Archive for Koreans

Click to enlarge

Hyundai Sime-Darby Motor has launched the new Hyundai i10 5-door hatchback in Malaysia. The i10 replaces the Atos in the Hyundai global line-up but in certain countries like India, both the Atos (Santro) and the i10 is offered, with the latter being the more premium product. In fact, the i10 we get here comes from India where both the Atos and i10 are very very popular products, instead of Korea.

All the basics that will make the new Hyundai a popular runabout are there: a small luggage space extendable via the foldable rear seats and a 4-speed automatic. It chugs along via a 1.1 liter Epsilon family engine (sadly not the new Kappa 1.2 liter) putting out 65.8 horsepower at 5,500rpm and 99.1Nm of torque at a lower than usual 2,800rpm which should allow it to feel pretty zippy around town.

Safety features include a 4-star Euro NCAP body, dual SRS airbags and anti-lock brakes. In-car entertainment is an integrated 2-DIN audio CD player with MP3 and aux input support. The interior is rather monotonous and basic with endless fields of grey but there is a slight touch of “high-end” thanks to the dash-mounted shift lever instead of it being in the conventional position between the two front seats.

So you have decent safety specs, an acceptable level of in-car entertainment, an automatic gearbox, an engine that puts out peak torque at a low-mid RPM, and a price under RM50k. This should theoretically be very popular with city dwellers, especially since its claimed to have a 17.2km per liter combined fuel economy. It’s also got nice styling, being the first Hyundai car in Malaysia with the new naming scheme and design language that debuted with the i30. But Malaysians are just too brand conscious.

The 4-speed auto model retails for RM48,888 OTR with insurance and comes with a 5-year (300,000km) warranty. It is available in five colours: alpine blue, blushing red, stone black, sleek silver and champagne gold. A 5-speed manual version (that is claimed to get 20km per liter) is also available but strangely Hyundai’s press kit does not mention its price. This story will be updated later when the price is available.

The badging on the car is a little confusing but somehow expected. It has a combination of both Inokom and Hyundai logos and badges around the car.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai i10 compact hatch launched in Malaysia

The world got a preview of the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan during GM’s press conference earlier this week as both front and rear three quarter views of the new Cruze done up in a flashy red paint were flashed on the presentation screen.

The new Chevrolet Cruze is a C-segment sedan and it will be a world car, replacing both current C-segment cars that are in GM’s line-up - the low-cost “emerging market” Daewoo-based Chevrolet Optra and the more expensively-built Chevrolet Cobalt for the American market. This means we can expect this to eventually replace the Optra Magnum facelift that was unveiled here earlier this year.

GM will fit a series of turbocharged 1.4 liter engines into the Cobalt, which GM says will allow it to hit a fuel economy target of 45mpg, or 5.2 liters per 100km, which truth be told is rather ambitious, small engine or not. The 1.4 liter Ecotec turbo will come in various stages of tune from 120 PS (equivalent to a 1.6 liter normally aspirated engine) to 150 PS (equivalent to a 2.0 liter normally aspirated engine), with plenty of torque.

Autoweek’s spy photographers managed to clinch these undisguised photos of the new generation Kia Sorento. The Sorento was originally introduced in 2003 and was recently given a facelift in Malaysia. The old body-on-frame construction is expected to be replaced with a unibody construction, but which chassis is the question. Using the Hyundai Santa Fe chassis would give it a size thats more similiar to its current size, but Autoweek claims the new Sorento will be the Kia equivalent of the larger Hyundai Veracruz!

Look after the jump for a spyshot of the interior.

Source

Click here to read the rest of New Kia Sorento (XM) snapped without disguise

Click to enlarge

The facelifted Kia Optima (known as the Magentis in Europe) is now on sale in the Korean market as the Kia Lotze Innovation. Interestingly Kia has decided to offer two different stylings for the car like what Honda is doing with its Accord. One has a more mature styling (the original) while the other is sportier, but strangely Kia has decided to offer both in the same market.

The previous design is now called the Kia Lotze Advance while the new car is called the Kia Lotze Innovation. Perhaps this is because there are some who prefer the more grown-up outlook of the pre-facelift car.

Look after the jump for more details on the facelifted Lotze.

Click here to read the rest of Kia Lotze Innovation: facelifted Optima in Korea

Click to enlarge

Four official product photos of the new Kia Forte sedan has been released by Kia. It will hit Korean showrooms first in August 2008, with the rest of the world to get it later, including Malaysia as a new Cerato or Forte sedan. The current Cerato is sold here as a 5-door hatch, but a sedan from this current generation is not likely to be introduced with Naza Kia management most probably deciding to skip the current generation Cerato sedan and going straight for this new Forte.

The new Kia Forte is more angular and up to date with current design trends compared to its predecessor. While Europe gets the cee’d, this model is the cee’d’s equivalent for the rest of the world. So while exterior styling is radically different from the cee’d (which is a hatch in the first place), expect the interior to follow the cee’d’s interior design closely. It’s quite good looking indeed.

The rear looks like the current generation Hyundai Elantra we have here in our market, but the shoulder profile thankfully misses the odd Audi A5-like wave that the Elantra has. The front end sports Kia’s new corporate nose that is also found on the facelifted Optima.

1.6 liter and 2.0 liter CVVT engines will be offered, but the cee’d’s 1.6 liter VGT turbodiesel is a question mark at this point as the markets where this car will be introduced are not really mad about diesel.

Kia intends to introduce a two-door coupe version of this Forte later, which will more closely resemble the KIA KOUP Concept that this Forte was based on.

View three more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of First photos of new Kia Forte sedan

The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has now set foot in the top 5 automakers list globally, moving up from 6th place to the current 5th place with annual sales of 3,961,629 units in the year 2007 according to the 2008 Global Data Book by Automotive News.

The following are the top 10 list ranked by the 2008 GDB:

Sales of CKD kits to CKD partners for assembly and sales such as Malaysian Kia distributor Naza Kia Sdn Bhd are not counted in the number above and adds up to another 185,114 units.

We still see the Kia Spectra from one generation ago on our roads as an alternative priced close to Proton sedans, and have the 5-door latest generation Kia Spectra in locally assembled form, but Kia is gearing up for the launch of the latest generation Kia Spectra sedan with the release of these two teaser images of a car they call the Kia Forte.

From the looks of it it will be quite obvious that the new Spectra or Forte will be a four-door version of the hot-looking Kia KOUP Concept showcased not too long ago. The front design depicts Kia’s new corporate grille which made its world premiere in concept form on the KOUP, and in production form on the facelifted Optima.

Perhaps a coupe version that is similiar to the original KOUP Concept will come later? The new Spectra will likely share many components with its C-segment sibling, the Kia cee’d including a similiar dashboard design.

It looks quite sleek and sporty, perhaps Naza Kia should skip any plans it might have for a current generation Spectra sedan and wait for this one! View two more images showing the side profile and front grille after the jump.

Related Posts:
Kia KOUP Concept
Facelifted 2009 Kia Optima

Click here to read the rest of Kia Forte teasers preview next generation Spectra

Competitive Supreme Sdn Bhd has launched an updated version of the Ssangyong Actyon Sports SUT with a major technical change that should be very welcome - a 6-speed automatic gearbox. This will allow the punchy 2.0 liter XDi 200 XVT engine to stay in its torquey diesel powerband more often, and the cheaper 2.0 liter road tax of RM439.20 will be easier on pockets as well.

The XDi 200 XVT engine is based on Mercedes-Benz technology and features 3rd generation common rail direct injection. It produces 141 PS at 4,000rpm and 310Nm of torque between 1,800rpm and 2,700rpm.

It is mated to a new 6-speed automatic gearbox with Thumbtronic manual shifting control, which allows the user to shift the automatic gearbox gears manually via button controls on the steering wheel. The new 6-speed automatic is sourced from Australian company Drivetrain Systems International. The 4WD system has electronic shift on the fly which allows you to switch from 2-High, 4-High and 4-Low via a dashboard switch.

Other updates to the new Actyon Sports includes a chrome front grille, a Shark Fin style radio antenna, chrome center adjustable air vents, the addition of rear seat belt buckles with storage pockets as well as a driver’s footrest. I noticed that the Actyon was missing the footrest when it was first launched forcing my left foot to rest at a slightly uncomfortable angle, so it is great to hear that Ssangyong and Competitive Supreme has taken feedback from the public into account.

More images of the updated Actyon SUT after the jump.

Related Posts:
Ssangyong Actyon Sports SUT Pick-up Truck Test Drive Review

Click here to read the rest of Ssangyong gives Actyon SUT a 6-speed automatic

Hyundai Motor India managing director HS Lheem announced that Hyundai will be developing a Rs 1.5 lakh (RM11,360) car for the Chinese and Indian markets.

The car will be developed in India at R&D facilities in Hyderabad and Chennai with support from Korea, with a target launch set somewhere in 2011 or 2012. Hyundai is the number two car manufacturer in India and their cheapest car is the Hyundai Santro (Hyundai Atos) which sells for Rs 2.7 lakh (RM20,450).

India is a market where both the Hyundai i10 (rebadged 2008 Picanto) and the Hyundai Santro are offered, but the more expensive i10 are slowly eating into Santro sales because the Indian market is maturing, and at that price point they’d rather pay a little bit more in terms of monthly installment to get something that looks better and more modern.

Kia Motors will produce the Kia SOUL Concept, which will retain its concept name and be called the production Kia Soul. It will be unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It doesn’t just retain its name, the production version (as shown in the teaser images released by Kia in this post) retains most of how the SOUL Concept looked like.

It looks like a cross between a Suzuki Swift on the side profile including the blacked out A and B pillar, and a Daihatsu Sirion/Perodua Myvi on the rear. The ride height looks slightly high, which leads me to believe this is pretty much a Korean competitor to the likes of the Suzuki SX4, Fiat Sedici and Volkswagen CrossPolo.

Two more images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kia to unveil production Kia Soul at Paris 2008