Hyundai Sonata News

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia.But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show.Hyundai announced at the Detroit motor show that their Sonata hybrid will feature the automotive industry's first lithium-polymer battery.  But wait for it ... they are offering a lifetime replacement guarantee. That takes away one of the major hurdles to buying an electric or hybrid car; the expense and finite life of the battery. However Hyundai Australia spokesman Stephen Howard says there are no plans to introduce hybrids here as they are by produced in left-hand drive. Hyundai also announced at the show that the lithium-polymer battery would be well suited to the Elantra electric prototype they are working on.

A statement issued yesterday by global CEO and president Steve S Yang acknowledged the problem and promised to address it. "Hyundai has to date tried to optimise its product engineering to largely suit four market regions: Korea, North America, Europe and other markets," Yang's statement said. "We are now working to expand this effort into more markets, and as part of this, we have been working with HMCA to tune our vehicles to meet Australian road conditions and the preferences of Australian drivers. "While we believe our efforts have often been successful, for example i30, there is undoubtedly further room to improve, and we appreciate the feedback given to us by the Australian journalists." Recent criticism has been most loudly levelled at the i45 sedan that launched in May last year to great expectations - which had steadily grown after a few years of rising quality in Hyundai's cars, most notable with the launch of the i30 that earned Carsguide Car of the Year in 2007 and was a finalist in 2009 with the 130CW. However while the i45's fresh style and high quality fit-out was praised when it arrived, it was pilloried in these pages and others for poor handling and steering. Hyundai sent in the engineers admirably swiftly, and a revised version arrived with springs 15 per cent stiffer in the front and six per cent in the rear to corral the pitch and roll, thicker stabiliser bars to limit the understeer and tweaked dampers to improve the ride/handling equation. As a result, the criticism lessened - but did not evaporate. Carsguide testers still found the ride lacked control while the steering feel was vague and had kickback. Yang's statement was made after Australian journalists in Korea voiced their concerns to a research engineer and were told that while improvements would be made, overall the cars were "fine". "We are targeting more for the global market rather than just for one single market, so there may be differences in opinion," senior research engineer for testing, Chan Hee Na, said at the car giant's Namyang research and development centre. "But recently based on the request from Hyundai Australia, they are working to tune the cars so they are better suited for the Australian market. "Basically we divide the market into US, Europe, general and Korea - four big categories. "Australia follows the European spec, the cars that go to Australia those are fine." The i45 for Australia is built in the Asan plant in Korea and fitted with hydraulic steering, while the US one (still called the Sonata) is built in Alabama and has an electric steering system deemed to be superior to the hydraulic one. Hyundai Australia spokesman Ben Hershman says that there is no indication from head office about whether it would consider putting the electric steering into the Asan production line, any decision would not take effect until the next generation in a few years' time.

After leading the world on so many fronts - from quality to comfort and reliability - they have been hit badly by the global financial crisis.  Toyota and Honda and many of the others wound back dramatically at the onset of the GFC, not just on their production lines but also in their motorsport programs - F1 was the first casualty - and new-product development.We are now seeing the results in Australian showrooms, where the Corolla and Civic are now mid-pack in the small-car class and former pacesetters including the Mazda6, Honda Accord Euro and even the locally-made Camry are struggling against newer and better rivals.  They are fine for everyday transport, but not as impressive as they were just five years ago.Subaru has also cut costs and its latest styling work - particularly on the Liberty and Outback - reflects a desperate desire to win sales in the USA.  Contrast all of them against the Suzuki Kizashi, which comes from one of the few Japanese brands that held its nerve through the GFT. Suzuki has cut its production targets, and admits that extra Kizashi models are on the back-burner, but is going to do brilliantly well with the car.Toyota and Honda, in contrast, are relying on value-added deals to keep customers coming in Australia. They are recovering from the economic downturn but nowhere near as rapidly as some of their rivals  - particularly Hyundai.In Australia, many of our Japanese cars are now also actually built in Thailand. It's not a major drama, because the quality is much the same, but it shows how the battle to cut costs is influencing the Japanese makers. The Thai drive also shows that Japan Incorporated is now happy to produce bland transport modules instead of appealing cars, going for numbers first - in showrooms and on the balance sheet. It's a reasonable response to the GFC but is going to cause problems in coming years.Why? Because Australia is seeing so many classy European cars at more affordable prices - look at the Volkswagen Polo - and because Korean is coming up fast.  Hyundai is now doing a better job than Toyota at building Toyota-style cars, with adventurous styling, classy quality and great prices. It's latest, the i45 replacement for the dowdy Sonata, is really good on every front except its awful steering and lacklustre front suspension.The i45 is a Camry done better and, like the Kizashi, one of the stars of 2010. And it's not the end for Hyundai, which has all sorts of new models coming from the baby i20 to an overdue sporty car sometime in 2012.And that's whan the Japanese really could be in trouble. It's not because Hyundai has something new but because the Japanese wound their development programs back during the GFT and the results of that conservative risk management will not really be known until we see - or don't see - the work which should have been done over the past two years.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

Three newcomers a week is way beyond the normal rate, even in a car world where 100-plus newcomers - everything from a facelift tweak to a full body change - hit showrooms each year.  Things were a bit quiet through March and April, but when the calendar flicked across to May the ships started landing with fresh new metal to tantalise anyone with a taste for something new in the driveway.Everyone in the car business knows fresh metal is the best way to lure buyers into showrooms and, with demand running at near-record levels, the conversion rate right now is massive.Hyundai is doing huge business and this week it has the successor to the Sonata - now with a trendoid i45 badge on the boot to try and break the dowdy Sonata pattern - with the tiny Euro-focus i20 in June.  We are also getting a first serious look at the Toyota Rukus, the first move in a plan to win Gen-Y buyers to the world's biggest brand, and Skoda has the station wagon stretch on its latest Superb.  Did I mention we're also having a first fang in the Porsche 911 GT3 RS at Phillip Island this week?The real problem with so much new stuff is finding the space inside a weekly Carsguide. In today's edition we still have to clear the impressive new Suzuki Kizashi and the classy BMW 5 Series before we can move on to the next round.  The other good news is that the cars we are seeing are all potential contenders for the Carsguide Car of the Year award.The Volkswagen Polo has already set the bar but the Kizashi will make the finals and so should the 5 Series. Later in the year we know Holden will have a VE Series II with star potential, Benz is about to uncork its Gullwing SLS, and the Jaguar XJ will arrive to take the British brand in a new direction.And that 911 RS? Not a COTY contender, but only because it is far too narrow focussed with a scorecard that reads 100 per cent for thrills and pace but closer to zero for value and people carrying potential.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

The decision to run with the alpha-numeric nomenclator is a victory for commercial commonsense and will allow Hyundai to leverage off the huge buyer goodwill already created by the award-winning i30 small car."There has been a great deal of discussion with Hyundai head office over how we would market the YF (Hyundai's internal designation of the new model) in Australia and while we don't see this as any sort of victory we are very pleased with the outcome," Hyundai Australia's director of marketing, Oliver Mann, says."I can't speak for other markets around the world but I would expect that the i45 name will at least flow to New Zealand."  With the i45 nameplate settled the Sonata replacement will join i20, i30, ix35, iMax and iLoad as the latest member of the new-generation Hyundai family."I see the i-cars as the definition of the new Hyundai models, particularly the i45 which shares the fluidic sculpture design language with the ix35," Mann says.  Hyundai hopes to have the i45 in showrooms by June, just weeks after the arrival of the i20 light car."It may well work out that the two cars arrive almost together," Mann says. "It is about production and availability. We are very confident of having the i20 here by May but the timing on the i45 is less certain although we would certainly hope to have it here by the middle of this year."Launched in the US at the end of last year as the Sonata, the car has been enjoying rave reviews and creating huge demand.  The coupe-like sedan was first unveiled for the Korean market in September and then put on show in LA. It is an attractive four-door with high-end European looks that came out of Hyundai's California design studio.In contrast to most of its competitors the i45 launched in the US and Korea as an all four-cylinder engine range with the most likely choice for Australia the new 2.4-litre Theta II direct-injection unit boasting 150kW, 245Nm and fuel economy of around seven litres per 100km.Drive will be through a pair of new six-speed gearboxes. To date there is no word on the double-clutch automatic that Hyundai has been developing and highlighted in a concept at the Geneva motor show last year.By the end of next year there is also expected to be available in the model line-up a two-litre direct-injection turbocharged diesel and a Hybrid Blue Drive -- a conventional parallel hybrid system but using the latest in lithium-ion battery technology from the company's association with LG.Hyundai Australia is remaining tight-lipped on the possibility of a second stream of the Sonata replacements joining the i45, possibly early next year.  A parallel development program has been running for the European market with a sportswagon-style model which is expected to be badged an i40 when it launches there towards the end of this year.That i40 badge for the different yet similar model could explain why the Australian YF has been given the i45 naming rather than the i40 which was originally expected.  "I really don't know anything about that," Mann says. "We are just happy at the moment to have the i45 confirmed."UPDATE: Read our first drive review of the i45 here.

As he drove into the hotel he stumbled across two camouflaged cars.  Hyundai engineers from the company's South Korean headquarters had parked a disguised new mid-size sedan and a Ford Fusion hybrid in the hotel carpark.Further checks revealed the mid-size Hyundai - codenamed the YF - was a hybrid too.  Hyundai Australia spokesman Stephen Howard, confirmed the Koreans were doing hot weather testing around Bright but he could not reveal details."HMC research and development use Australia as one of its prime hot testing grounds for new vehicle development program. In this case we can confirm that the car you saw was a hot test car," he says.  Howard was coyer about the hybrid powertrain, referring Carsguide to details of a proposed hybrid model for the US.The Sonata Hybrid Blue is due to go on sale in the US at the end of the year, along with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four cylinder petrol engine.Howard did confirm what we already knew, that the mid-sized sedan goes on sale locally soon.Although specification and pricing is yet to be announced the car is expected to be close in price to the outgoing Sonata models.  The company is yet to confirm the car's name but it could follow Hyundai's new ‘I’ naming policy that has delivered the i30, iMax and iLoad.When the sleek sedan does hit Australian showrooms it is tipped to get a new direct injection GDI Theta II 2.4-litre four cylinder with continuous variable valve timing.The equivalent front drive US model delivers 148kW at 6300 revs and 250Nm at 4250 revs.  It comes with a new six-speed automatic, six airbags and electronic stability control.The newcomer marks a radical styling departure for the company's family sedan.  It is more rakish, in keeping with Hyundai's new ‘fluidic sculpture’ design language which debuts in the ix35 soft-roader in a few weeks.The new Sonata has already been a sales hit in Korea. More than 100,000 have been sold since the car went on sale in September.

The car which will replace the current Sonata in Australia early next year was unveiled to the US public at the Los Angeles Auto Show badged as a Sonata but the Australian arm of the Korean manufacturer is doggedly referring to its next Aussie model as the ‘YF’ and ‘Sonata replacement’."This is the car that will become our new mid-sized model next year, and it is one we are very excited about," Hyundai Australia's Ben Hershman says. "There has been no decision made on how the YF will be badged for Australia.  "That is something our marketing people are still working through with Korea."While nobody at Hyundai is about to go on the record, behind the scenes the Australian operation is frantically working to convince head office to allow the car to be badged as the i40 for the Australian market to continue the alpha-numeric nomenclature that has worked so well with the i30 and will include the ix35 replacement for the Tucson soft-roader and the i20 small car next year.The issue is that a second string of Sonata replacements has been developed for the European market where the sportswagon-style model will be badged as an i40 when it launches late next year.  Sonata has not been the best-accepted Hyundai nameplate in Australia and the last thing the company wants is to launch what could be another runaway success with the baggage of a decade of buyer indifference.Using the Sonata name could also lead to further confusion should Australia elect to take the European-styled car as a model derivative further down the track a distinct possibility?  The coupe-like YF unveiled for the Korean market in September and then put on show in Los Angeles is an attractive four-door with high-end European looks that came out of Hyundai's California design studio.The car is styled around what Hyundai calls "fluidic sculpture", a design language that will increasingly find its way into the entire Hyundai range.  Speaking at the Los Angeles unveiling, Hyundai Motor Company President and CEO, S.S Yang, posed the questions that are central to Hyundai's marketing of the company's new-generation cars."The (new) Sonata represents a modern approach to the traditional midsize sedan segment by using only advanced four-cylinder engines, emotional design and luxury features offered with Hyundai's strong value proposition," Yang said. "The Sonata poses some intriguing questions: Why can't a smart, solid sedan also have modern, sleek, sophisticated style? Why pay so much to get a taste of luxury? Why can't an efficient four-cylinder engine give V6 power?"In contrast to most of its competitors the YF/Sonata will launch with an all four-cylinder engine range with the most likely choice for Australia the new 2.4-litre Theta II direct injection unit that boasts 150kW, 245Nm and fuel economy of around 7L/100km. Drive will be through a pair of new six-speed gearboxes although there is no word on the double-clutch automatic that Hyundai has been developing and highlighted at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year.By the end of next year there is also expected to be available in the model line a 2-litre direct injection turbocharged diesel and a Hybrid Blue Drive  a conventional parallel hybrid system but using the latest in lithium-ion battery technology from the company's association with LG.Specification and pricing for Australia is still under discussion but the Sonata/YF will be available in the US market with an extensive range of luxury items and accessories including satellite radio, real-time traffic navigation updates, data connectivity, HD radio, Bluetooth, touch-screen navigation and iPod/USB inputs.  A major bonus for Australia is that local ride and handling engineers have been working alongside the project team to ensure that the latest Sonata's suspension and steering is to Australian tastes.Hyundai Sonata/YF/i40On Sale: May (est)Price: from $31,000 (est)Engine: 2.4L/4-cylinder direct injection, 150kW/245NmTransmission: 6-speed manual, 6-speed automaticEconomy: 7L/100km

The images show a strong resemblance to renderings the company has already released. The new Sonata, codenamed YF, is a radical styling departure for the brand. The sedan takes on a more rakish look that is low and lean.At the front the headlights sweep around the car's flanks and deep into the grille while ridge-lines in the grille carry over across the bonnet. The coupe-like roofline blends seamlessly into the short boot and the strong shoulder line cuts through the door handles, ending above the tail-lights.Hyundai has not only improved the car's looks. The newcomer gets a new six-speed automatic mated a 2.0-litre Theta II engine and electronic stability control is expected to be standard.In keeping with the current European trends the car will be available with a panoramic sunroof, steering wheel mounted gearshift paddles and a push-button starting system.Hyundai says the flowing coupe-like lines express the company's “fluidic sculpture” design language, a new design direction that is expected to pop up on other Hyundais, like the new Tucson replacement, the ix35 crossover. Since the first-generation Sonata was launched in 1985, more than 4.4 million have been sold globally.

But that is no surprise with the heads of the Big Three carmakers all skipping the event to continue lobbying for a $US25 billion lifeline from congress in Washington.Ford still splashed with the official introduction of the 2010 Mustang, but Chrysler and General Motors both wound-back their involvement in the second-biggest car show in North America.That left the way clear for the imports, with Mazda pulling the cover off its all-new Mazda3 - the last car it will develop with Ford as its owner - Nissan revealing its revitalised 370Z and a new Cube, and Honda revealing a radical looking new concept coupe called the FC Sport.Lexus also has a new RX SUV, which is being simultaneously unveiled in Sydney and will come as both a pure petrol car and a hybrid, Hyundai is showing a Sonata hybrid concept and the plug-in Mini E electric car is making its first public appearance.The LA show usually draws a crowd of more than one million visitors but the attendance is expected to be well down this year with car sales off by more than 35 per cent in October and America's annual selling rate down by closer to 40 per cent.Still, cars like the Mustang will still draw a crowd in a city which is one of the most automobile driven in the world and there are plenty of pointers to the future including a growing number of electric cars led by the Mini but including concepts from Chrysler. 

In a 10-model comparison of similar sedans published in Motor Trend, the 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol Sonata (pictured) came in second over a number of high-profile rivals, including the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.The achievement should not be underestimated — think of Motor Trend as Wheels, Motor and Top Gear combined but without the endless Commodore/Falcon comparisons. The mid-size family sedan segment is the most keenly contested in the US.Motor Trend cited the Sonata's interior styling (for which the car isn't noted in Australia), roominess and best fuel economy in the top five.However, locally, the Sonata remains somewhat anonymous, with a meagre 117 sold in July. The most recent addition to the range is a diesel variant with a 2.0-litre commonrail direct-injection turbo unit that produces 110kW/305Nm.The Sonata diesel ranges from $30,990 for the SLX manual to $36,990 for the elite auto. Hyundai has also improved the Tucson compact SUV with a new face and an equipment upgrade. The model line-up remains the same, as do two petrol engine choices — a two-litre four-cylinder (104kW/184Nm) for the two-wheel-drive City versions and the ageing 2.7-litre, V6 (129kW/241Nm) for the AWD jigger.Stability control (incorporating traction control) is standard across the range, and a Bluetooth audio system is found in all Tucson variants. It allows wireless streaming of music from a Bluetooth compatible mobile phone or music player. The audio system has USB and auxiliary sockets for iPod, MP3 and USB inputs.Tucson City SX is $25,490 for five-speed manual and $26,990 for four-speed automatic, and has new-design alloy wheels, dual front airbags, four speakers, front fog lamps and automatic headlights. City Elite is automatic-only at $29,990 but has full leather trim, front and rear passenger side curtain airbags, front side airbags, six speakers and power glass sunroof.The auto only AWD SX is $31,490, but a full airbag pack is extra.