Hyundai I20 2013 News

Hyundai's new i20-based rally challenger benefits from 2017 WRC rule changes.

Hyundai invented drive-away pricing in Australia and today it's bigger than ever. The Korean company knew it needed something special to get shoppers to sign on the dotted line back in the mid-1990s, and that something was a $990 bottom line across its models with an all-in selling price that removed the fear and uncertainty from buying a new car.Driveaway dealing started as showroom bait for the baby Excel and a new generation of first-time shoppers looking for a bargain at $13,990, in an inspired move by firebrand Hyundai executive Simon Pinnock, and has spread like a virus throughout the Australian motoring landscape since then.Lots of companies now use a driveaway deal to clear their superseded stocks, or re-ignite interest in a fading favourite, or just put some punch into their showroom push. It works, and it usually works well.Right now, Kia is heavily into driveaway dealing as its shifts from 2013 to 2014 models and is even applying the all-in effort - which can save up to $2000 in on-road costs and dealer delivery at a non-luxury brand - to its new-year arrivals. You can get a Rio manual hatch for $15,990 driveaway, compared with a recommended retail sticker at $16,290 before on-roads, and the latest deals even run up to the Carnival people mover and top-end Sorento SUV.Over at Hyundai there is a similar push, not just because of the competition from Kia but because Korea's biggest carmaker intends to be a top-three success in Australia within five years. It knows that driveaway dealing gets people into showrooms and starts its efforts at the very bottom - the i20 is now $13,990 on the road - to try and create loyal buyers who gradually move up through the range.Hyundai and Kia could be accused of racing to the bottom on the price line, but Nissan is doing even sharper deals at $18,990 on-the-road as it looks to turn its all-new Pulsar models into the biggest showroom success of the year. The cars are already locked and loaded, and being rolled onto ships in Japan every month, with the driveaway deals in Australia planned to ensure they go straight to homes without spending any wasted time parked in a dealership.We're also seeing deals with the 'drive away, no more to pay' kicker line being pushed by everyone from Holden and Ford to Subaru and Toyota, even if they are short-lived or wrapped in a different package. But that's not the end of the dollar deals, as cheap finance - down to zero at some brands - is making a bigger impact.Finance deals are partly about winning customers, but also to do it in a way that does not influence the vital resale value on a car. That's because the second hand price is determined by the 'transaction price' - the dollar number as the car is actually retailed, not the showroom sticker - and that can be badly affected by heavy discounting and even driveaway pricing. Price: from $13,990 driveawayEngine: 1.4L four-cylinder, 73.5kW/136NmTransmission: 6-speed manual or 4 speed auto, FWDThirst: 5.3L/100km   Price: from $18,990 driveawayEngine: 1.8L four-cylinder, 110kW/178NmTransmission: 6-speed manual/auto, FWDThirst: 6.6L/100km   Price: from $18,990 driveawayEngine: 1.8L four-cylinder, 96kW/174NmTransmission: 6-speed manual/CVT auto, FWDThirst: 6.7L/100km   

The South-Korean company previewed a three-door i20 WRC racer at this week’s Paris Motor Show and European marketing director Mark Hall says the class’s excitement and dynamism embodies Hyundai’s brand.  “Our participation will demonstrate Hyundai’s engineering excellence and desirability, and will also help to enhance our passenger vehicles in future,” Hall says. Hyundai also unveiled a fuel-cell ix35 SUV that will be leased to private and fleet operators in Europe later this year. The company didn’t reveal prices but says the car can travel almost 600km between refills and  the fuel cell generates around 75kW by converting hydrogen into electricity to feed a lithium polymer battery that powers the motor. A three-door version of the i30 small car was also shown for the first time. It is exclusively for European markets - at least for now - and the sharply styled hatch will be sold with the choice of three diesel and three petrol engines mated to six-speed manual or automatic transmissions.  

The photos released in the UK overnight show clearly the facelift given to the little hatch, which now carries a new grille, headlights and front fascia design that more closely follows the styling of the new i30 – being launched and test-driven this week – as well as the Accent and Elantra. The bonnet and front wing panels have also been updated, while the UK car also rolls on new wheel designs. Around the back, the real light clusters have also been redesigned and recontoured, sitting prouder from the body than in the previous version to add more shape. Four drivetrains are available in Europe. The highlight is a new 55kW 1.1-litre, three-cylinder ‘U-II’ diesel engine that promises low carbon emissions of  just 84g/km of CO2  -- less than a Toyota Prius and making the i20 one the lowest emitting diesel engines on sale, Hyundai said. There is also a 66kW 1.4-litre four-cylinder ‘U-ll’ diesel engine that Hyundai says emits 96g/km CO2 , plus two petrol four-cylinder engines: a 62kW 1.2-litre and a 1.4-litre. However we will continue with only the last of those four, the 74kW/146Nm 1.4-litre mated to either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission.  

... rival the prices on the BMW options' list for things like salad and spuds.So it's no surprise that the top end of town calls the shots at the Palexpo alongside Geneva Airport as Europe's carmakers go head-to-head for the first time in 2012. Ferrari and Lamborghini battle for go-faster bragging rights as Rolls-Royce and Bentley get serious about family motoring for the ultra-rich, while Infiniti pitches an new exotic coupe and even Ssangyong of Korea goes upmarket with a new concept. There are also dozens of one-off dream machines and hotrod tuner cars in Geneva, a show that is traditionally dominated by European design stars including Pininfarina and Giugiaro. But there is plenty, too, for ordinary car buyers as the Fiesta ST brakes cover, Hyundai updates the i20 and teases with the Veloster Turbo, Jaguar confirms an XF station wagon, Audi and Mercedes-Benz previews their A3 and A-Class, and Ford even updates its box-boring Transit workhorse. Picking the best of the best is tough with so much gorgeous stuff on the stands, but Alfa Romeo is the winner for 2012 and edges out the Infiniti Emerge-E with its Disco Volante.The pretty little red coupe is dreamy without being stupid and is already confirmed for production, although the slightly-retro body will be draped over Alfa's existing 8C Competizione chassis - 4.7-litre V8, 335kW, 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds - which means it's no chance for Australia with only left-hand drive.The Ferrari F12 is exactly what you expect from the fastest car to wear the badge - 340km/h and 0-100km/h in 3.1 seconds - including a swoopy body that taps the past as well as the influences that created the California convertible, but Lamborghini goes even better with an Aventador J preview car that is snapped up for a rumoured $2.8 million ahead of genuine production of an open-topped Aventador supercar.Rolls-Royce updates the Phantom with a new nose that still demands respect, as well as tweaking its colour choices with a two-tone approach that triggers memories of cheap seventies vinyl roofs, and Jaguar gets serious for families with an XF Sportbrake that will still struggle in a world of SUVs.Further down the food chain, the Audi A3 looks good but not as edgy as an A-Class that must break away from the bus pass generation into something closer to the Y-Gen futurists, and Volkswagen previews a more car-like Tiguan crossover with its Cross Coupe.Hyundai has a preview of a new flagship coupe called the i-oniq - did it mean ironic? - Kia shows a Track'ster that will become the new Soul, Honda shows the CR-V design that's coming to Australia, and the pocket rocket Ford Fiesta ST breaks cover with a confirmation for Australia.The action and excitement at Geneva goes on and on, and that is - really - the best thing about the show. Detroit in January hinted that the word's carmakers are finally emerging from the austerity and fear of the global financial crisis and the big-spending effort in Geneva confirms it, with good news for almost everyone from Euro billionaires to ordinary Aussie families.PG PICKS:1. Bentley EXP 9 F.Only one word fits - Ugly. With a big capital U. The hulking British bulldog might tick the boxes for cashed-up families, but this SUV makes a LandCruiser look elegant, and subtle.2. Giugiaro Brivido.Exactly what you expect to see in Geneva, as designers go all-out to impress the crowds - and each other. Not for production but a great looker with huge gullwing doors.3. Range Rover Evoque Convertible. A certainty for production as Land Rover milks its most successful design - ever. This one will never go bush but is being fast tracked for Double Bay and Toorak.4. Ssangyong XIV-2. Who knew the South Koreans could trump the Euros with a design that combines SUV practicality with a coupe-convertible body? A big surprise.5. Toyota FT-Bh: Just when you thought the uglies were done, Toyota lobbed with this. If it's the future for hybrid cars then sales will be slow. Very slow.

It's well camouflaged but the headlamps are in a new position, it has the latest Hyundai 'face', and there are likely to be significant changes inside to boost quality.

The baby Picanto is being assessed for a starting spot in Australia as the next Rio, currently priced from $14,990, is moved a little higher in the line-up. The Picanto would likely have a $13,000-ish bottom line with the larger Rio moving up beyond $15,000 with more safety and luxury equipment as standard. "We're looking at it. It's not off the table," says Kia's Australian spokesman, Kevin Hepworth. The five-door Picanto hatch is called a 'city car' by Kia and is revealed this week from Seoul ahead of its full-scale unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show in March. Pictures from Kia show a car with the funky style that is becoming typical of the brand, with a chiseled nose and a compact body. "New Picanto features significant sculpting and a very prominent rising character line. The result is a layering of light and shadow and this breaks up the height, giving the car a more sure-footed stance," says Kia's charismatic chief designer, Peter Schreyer. Mechanically, the car is based on the Hyundai i20 that is already on sale in Australia. The i20 is priced from $15,490 with a 1.4-litre engine. Kia says the Picanto is substantially different to the i20, and a significant improvement over the previous-generation Picanto that was passed up for Australian sales. It is larger than the earlier Picanto and is only likely to come as a five-door hatch, although there are plans for a three-door sporty model in Europe. If the Picanto comes to Australia it will be built in Korea, but there is no hint yet on the mechanical package. The car is being built with both 1.0 and 1.2-litre engines, with LPG bio-flex and flex-fuel systems fitted for some countries. Hepworth says Kia will make an early decision on any Picanto plan. "If a decision is made to go forward with the vehicle, we would take it at the first opportunity. Possibly by the end of this year," he says.

The company is closely guarding images of the new ix35 — the replacement for the Tucson compact SUV — until its official unveiling at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month but it will owe much of its styling to the sexy ix-onic Concept displayed at the Geneva show earlier this year. "It is really attractive and it is closer in reality to its concept than a lot of others I have seen," Hyundai Australia's director for sales and marketing, Kevin McCann says. "I think, in that segment, people are starting to look for aesthetics. "They no longer want the chunky styling anymore but are looking for something that is sleek and fluid and slim-lined. This car certainly offers that." The ix35 will also be the launch platform for a range of new technologies to Hyundai including stop and go engine management, a family of double-clutch gearboxes for the two- and four-wheel drive platform and at least one new 1.6-litre four-cylinder direct injection petrol engine with an impressive 130kW output. "They are all things that we are looking at, although not everything is available to us," McCann says. "For example, ISG (idle engine stop/start) is only made in the Eastern European factory for the European market. "We would have to guarantee the factory in Korea sufficient demand for those items to justify them being made there, but that is something we are working on." While McCann would not be specific about which engine, gearbox and drivetrain combinations would be offered in Australia he did confirm that the new generation engines were part of the planning along with the new generation of transmissions. The Tucson is the company's third-best selling model behind the Getz and the i30 and McCann knows there can be no mistakes with its replacement when it arrives towards the middle of next year. "The compact SUV segment is an important part of our volume base," McCann says. "We do very well there right now because we are at the lower end of the price band for those SUVs. I think there is a natural ceiling at which you can price a Tucson, but with the new ix35 we will be able to have a very solid entry-level competitor and the design of the car will enable us to offer a wider range across the price band. We will be able to richen our mix considerably with it." That is likely to mean upward pressure on the larger Santa Fe, a heavily revised version of which will also be unveiled at the Frankfurt show. "This (the Santa Fe upgrade) is quite significant," McCann says. "We are respecifying some aspects of the car but I can't really give you the details of that right now." If the highly-specified ix35 is moved up-market into a price-range currently occupied by an entry-level Santa Fe the outcome is likely to be an opportunity for Hyundai to offer the new Santa Fe in less models but with a higher level of standard inclusions. The ix35 styling comes from the same team at the company's European design centre near Frankfurt which penned the i30. Speaking of the ix-onic concept in Geneva, design boss Thomas Buerkle said: "This is a dynamic sculpture ... it is an urban nomad. It is the new generation of SUV; a car of contrasts for a world of contrasts." Slightly larger than the Tucson at 4.4m long, the ix-onic was designed specifically for the European market with the target of younger buyers.  

"There has not been too much forward progress ... it is still the subject of a fair bit of hard work and analysis," Hyundai Australia's director for sales and marketing, Kevin McCann, says. "We still have the strong intention to launch the car in the very near future but it is a very complex process. "There was a decision made to get the car. That decision has not been unmade but we do have to get through some issues and challenges before we can implement it." While insisting that the i20 will be launched as soon as possible, McCann concedes that the arrival of the small-car sibling to the company's highly successful i30 models could be delayed until the middle of next year. "There is an outside risk that it could take that long — and I certainly wouldn't step back from that," McCann says. "The stated plan is still for later this year but that goal is becoming more elusive as time goes on." The major stumbling block to getting the i20 — designed at Hyundai's Russelsheim studio in German and built at the Chennai plant in India — is negotiating a factory exit price that will keep the car competitive in the Australian market. "It definitely comes down to the very tiny gap between the cost of the car (out of the factory) and the price of the car (in Australia)," McCann says. "We have said before that we see it as head to head with the volume end of the segment — that being the leading Japanese models (Toyota Yaris, Mazda2 and Honda Jazz) — and that continues to be the strategy. The Getz will remain a fixture at the price-leader end of the market." McCann confirmed that for Australia, unlike most world markets where the i20 has replaced the Getz, the new model will take the place of the slow-selling Accent. While conceding that the delays in the i20 were disappointing, McCann is adamant that Hyundai has not missed the boat with regard to the opportunity to leverage off the success of the i30. "It is not a segment in which people will wait, but neither is it a segment where you will miss out on people forever if they choose not to wait," McCann says. "There are always new buyers coming into the market and I don't believe a delay of three or four months from the original plan is going to cause us to lose a volume opportunity. "It is taking longer than we would want, but at the same time we have some other exciting new models that we will have to fit in as well." One of the most crucial new models is the replacement for the Tucson compact SUV, the ix35 which will highlight the company's new design language as highlighted on the ix-onic concept car at the Geneva motor show earlier this year. The ix35 is expected to arrive in Australia early next year after its official unveiling at the Frankfurt motor show in September. Also due early next year is part of the next generation of the Sonata mid-sized car. The sleek sedan/coupe developed for the US market will be the first of the models to arrive and will be followed later in the year by the i50-badged sportwagon model developed specifically for European markets. Towards the end of next year Hyundai is also expected to launch the sub-mini i10 into Australia.