubishi products, they’ve moved to very competent engines with dual variable valve timing, new engines with turbocharging and direct injection, impressive and fuel efficient R-engine diesel engines, LPI Hybrids and now, an all-electric powertrain! Impressive!

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It’s hard to tell what real world performance and experiences will be like for now but one thing’s for sure (though you can read my first impression story when I got to drive the car in Korea), the new Kia Forte Koup is a stunner when it comes to its looks.

If you just can’t get enough of the Koup, check out this fresh new CGI-heavy video from Kia promoting its new Kia Forte Koup after the jump.

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Official sketches of the new Hyundai Sonata has been released by the Korean company and the car is expected to make its official debut in Korea on the 10th of September.

With a roofline that looks like it was inspired by the likes of the Passat CC and the one that started it all – the CLS, it definitely distances itself from the generic looks of the current generation Sonata with an all-new look that employs plenty of curves and ‘flame-surfacing-esque’ creases.

So okay, these are just sketches and its easy to make a sketch look good. There are actually some photos leaked of the Sonata in the metal that have made their way out onto the internet. Look after the jump for how the actual car looks like.

Source

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Here’s the first undisguised full image of the new Hyundai ix35, which gives us a clear view of Hyundai’s new C-segment SUV. The ix35 is the replacement for the aging Hyundai Tucson. Thankfully that new “Genesis’ grille that has recently graced the facelifted Starex did not really find its way onto the ix35, instead we get a front end which has more in common with the Veracruz.

In other markets it will also be called the Hyundai Tucson ix in Korea. Under the hood will be Hyundai’s new all-aluminium “R-engine” diesel in 184hp tune (of which specs sound pretty good by the way), or the 166hp Theta II petrol engine, both mated to Hyundai’s new 6-speed automatic.

The rear view mirror has a built-in 3.5 inch colour LCD to display images from the rear view camera to assist with parking. The ix35/Tucson ix will feature typical SUV driver assist functionality such as downhill brake control to help the driver negotiate a downhill slope, and hill-start assist control. The car will of course be available with stability control, and a panoramic sunroof helps enhance the interior.

More details and information on the ix35 will be available when Frankfurt opens its doors in mid-September. You can watch a movie from the Korean Tucson ix launch after the jump that shows all angles of the car in motion… pretty decent looking!

Click here to read the rest of First full view of the Hyundai ix35 released!

The “original” Korean market facelift

Kia changed their mind pretty quick about how they wanted their Korean market facelifted Optima (called Lotze Innovation in Korea) to look like. Sometime in mid-2008 they updated the Korean market Optima’s front and rear end to a younger and more dynamic look featuring sharper headlamps, the new Schreyer grille, and new LED tail lamps. They also updated the interior with new red backlighting and a new three-gauge meter cluster.

Chrome grille abandoned for sportier mesh look

For this latest minor facelift the front grille has lost its horizontal chrome slats and this is replaced with a mesh grille from the export market model. A comparison is shown above. For more details on the facelift check out our story from when the facelifted Optima was first unveiled last year in the related posts below:

Related Posts:
Kia Lotze Innovation: facelifted Optima in Korea
2009 Kia Optima facelift unveiled at NYIAS 2008

This is supposed to be the new 2011 Hyundai Sonata and it’s probably going to be revealed soon since it looks like these shots were sneaked out during a photoshoot for its product images. The front instantly reminded me of the latest Mazda 6, except with a whole lot of more chrome going on there. It’s not easy to see how the side profile of the car looks like in these shots but I really think I’ve actually seen the new Sonata on test (or perhaps it was its Kia Optima sibling) at some proving grounds when I was in Korea for the Kia Koup preview drive earlier this year, and it’s got a very Passat CC-like coupe roofline to it – very sleek and nice. The interior seems to look good as well. The Koreans just keep getting better and better each time they try. They have to, it’s the only way forward.

Here’s another anticipated production car that disappointingly looks like its lost some of its edge on the way from concept to production. The car you see above is the new GM Daewoo Matiz Creative, which under the Chevrolet badge will be known as the Chevrolet Spark. It will go on sale internationally at various different launch dates beginning September. Three equipment level will be available – the Pop, the Jazz and the Groove, and the price tag goes up from US$7,260 up to US$8,035 in that order.

Under the hood is a new 1.0 liter S-TEC II inline-4 engine mated to a 4-speed auto making 69 horses and 92Nm of torque. Despite being a small car, GM gave the car 4 mounts for the engine to improve smoothness instead of some car manufacturers which only supply 3 mounts. A three-cylinder turbodiesel engine will come later.

The petrol engine is rated at being able to travel 17 km per liter, or about 5.9 liters per 100km. GM says the S-TEC II engine features something called Port De-Activation which sounds like the number of valves used are variable – less valves at low revs and all valves used at high revs, though I’m not 100% sure as the press release is not really very technical. The chassis is monocoque and is expected to score 4-stars in Euro NCAP tests.

Look after the jump for two more shots of the new Matiz Creative.

Click here to read the rest of New 1,000cc Daewoo Matiz Creative unveiled: Korean-badged production Chevrolet Spark

The Kia No3 Concept has been translated into a production car. Presenting: the Kia Venga, a new B-segment MPV (not exactly an MPV in the three-row 7 seater sense but more of a tall hatchback) designed and built in Europe. The name Venga is derived from the Spanish verb “to come”, which in the language sounds like invitation to move from one spot to another. For some reason I find this amusing as it is similiar to the Tamil word “vange” which also means “come”

It looks small but the Kia Venga is actually bigger than a Hyundai i20 – its got a wheelbase of 2,615mm thats a whole lot longer compared to the i20’s 2,525mm wheelbase. The previous generation Kia Carens/Rondo had a wheelbase of 2560mm but with the latest generation (called the Citra II Rondo in Malaysia) it used the Optima’s platform and grew to a massive 2,700mm.

This definitely makes some space for a smaller MPV to be slotted in under the new Rondo. The Kia Venga is 4,068mm long and 1,600mm tall. Like most new Kia designs it looks pretty alright, nothing to hate about it, though I think that Schreyer grille isn’t really working that great on that Fiat Bravo-like nose. But the rest of the car is quite cute.

Kia claims the Kia Venga offers C-segment space in a B-segment footprint, and hopefully price. It will feature a 1.4 liter gasoline engine or a 1.6 liter turbodiesel engine at launch, putting out 75 PS and 115 PS respectively.

Both engines will be fitted standard with ISG (Idle Stop & Go) technology which auto-stops your car engine when your car stops, and restarts it automatically when it is time to move again, useful during traffic jams or stop lights. Optional is a tilt-and-slide all-glass panoramic roof.

The production Kia Venga will be shown to the public at the Frankfurt show in September, and more photos will probably be released then. For now, check out 4 initial photos released by Kia after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Kia Venga set to debut at Frankfurt 2009

Hyundai is currently developing a new 800cc turbocharged inline-3 engine for its smaller models. producing about 90+ horsepower, which is about the equivalent of a normally aspirated 1.2 to 1.4 liter engine, depending on how aggressive the tune is.

This new 800cc engine will likely be offered first as some form of alternative to the new 1.2 liter Kappa engine (80 horses) in the markets that can afford it, and later probably completely replace it if they are able to price it well. This engine will likely find its way into the Hyundai i10 and the Kia Picanto and later other cars like the Hyundai i20 (Getz).

There are not many turbocharged gasoline engines in the Hyundai-Kia line-up, with the most modern one coming to my mind being the 2.0 liter GDI Turbo unit based on the GEMA engine that was announced late last year. Hyundai’s turbocharged GEMA engine trumps its rivals with the addition of direct injection.

The Kia Forte Koup with its killer looks are just dying for a more powerful engine like a turbo inline-4, as the 2.4 liter version just doesn’t cut it, being quite far off from hitting the 200 horsepower mark. There was also a 1.6 liter GDI Turbo that was slotted into the Hyundai ix-onic Concept from March this year – that one made about 170 horses.