Hyundai Veracruz on its way to Europe
Hyundai is looking to expand in Europe, and the new Veracruz seems like the perfect answer to enlarging its lineup. Hyundai's largest CUV, named the IX 55 overseas, will come equipped with a 2.2L turbo-diesel powerplant and sell for a hearty €45,000. Hyundai Europe is hoping to sell 5,000 units per year beginning exactly one year from now as part of a larger plan to increase annual sales in Europe from 350,000 to 400,000 units.
At 5,000 units per year, the IX 55 will hardly set Europe on fire, but it's nice to see that every once in a while we here in the States gets a vehicle before our European friends. We also get the better name apparently, as IX 55 is as forgettable as they come.
[Source: Auto News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Quattroporte 6:57PM (10/22/2007)
It looks like Hyundai didn't know where to go with the Veracruz's styling so they put the clay model in a wind tunnel.
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500 9:19PM (10/22/2007)
They knew exactly where to go. Copy the Lexus RX330.
seoultrain 6:58PM (10/22/2007)
anyone know why it's the IX55? I think a lot of people will wonder why it doesn't have a 5.5L engine. It fits 7 people, so it's not 5 people + 5 doors...
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YeeDiddy 7:02PM (10/22/2007)
$65k USD for a Hyundai?!?!?!!
I know the quality has vastly gone up and the value of the USD has dropped, but isn't this a bit stretching the envelope?
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Carlos 9:21PM (10/22/2007)
All cars with engines bigger than say, a liter cost a lot more in Europe. In some countries it goes by engine size, in others maybe they use some other formula to achieve the same thing. Our $20k cars might cost $30k there, etc (unless you get one with a 1.5L diesel).
MJL 1:46AM (10/23/2007)
Right on. This damn thing costs under $27,000 in America. Isn't the whole point of Hyundai that it's CHEAPER than an RX300? I just priced out a Lexus RX330 (that's with the hot-dog 268-hp V6, not some 2.2 liter diesel) on the Lexus Deutschland website and it starts at, yup, €45,000. Is Autoblog sure this isn't some horrible typo?
Kay 7:40PM (10/22/2007)
Hyundai's new naming scheme in Europe
A Segment - i10(Atoz)
B Segment - i20(Getz)
C Segment - i30(Elantra)
D Segment - i40(Sonata)
E Segment - i50(Azera)
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Astro 9:54AM (10/23/2007)
well these Southeastern United States naming schemes on the SUVs don't make a lot of sense in Europe.
I lived in Croatia for a bit, and the locals were phonetically saying "TUK-SUN" instead of Tucson.
Kind of like Jeep ditching the overly US nationalistic "Patriot" for the Cherokee moniker in Europe (which my Croatian friends pronounce chair-OHH-key_
Zerk 9:11PM (10/22/2007)
Europe got the diesel. US got bupkiss.
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kid 11:34PM (10/22/2007)
Has anyone ever tested drove this car? MotorTrend says it beat the lexus rx350 in a direct comparison.
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66coronet 3:32AM (10/23/2007)
According to http://www.autospies.com/news/Hyundai-to-offer-diesel-engine-in-the-US-14667/
it's suppose to have a 240hp 346lb-ft 3.0Lcrd V-6.
Will come to the US with 3.8L 263hp 257lb-ft. http://wardsauto.com/ar/hyundai_veracruz_upscale/
So the 2.2L crd is for European sales only.
Santa Fe's 2.2Lcrd = 150hp 250lb-ft.
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