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  Hyundai i40 Tourer Photo Gallery

• VIDEO: Hyundai i40 Tourer

The i40 is a head turner taking a new direction into family-focussed wagons ...

The i40 Tourer is Hyundai's latest step up the quality scale, and easily the best-looking car the Korean brand has brought here.

The body styling is fresh and has enough complexity to keep the eye interested but avoids being fussy, with the only discordant note the overdone arabesque of the daytime running lights.

It's well-packaged, with acres of room in the rear seat and more than ample cargo space under the fast-back rear hatch.

The cabin experience got big ticks for equipment and fit-out, but it was marked down for the cheaper quality impression of the gearshift paddles on the steering wheel.

Hyundai has made a big effort on the steering and suspension, with in-house calibration and settings aiming to improve it for Australian conditions. We found it capable on the initial launch drive, but under the harder torture of the proving ground tracks the dynamics felt dulled and the steering too light.

The electronic stability control program was invoked quite heavily going through corners, and even tipped in during some of the less sharp sweepers.

While the diesel engine was capable enough, its outputs are still undermined by the weight of the car, and in the end it lacked the lustre to make the podium.

Price: (as tested) $35,440

Engine: 1.7-litre 4-cyl turbodiesel. 100kW/320Nm
Transmission: six-speed automatic
Thirst: 5.6L/100km (ADR), 149g/km.