Hyundai I20 2014 News

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

Want proof the Australian new-car market is getting tough? Several models have disappeared from showrooms because they can't handle the competition.

Sausages are sizzling, the hessian fences are up and those weird inflatable statues are flapping in the breeze: it's clearance sale time at new-car yards across Australia.

The small-car segment has plenty of options - the players are frugal yet safe and well-appointed. Here are the best buys under $16K.

Chris Atkinson is crazy. Then again, it could be me.Atkinson is crazy fast as he flings his Hyundai i20 WRC into the scenery and I’m even more crazy for strapping in alongside him as he completes his final preparation for Rally Australia this weekend.We’re hitting 140km/h on a gnarly forest track just outside Coffs Harbour and the hotrod Hyundai is bucking and kicking as Aussie Atko bends it to his will. It feels as if we could crash at any moment as the tail slides wildly, we fly over humps, and his feet dance a crazy beat between the accelerator and brake.This is normal for Atkinson, who sees the world in rally driving slo-mo with a skill level that puts him in the top 20 in the world. For me, it’s almost supernatural and the world is accelerating towards me at a frightening pace.Right now, Atkinson is locked and loaded for the most important race of his life, shooting for a podium place in the local leg of the World Rally Championship and a fulltime Hyundai seat in 2015.From where I’m sitting, in the co-driving space usually filled by Stephane Prevot, he is doing everything right. He’s going ridiculously fast on a road where a regular motorist would be jamming the brakes and holding the speed down to 40km/h to prevent a disaster.“Top speed? We probably cracked about 200,” Atko tells me as we wait for my heart rate to drop below that number.“It was five kilometres, so the average speed was around 110. And don’t forget that’s with a couple of hairpins and the start of the stage.”I won’t forget. Not in any sort of hurry. How can I forget a Hyundai tiddler that’s been transmorphified into a forest fighter that would easily jump a Ferrari 458 or Skyline GT-R in a drag race?When Atkinson practices his rally start, with the engine popping and banging and then an explosion of speed, I’m slammed into the seat and can barely keep up with the shifts that come every time he tugs on the gear lever.“What about that? I don’t think people realise what these cars can do on slippery gravel,” he says.I can only nod my head in agreement.Everything in the car, from the smallest nut to Atkinson at the wheel, is intended to make it faster.That means the $14,990 you see in Hyundai showrooms now costs more than $1 million.Running costs? You can bank on $1000 for every kilometre the car covers.“We have seven cars at the base in Germany. The cost of each is around 500,000 Euros, just for the parts. Then you have to put it together,” the Hyundai WRC team boss, Michel Nandan, tells me.He is overseeing a three-car entry for Rally Australia that’s spearheaded by last-start winner Thierry Neuville, with Kiwi youngster Hayden Paddon also driving a car.Victory in Germany lifted a huge weight from Nandan’s shoulders, but he’s still looking for a solid result in Australia. And what about Atkinson?“He is a good driver. He should be able to get to the finish in a good position,” Nandan says.That means Atkinson is the ‘banker’ in the team, leaving Neuville free to shoot for the top.But he does not feel like any banker I know and he’s still looking for speed after clocking the 11th-quickest time in the official pre-rally shakedown.“It’s a bit too tail-happy still. I need to settle it down,” he says.“I haven’t been in the car for six months and that makes it difficult too. But we’ll settle in, see how we’re going, and have a crack from there.”At the end of the shakedown, Irishman Chris Meeke sets the pace in his Citroen DS3, ahead of his team mate Mads Ostberg and Thierry Neuville, the best of the Hyundai runners in third.Rally Australia runs from Friday morning (tomorrow) until this Sunday afternoon.Rally Australia 2014 - official shakedown times:1. Chris Meek, Citroen DS3, 2 minutes 52.9 seconds2. Mads Ostberg, Citroen DS3, 2:53.33. Thierry Neuville, Hyundai i20, 2:53.74. Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo, 2:54.35. Sebastian Ogier, Volkswagen Polo, 2:54.46. Mikko Hirvonen, Ford Fiesta, 2:54.47. Hayden Paddon, Hyundai i20, 2:54.78. Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo, 2:54.79. Robert Kubica, Ford Fiesta, 2:54.910. Elfynt Evans, Ford Fiesta, 2:57.311. Chris Atkinson, Hyundai i20 WRC, 2:58.3

...as the i20 gets its first total renewal since the start of Australian sales. The full body swap promises more comfort, class and refinement in a similar size at a similar price.The new i20 is already set to compete in the 2015 World Rally Championship. Expect to see it here late in 2014 with prices starting under $15,000.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

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.

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.