Hyundai Accent 2012 News

It’s not just the top end of town that’s paying more upfront for the long-term bonus of reduced running costs.

Kids aren’t usually a factor in Car of the Year judging.  But child friendliness rates highly with women buying cars – and with women judging cars.The countdown has been kicked off to decide the Women’s World Car of the Year, and the kid factor is one the judges pay a lot of attention to.“Statistics show that women drive children in cars significantly more often than men – and that means women need to take that into account, both when buying and as judges of cars,” WCOTY president Sandy Myhre said from New Zealand.“Any woman who has grappled constantly with child seats and belts and children considers those things when looking at buying a car.  Men might too but the fact is, women drive children in cars more than men.“Women would not consider that aspect in a Porsche 911 more than a bloke. The point is, it can be considered in these awards - and that is one of the points of difference in these awards.”Myhre points out that significant research into buying habits show that in addition to buying for themselves, women have a major influence in household purchase decisions for big ticket items.Ford Australia, for example, says their research shows that women are behind the majority of purchases of the Territory SUV – either as single women buying one, or in influencing the joint decision with their partner. “A report from Mattingly & Associates in Australia concluded, in part, that businesses that didn't understand this influence would be hard-pressed to stay in business.  That report was aptly called 'When I've Made Up Our Minds',” Myhre says.However, the kid factor is just one of the criteria by which the 2012 Women’s World Car of the Year will be judged.There are four categories in the Women's World Car of the Year – Family Car, Luxury Car, Sports Car and Economy Car. Points are allocated to each of ten criteria: driveability, engineering, comfort, child friendliness, style, interior, storage, dashboard efficiency, carbon footprint and colour range.The 20 judges from eleven countries have submitted their own personal short list and more than 300 cars were suggested. These individual choices were then whittled down to form a master list of 32 in terms of popularity. Judges will now allocate points for these cars from a criteria list.The announcement of the winning cars in each category and the supreme winner will be made before the end of March. The supreme award trophy and category certificates will be presented to the car companies concerned at the Mondial de l’Automobile 2012 – the Paris Motor Show – in September. The supreme trophy will this year be made in The Netherlands. Category-winner certificates will be designed at Peartree Studios in Colerne, UK.The first winner of the Women's World Car of the Year was the Jaguar XF in 2010 and the trophy made in South Africa was presented at the Jaguar boutique showroom in Knightsbridge, London. In 2011 there was a dead-heat between the Citroen DS3 and the BMW 5 Series. The two trophies made in India were presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 2011. 

The Accent oiler will hit the showroom floors only in Active spec, with a starting price of $19,490.  The turbodiesel unit - the first in the Accent line-up – is a new 1.6-litre engine with common rail direct injection (CRDi) fuel system, intercooled with variable geometry turbo (VGT). It develops 94kW of power at 4000rpm and 260Nm of torque between 1900-2750rpm.  The engine is mated to either Hyundai’s six-speed manual, or for an extra $2000 the four-speed electronic automatic transmission – which features a lock-up torque converter, overdrive and driver style adaptation programming. Hyundai claims the combination of CRDi and VGT enables the diesel to deliver fuel economy of 4.4L/100km in a combined cycle of driving with the manual transmission sedan and 4.5L/100km for the hatch, with the automatic versions both coming in at 5.6L/100km. Safety equipment for the Active spec level includes six airbags, vehicle stability management, electronic stability control and traction control systems. The four-channel, four-sensor anti-skid braking system also has electronic brakeforce distribution that adjusts brake effort to compensate for uneven loading of cargo or passengers.

Hyundai Australia CEO Edward Lee says the company's plan is no longer centred on entry-level pricing, but values such as safety, driving experience and ride quality. With the exit of the Getz and the introduction of the Accent, the company now has a full five-star safety rating on all of its passenger vehicle fleet. "We're not concerned with leaving the bottom of the market," Lee says. “I think we changed people's perception of the brand a lot already.Five-star safety is our new strategy.” "Australian people think safety is one of the most important things along with driving and ride." Sales and marketing manager Oliver Mann says the Getz name has gone the way of the Excel and doesn't expect to see either model name returned to the brand. Australians bought 153,000 Getz in their model lifetime and only about 400 are left after production ended last year. That's less than half the 1000 they sell each month. The Getz 1.4-litre three-door is listed at $13,990. It's a big hole for Hyundai to fill, but Mann is not concerned. "Even though it was our entry level car, we mainly sold the 1.6-litre five-door model, anyway," Mann says. "We're not planning to fill the entry level price again.” "We're getting out of the bottom end of the market. Getz won't be replaced directly." However, with the introduction of the 1.6-litre, slightly larger Accent, the 1.6-litre i20 models have been deleted and the $15,490 1.4-litre three-door is being sold at $14,990 driveaway. Hyundai also does not have room in its five-star strategy for the four-star i10 as a replacement bargain car. "We looked long and hard at the i10 business case, but it wasn't profitable and didn't fit in with our five-star safety rating strategy," Mann says. Product planning senior manager Roland Rivero says supply of the Indian-made i10 also could not be guaranteed with the factory able to build 450,000 a year and the domestic market taking 400,000. "That would leave Europe and ask to argue over the remainder," he says.

The i40 is a great-looking wagon - long, low, sleek and with some Mercedes CLS styling cues.  But Hyundai Australia's marketing boss, Oliver Mann, says getting it down under is still only a chance. "It has to make sense. It has to be the right price and work with the other models,'' he says in Geneva.  It's designed in Europe for Europeans and we have to see if it can work - pricing, specifications, features and so on - in Australia.'' What worries Mann is that the i40 will sit in a small market segment occupied now only by the Mazda6 and Ford Mondeo wagons.  "That's not a big segment and we don't have a customer base to call on,'' he says. "But it's a new concept for Hyundai and it has a lot of appeal.''  The i40 comes with the choice of a 1.7-litre turbo-diesel or 2-litre petrol engine and is made in Korea.  "It's our style leader in terms of quality and finish,'' Mann says. The i40 is in the same boat as the RB model that will replace the Accent.  Mann says this hatch is yet to be decided as an entrant into Australia. "We'll make a decision within one month,'' he says.  "It has been developed for all global markets. To a degree, the i20 replaced the Accent. The RB - possibly to become the i25 - is built on the i20 platform and is a four-door sedan, so it will appeal to a different buyer than the i20, says Mann.  A better bet is the MD model - no name yet but the money's on i35 -that replaces the Elantra. Mann says the sedan is here midyear and will be a strong boost to the affordable family-oriented sector.  On a more concrete note, Hyundai is preparing its unusual three-door Veloster coupe for Australia. It arrives late this year as a 1.6-litre petrol engined four-seater with two side doors on the left side of the car, and one on the right.  It has been specifically engineered for the right-hand drive markets - the left-drive US market gets the two doors on the other side - and will be the successor (in terms of market) to the original Hyundai S-Coupe. It also gives Hyundai the chance to re-enter the coupe market after it quietly withdrew the Tiburon two-door model from the Australian showrooms about 18 months ago.