Archive for Koreans

Hyundai has given its Hyundai Matrix a facelift for the 2009 model year and the mini-MPV now features Hyundai’s new corporate nose, similiar to the one on the new generation Hyundai i30. There are minimal changes on the rear.

Three engine choices are available - a 103 PS 1.6 liter from the Alpha family of engines, a 128 PS 1.8 liter from the Beta family of engines, and a 1.5 liter CRDi turbodiesel putting out 110 PS. The Malaysian Inokom Matrix is only available with the petrol engines.

More photos and a video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Hyundai Matrix Facelift

Kia showcased three differently styled concept versions of the Kia SOUL, an upcoming production model set to be launched at the Paris Motor Show this year.

The Kia SOUL Diva is aimed at the conscious young-at-heart woman who regards her car as part of her outfit. The Kia SOUL Burner is the “bad boy”, while the Kia SOUL Searcher is meant to project a sense of tranquility within the urban jungle, somewhat like a comfort zone.

“Because this new Kia model is not a replacement for an existing vehicle and will play a unique role within the Kia range it can be a bit of a rebel! The trio of concepts shown at Geneva are ‘appetisers for the Paris introduction. We are making a bold ‘fun statement to highlight ‘the world of possibilities that this new Kia will bring to the marketplace,” said Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Kia Motors Europe.

Guillaume led the Kia SOUL Concept trio’s design team, under the guidance of Kia’s Chief Design Office Peter Schreyer. Mr Schreyer is shown above with the concepts.

More photos and a video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kia SOUL Concepts - Burner, Searcher, Diva

Ssangyong has announced that the company will be exhibiting a turbodiesel-hybrid concept at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show which will improve efficiency of their existing vehicles by about 30%. No other details has been released, so we’ll just have to wait until Geneva rolls by just next month to find out what the Korean manufacturers have in store for us.

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Ssangyong Actyon Sport Pick-Up Truck Test Drive

INCUS, or Innovative Customization Sys as they call themselves is a bodykit and tuner company that does mainly Korean cars like those from Hyundai and Kia. This is their INCUS Avante Sport based on the Hyundai Avante, also known as the HD generation Hyundai Elantra sold by Kah Bintang here in Malaysia.

This appears to be only one of the bodykits available for the Avante/Elantra, as a quick check at the Incus Tune photo gallery reveals a few other variations, some sleek and subtle and some abit more loud and aggressive.

Plenty more photos of the bodykit after the jump.

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2008 Hyundai Elantra HD on sale in Malaysia

Click here to read the rest of INCUS Avante Sport kit for HD Avante/Elantra

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The new Kia Soul is a small SUV that seems targetted smack at the typical Scion buyer, a lifestyle car for the young and young at heart. Kia will be displaying three Kia Soul concepts at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show.

The three concepts will probably be more aesthetics-focused than anything else, and this teaser image of one of the concepts called SOUL Burner which Kia says features a satin black finish and dragon “tattoos”.

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Production Kia Soul sighted!

Source

Hyundai will be exhibiting a 6-seater MPV concept at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show called the Hyundai HED-5 Concept, a joint project with Recaro, LG and Bayer. The HED-5 Concept is an attempt at making one of Hyundai’s most environmentally responsible vehicles so far, with a 29% reduction in CO2 emissions over an equivalent vehicle. Only concept drawings have been released at the moment, but we will see the concept vehicle in metal at the Geneva show pretty soon. Are we looking at a preview of the future of the Hyundai Matrix?

One more rear shot of the HED-5 Concept after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai HED-5 Concept to debut at Geneva 08

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Competitive Supreme Sdn Bhd recently entered their new Ssangyong Actyon SUT into the Rainforest Challenge Terengganu 2007. The SsangYong Adventure Squad consisted of driver Mr. Francis Khoo and co-driver Encik Mohd Sharul Bahrin, team manager Mr. Stiven Sim, a technical team consisting of Ho Siong Peng, Liau See On, Simon Sim, Chan Meng Wai, Kamal and Ken Chin, and of course a Ssangyong Actyon Sports SUT with some technical upgrading to meet the minimum technical requirements for participating vehicles according to the challenge rules.

Here is a list of technical upgrades:

Chassis

• 3 inch body-lift
• Heavy duty coil springs and shock absorbers.
• Mud terrain tyres - Simex Extreme Centipede – 32″ x 9.5″ x15″

Protection Equipment

• Custom built front bullbar.
• Reinforced rear towing points.
• Heavy duty Side Steps.
• Rear Deck Roll Bar complete with Hi-lift Jack and spare Tyre-Mount.
• Front cabin Roll Bar.
• Racing Seats with 5-point safety harnesses for the driver and co-driver.
• Removal of rear seats and floor carpet.
• Large survival box mounted in the rear cabin.

Recovery Equipment

• Warn Winch - 8274 rear mounted with plasma rope
• Warn Recovery Set
• Heavy Duty Ground Anchor

The Actyon SUT completed all the Special Stages successfully before the Elephant Mud-hole and clocked one of the fastest times in the Special Stage 4 during the Prologue Stage.

UPDATE: There was some errors in the blog post before this, it has been corrected!

The 5-door Hyundai Elantra Touring was unveiled at the Montreal International Auto Show, and is basically the Hyundai i30 CW wagon with a different name. Under the hood is a 2.0 liter inline-4 engine putting out 141 horsepower, mated to either a 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Elantra Touring unveiled at Montreal

The new 2008 Hyundai Accent is now available in Malaysia, essentially the Hyundai version of the Kia Rio. There are two models to pick from - a 1.4 liter unit with a 5-speed manual or a 1.6 liter with a 4-speed auto. The 1.4 liter unit is a normal DOHC engine - i think it is the same one in the Kia Rio and Hyundai Getz 1.4. It produces 95 PS at 6,000rpm and 125Nm of torque at 4,700rpm.

The 1.6 liter is a DOHC engine with CVVT variable valve timing and produces 112 PS at 6,000rpm, and 145Nm of torque at 4,500rpm.

Like most small cars in this segment, the rear suspension uses the space-saving torsion beam axle with coil spring setup while the front uses McPherson struts. The head unit supports MP3, aux input and also USB input, which means you can just plug in your thumb drive full of songs and it will play. The interior generally looks like the Kia Rio’s, though the two car’s exteriors look totally different.

The Hyundai Accent manages a 5 star US NHTSA crash test result for frontal crashes for both the driver and passenger. Safety features include a driver airbag, antilock brakes and pretensioner seatbelts for the front passengers.

The 2008 Hyundai Accent 1.4 manual goes for RM68,888, while the 2008 Hyundai Accent 1.6 CVVT auto goes for RM73,888.

More photos after the jump.

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Click here to read the rest of 2008 Hyundai Accent 1.4 manual and 1.6 auto

Kah Bintang is now selling the latest Hyundai Elantra here in Malaysia. Under the hood is an inline-4 2.0 liter DOHC CVVT engine producing 143 PS at 6,000rpm and 186Nm of torque at 4,600rpm. It is mated to a 4-speed automatic. This is not the nice GEMA-based 2.0 unit in the Kia Optima, but a different family. It uses an electric power steering system.

The car rides on 16 inch alloy wheels with 205/55R16 tyres, and uses McPherson struts at the front, and a multi link suspension at the rear. Brakes are discs all round, with the front being ventilated. Turning radius is 5.17 meters, while the car’s wheelbase is 2,650mm. The 6 speaker audio system plays CD/MP3/WMA, and has aux input for you to hook up your external music device like iPods and etc. The interior is done up in leather, which includes the steering wheel, driver armrest and shift knob. Climate control is automatic. The steering wheel is both tilt and telescopic adjustable.

Safety features include dual SRS airbags, anti-lock brakes, front seatbelt pretensioners with force limiter, and electronic brakeforce distribution. The door locks unlock automatically upon impact. The car scored a 5-star crash test rating for the US NHTSA front impact test.

Kah Bintang says the new Hyundai Elantra managed to go from JB to Butterworth with a 53 liter tank of fuel - that’s a distance of about 746km.

The new Hyundai Elantra is priced at RM91,208.10 OTR without insurance.

View a few more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2008 Hyundai Elantra on sale in Malaysia