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.
The Kia Forte is one of the best looking Korean cars to ever be unveiled and sports Kia’s new corporate nose (now also found on the Kia Optima facelift and soon the upcoming Sorento). The Forte was first unveiled as a concept 2-door coupe called the Kia Koup. Chief design Peter Schreyer talks about the Kia Forte’s design in a video after the jump. He isn’t as good a presenter on video as Chris Bangle and may seem a little kayu at first, but it’s interesting to see his take on the Kia Forte and Kia’s new design language. Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: Peter Schreyer and the new Kia Forte
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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.
More detailed photos of the Kia Forte have been revealed thanks to its Korean introduction. Those have been keeping up with the news will know that the Kia Forte is Kia’s C-segment contender replacing the Kia Spectra/Kia Cerato. It was previewed as a 2-door coupe concept called the Kia Koup Concept. In the Korean market. the Forte is available with two engines - a normally aspirated 1.6 liter petrol engine producing 124 horsepower and another 1.6 liter turbodiesel producing 128 horsepower. Expect other markets to come with a 2.0 liter normally aspirated petrol engine as well.
Look for more photos after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Kia Forte - more photos of Korean domestic model
Various officials from within the government have been calling for Proton to continue looking for a foreign partner. The national automaker previously had failed talks with PSA Peugeot Citroen, Volkswagen and General Motors.
The Volkswagen deal would probably have gone through if it were not for Khazanah Nasional pulling out of the talks at the last minute, saying it had to give Proton more time to turn around before any equity/partnership deal could be cemented to ensure a fair deal for Proton.
Bernama reports today that General Motors’ Southeast Asian operations president Steve Carlisle (photo on the left) is willing to restart negotiations with Proton Holdings Berhad on taking up a stake in the company.
This comes just after GM announced it will invest US$445 million in Thailand to build a diesel engine plant next to its existing assembly facility. The new diesel plant will supply inline-4 diesel engines for GM’s trucks in Thailand and global markets.
When contacted, Proton Holdings informed Bernama that it had not been approached by General Motors for any negotiations. Proton also said that since any possible partnership would most likely involve talks of a share transfer, any interest from GM should be directed to its majority shareholder Khazanah Nasional instead.
So there we have it ladies and gentlemen. GM says Proton can come talk anytime, Proton says GM can come talk to Khazanah anytime. Who will make the first move? If talks do restart and a partnership involving stakeholding happens, GM may designate Thailand its truck production center and Malaysia its passenger car output center for cars like the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze.
The Kia Forte is the successor to the Kia Spectra sedan. It’s basically a sedan version of the Kia cee’d, with a coupe body expected to come later as well. A rather good looking car, I must say. Kia’s designers have come very far in the past few years, getting better and better with each generation.
Look after the jump for a TV commercial of the Kia Forte showing it eat up a luxury car. Is it supposed to say the Forte is luxurious inside? Click here to read the rest of VIDEO: The Kia Forte is hungry, very hungry
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″.
The spyshot above showing a dashboard with a Daewoo logo on the steering wheel has been widely accepted as being snapped from a Chevrolet Cruze. The upcoming C-segment sedan will replace the Cobalt and the Optra and will eventually find its way into our market replacing the Optra Magnum as GM has designated it a World Car.
The Malaysian (or rather ASEAN) will most likely lose some of the nifty stuff like the large LCD screen and perhaps have the center dash area simplified with manual air conditioning knobs and losing alot of other buttons in the process, but I think on the overall it’s quite good looking and reminds me alot of a Honda.
Look after the jump for two artist impressions from this month’s Autocar India based on the image of the Chevrolet Cruze exposed in GM’s presentation.
Source Click here to read the rest of Chevrolet Cruze Interior Spyshot
