The much-awaited fifth-generation Hyundai Elantra has finally arrived, well, almost. Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors officially introduced the MD Elantra – which wears Inokom badging – earlier today at a media preview, though the car will only be available in showrooms from April 6 onwards.

The arrival of the 4.53 metre-long C-segment sedan has definitely been long awaited; after all, it’s almost two years since the Avante version of the car made its debut in Korea. The locally-assembled vehicle will be available in four variants and two engine configurations here, these being three 1.6 litre models and a range-topping 1.8 litre version.

The range is made up of the 1.6 MT Standard and 1.6 AT Standard baseline models, a better specified 1.6 AT High Spec variant, all three powered by a Gamma 1.6 litre MPI D-CVVT mill, and the single 1.8 litre job is known as the AT Premium, which wears a Nu D-VVT 1.8 litre MPI D-VVT engine.

In terms of output numbers, the 1.8 litre – which features an offset crankshaft design – offers 150 PS at 6,500 rpm and 178 Nm at 4,700 rpm, while the 1.6 Gamma (MPI) is good for 130 PS at 6,300 rpm and 157 Nm at 4,850 rpm. As for the transmissions, both the manual and automatic gearboxes are six-speeders, with the auto equipped with Shiftronic manual control.

Standard kit across the range includes headlamp auto light control, fog lamps, dual airbags, ABS and steering wheel audio controls. There’s also Vehicle Stability Management and ESP, but these are only to be found in the 1.8 AT Premium and the 1.6 AT High Spec.

Leather seats feature throughout the entire 1.6 range, with the 1.8 litre model getting Nappa leather as well as environmentally friendly foam for its construction material; supposedly, it offers passengers greater comfort when travelling on rough roads.

Steering wheel tilt adjustment is offered with both 1.6 Standard models, with the 1.6 AT High Spec and 1.8 Premium getting a tilt and telescopic wheel. Elsewhere, with the exception of the manual variant, the range gets full keyless entry and a start/stop ignition button.

The 1.8 features an array of additional features, as befits its premium tag and added asking price – the list includes automatic rain sensing wipers, a full auto climate control system with an auto defogging system and cluster ionizer system as well as an audio visual navigation (AVN) system, with a reverse camera visual display.

It’s also the only variant to be fitted with a sunroof, a 10-way adjustable driver power seat as well as auto cruise control.

As for wheels, the three 1.6 models come with 16-inch alloys wrapped with 205/55 series tyres, and the 1.8 wears 17-inch units and 215/45 profile tyres. Seven colours are available for the MD, namely Ceramic White, Sleek Silver, Hyper Silver, Clean Blue, Tomato Red, Santorini Blue and Phantom Black.

Pricing for the MD Elantra range starts from RM86,888 for the 1.6 MT Standard, followed by RM91,888 for the 1.6 AT Standard. The 1.6 AT High Spec rolls in at RM96,888, while the top-of-the-range 1.8 AT Premium goes for RM111,888, all prices on-the-road, with insurance.

While you won’t be able to walk in and view the MD in the showrooms just yet, you can get up and close with the car at a test drive event this weekend, which is March 30 to April 1, at Citta Mall, Ara Damansara, from 10 am to 6 pm daily.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors has introduced a standard specification variant of the Inokom Santa Fe, available only in the vehicle’s 2.4 litre petrol form. This version of the seven-seater SUV rolls in around RM8,000 cheaper than the premium specification model announced recently, being priced at RM150,888 (on-the-road, with insurance).

Again, no difference to the output figures of the 2.4 litre Theta II engine, which are 174 PS and 228 Nm. The vehicle comes with a six-speed maintenance-free automatic transmission and continues to feature an electronically-actuated 4-wheel drive system that changes from two- to four-wheel drive or 4-wheel lock at the touch of a button.

The main differences from the premium variant are in terms of interior trim, and some features have of course been omitted. Off the item list are the Audio Visual Navigator/GPS (AVN) unit, sunroof, smart key/push start button, reverse camera and driver power seat. The standard spec version features black leather seats.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors has announced the introduction of a premium variant of the Inokom-badged Santa Fe, with both 2.2 Diesel and 2.4 Petrol seven-seater models now available in the new spec level option.

Externally, the Santa Fe premium gets a subtly enhanced exterior and interior, with a redesigned front grille, black gloss fog lamp rings and front and back skid plates part of the dress-up package. There’s also a chrome tailgate garnish and newly-designed 18-inch wheels for the variant.

Going the Premium route also bags you Downhill Brake Control (DBC); the system receives information from the wheel speed, steering angle and acceleration sensors, and through its hydro-electronic control unit maintains control and speed of the vehicle on steep declines without having to use the brakes. The DBC function can be activated through a push-button located at the gear area.

No revisions to the output of the engines, which are 174 PS and 228 Nm from the 2.4-litre Theta II petrol block and 197 PS and 442 Nm from the “R” 2.2 CRDi turbodiesel mill; both continue to work with the six-speed auto transmission.

The Premium Specification 2.2 Diesel is priced at RM169,258, while the 2.4 Petrol version goes for RM158,517 (both on-the-road, without insurance). You’ll need to be a bit patient to view one though – the variants will only be seen in Hyundai showrooms next week, starting October 7.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) has launched the facelifted Inokom i10. Besides Hyundai’s new corporate face, the latest i10 also comes with an improved 1.25-litre Kappa engine. The range now consists of three variants, an entry level 1.1L, 1.25 standard spec and 1.25 high spec, priced at RM47,988, RM50,688 and RM53,988, respectively.

The 1.25 Kappa engine’s main improvement is the addition of Continuously Variable Valve Timing, or CVVT. Power and torque figures are also up on the previous non-CVVT unit – 86 hp and 120 Nm versus 79 hp and 112 Nm. Claimed combined fuel consumption is 5.3 litres per 100 km. There are no changes to the 1.1 Epsilon engine, which churns out 65 hp.

Both engines are paired to a four-speed automatic gearbox. The i10 uses Hyundai’s Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS, another name for EPS), which helps with fuel economy.

Besides the new face dominated by that trapezoid grille, the i10 1.25 also spots a new rear spoiler and rear bumper plus elongated combination lamps. The bigger engined variants also come with new wing mirrors with LED indicators. There are also new design alloy wheels.

Inside, the instrument panel is now illuminated in blue (used to be green), with the addition of a digital display. It shows a digital fuel gauge and gear position, things that were previously not available. The audio system has MP3, USB and AUX input, as well as a remote control.

Spec wise, equipment exclusive to the 1.25 high spec are ABS with EBD, dual front airbags and fog lamps.

New meter panel (bottom) compared to the old one. Ignore the MPH reading, ESP light

The i10 1.25 Kappa CVVT is available in four colours – Alpine Blue, Ice Silver, Crystal White and Oyster Grey. The 1.1 can be had in the same shades, except for Oyster Grey, but with the added choice of Stone Black and Champagne Gold.

The i10 is one of our favourite small cars; read the review of the pre-facelift i10 Kappa here. More pictures after the jump.

Facelifted Inokom i10

UK spec Hyundai i10 facelift

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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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 litre Epsilon family engine (sadly not the new Kappa 1.2 litre) 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.

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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 litre 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 litre) 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.


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© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd plans to start CKD assembly of Hyundai SUVs by mid-2007, in efforts to capture a bigger share of the non-national car market. Hyundai’s Malaysian SUV offerings currently consist of the Tucson crossover SUV and the Santa Fe SUV. The Tucson is a small SUV going on head to head with likes of the Ford Escape, and the Hyundai Santa Fe competes with the bigger boys like the Honda CR-V.

Local assembly of the Hyundai Getz 1.4 with an Inokom badge has managed to drop the price by about RM10,000 – so I guess we can expect a CKD Santa Fe soon, with the Tucson coming later, similiar to the route Naza took with local assembly of the Kia Sorento first, and possible assembly of the Sportage in the future.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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Inokom will be launching it’s locally assembled version of the new facelift Hyundai Getz – to be called the Inokom Getz later this month, which will come in 1 variant – the Getz 1.4 litre DOHC. They had a media preview recently but I was not invited, so I don’t really have precise details on the car – the best I can do is talk about the features of the new facelifted Getz overseas and hope they’re also echoed in the local version. Anyway, details and more photos after the jump.

I’ve actually blogged about this new Hyundai Getz facelift more than a year ago in my post 2006 Hyundai Getz/Click so if you want a refresher, head on to that post.

The new Inokom Getz is a promising new addition to our local market, with a price of only RM58,888 it is quite affordable. It’s also worthwhile to note that in the previous third J.D. Power Malaysia Quality Study 2005 results released in October last year, the Inokom Atos came out top in it’s segment, with only 153 problems per 100 vehicles, with the industry average being 199 problems per 100 cars. In the MPV segment, the Inokom Matrix came in 2nd place, at 139 problems per 100 vehicles – this is only 6 more problems than the first place winner, the Toyota Unser which had 133 problems per 100 vehicles. This says something positive about Inokom’s Kulim plant quality control, and let’s hope this good assembly quality continues with the new Getz.

On to the engine. The Euro 4-compliant 1.4 litre 16-valve DOHC engine makes 97PS at 6,000rpm and 126Nm of torque at 3,200rpm. It also gets a new intelligent 4-speed auto tranny with high top gear ratios to reduce highway cruising fuel consumption, while sensors constantly monitor engine speeds and driver behaviour so that it can adapt to individual driving styles.

In the higher trim level, peek behind all four 14 inch alloy wheels and you will find disc brakes equipped with ABS anti-lock brakes and electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD). There is also a single airbag that comes standard in one of the higher trim levels.

Oh, and this might be of interest to you: Top Gear compares Malaysian and Korean cars

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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The addition of the Hyundai Mighty will bring Inokom’s vehicle count up to 4, with current models being assembled include the Inokom Lorimas pick-up, the Inokom Atos Prima based on the Hyundai Atoz and the Inokom Matrix based on the Hyundai Matrix. There is also an Inokom Getz expected to join the line-up soon, a rebadged version of the popular supermini which even got into Jeremy Clarkson’s good books, somewhat.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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UPDATE: The new cars launched are the LMG Tourer 7-seater SUV and the LMG Trekker double cab pick-up truck, both of which include Hydroxene water-petrol hybrid technology.

The Star carried a newspaper report on Friday outlining our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s two day visit to Johor, and the itenary included the launch of a new national car on Tuesday. Since it’s too soon for anything up Proton, Perodua or Naza‘s sleeves – we can assume this might be the new CKD Inokom Getz.

Reader Khairil has reported sightings of a Hyundai Getz going around on road tests in Kulim with a sign that says “Kenderaan sedang diuji” hanging on the rear. However, what was different with this particular Getz is it had an Inokom badge on it.

Sime Darby has previously expressed interest in assembling the Hyundai Getz locally within the next 12 months in October last year when it unveiled it’s NAP plans. It is already assembling the Hyundai Matrix and the Hyundai Atos locally with Inokom badges.

Just a recap from Sime Darby’s NAP plans outlined last year, next up in the pipelines after the CKD Getz would be other Hyundai models like the Accent, Elantra and Sonata. There are also export plans. Click for more details on Sime Darby’s NAP plan.

Even if the car launch on Tuesday isn’t the CKD Inokom Getz, you can expect the car to be launched soon as uncamouflaged road tests are already underway. In fact, there’s something wrong with the theory that it might be the Inokom Getz. I don’t see why an Inokom car should be launched in Johor as the car is likely to be made in the Kulim plant, since road tests have been going on in Kulim. Kulim, Kedah is practically on the other end of the peninsular. So who has an assembly plant in Johor?

Oriental Assembler Sdn Bhd comes to mind. And Oriental Assembler has been generally associated with China makes of late, with reports of talks with Chery and Geely to assemble vehicles there. Could this be a locally badged China make? Information Gateway Corporation Sdn Bhd (IGC Corp) announced a CKD deal for Geely cars March this year, and said a local version of the Geely CK1 called the IGC CKX would be assembled at Oriental Assemblers Sdn Bhd.

There’s also the SUV and pick-up truck manufacturer Dadi. I’m sure many of you have seen Dadi showrooms around the city. LM Star Autoworld Sdn Bhd has assembly rights to Dadi SUVs and pick-up trucks, and a Bernama report says it plans to have an assembly plant in Kota Tinggi, Johor. LM Star Autoworld’s assembly plant will have the capacity for 60,000 vehicles a year but will start with an output of 28,480 in the first year. 10,000 will be for the Malaysian market and the rest for export. Could the new vehicle being launched be an LM Star-built Dadi SUV or pick-up?

LM Star also has an agreement with BYD Auto of China to develop right hand drive versions of BYD cars and have them assembled here both for the local market and export. Remember the BYD F3?

So many possibilities. I am as clueless as most of you are. Wait until Tuesday to find out. Thanks to Khairil and Stephen for the pointers.

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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The National Automotive Policy’s new incentives encourages foreign automakers to assemble their vehicles here in Malaysias, thus turning Malaysia into an automotive assembly and distribution hub for the ASEAN region.

Sime Darby has long been a major player in automotive assembly and distribution in Malaysia. They have an Inokom assembly plant in Kulim and a BMW assembly plant in Shah Alam. The Inokom plant assembles the Atos and Matrix cars, and the BMW plant assembles the E46 and E39 BMW 3 and 5 series for the local market. Sime Darby is currently looking into assembling the Hyundai Getz in the next 12 months and the new E60 BMW 5 series by Q1 2006. Next up would be Hyundai’s saloon models – the Accent, Elantra and Sonata, and BMW’s new E90 3 series. The group intends to export both local assembled marques.

Sime Darby group chief executive Datuk Ahmad Zubir Murshid said that BMW was originally interested in assembling all it’s models in Thailand and bringing them over to Malaysia to take advantage of the ASEAN tax breaks, but now it makes more sense for them to assemble the models in Malaysia. Sime Darby also intends to become the ASEAN hub for Hyundai cars, eventually.

On the rumours of Sime Darby taking over Khazanah Nasional’s stake in Proton, Datuk Ahmad Zubir said Sime Darby has always been focused on assembly and distribution, so going into manufacturing is very tricky. There are no plans to take up stake for the time being as they have no experience in automotive manufacturing.

Source: The Edge Daily, StarBiz

© 2012 Paul Tan's Automotive News. All Rights Reserved.

This story originally appeared on Paul Tan's Automotive News on Sun, 27 May 12 12:48:13 +0000.

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