Autoblog

Car buyers in the US are thinking smaller and more efficient, but probably not small enough for the upcoming Hyundai i10. At least that's the thinking within the top ranks of Korea's largest automaker. The i10 is a micro hatchback that was designed for Euro duty, but could find a niche here in the States. Unfortunately, US customers still aren't snapping up mini cars in any real volume, making it an unattractive proposition for the automaker. Hyundai insists that no final decision has been made, but Hyundai America VP John Krafcik said earlier that the i10 is unlikely to be sold in the States.

Hyundai is still considering bringing the i20 over to our shores, where it would fit under the Elantra. The i20 is being unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, and it will go on sale in Europe by the end of the year. For the short term, Hyundai will import more Elantras from South Korea by November to satisfy our hunger for smaller, more efficient cars.


[Source: Automotive News subs req'd)

Click image to enlarge

Hyundai has announced that the 5-door you see above is set to arrive next year as a 2009 model and will be named the Elantra Touring. It will use the same 2.0-liter four-cylinder currently found in the Elantra sedan. Based on Europe's i30 wagon, the sketch provided by Hyundai suggests that the US-spec car will be more aggressively styled, which makes sense since the Elantra Touring's marketing will focus on its sporting character. The usual list of standard and comfort equipment will be offered, of course, and you can read Hyundai's full release after the jump.

[Source: Hyundai]

Click image for 2 additional photos of the i30 Wagon

Hyundai's new i30 wagon is headed to US dealerships sometime in early 2008, and it will be badged as an Elantra. Wayne Killen, director of product planning at Hyundai Motor America says that, dynamically, the Elantra wagon will be positioned as a sporty handling vehicle. Unlike the European i30 wagon, which is powered by 1.6L engines (gasoline or diesel), the US-spec car will receive the same 138-horse 2.0L four-cylinder found in the current Elantra sedan. A 5-speed manual will come standard, with a 4-speed auto available as an option.

[Source: Automotive News (Sub Req'd)]

Click on the image above to check out 76 hi-rez photos

Alongside the QarmaQ crossover concept, Hyundai unveiled it's new i30 here at Geneva, and in the process took the wraps off its new nomenclature. Hyundai is ditching names like Sonata and Accent for alphanumeric designations starting with "i", which Hyundai says stands for Inspiration, Intelligence and Integrity. The Korean carmaker has been improving the quality of its products considerably, but we'll have to sit tight and see how the i30 lives up to the hype.

Hyundai gets ahead by providing tons of features in an attractive package at a competitive price, and the i30 promises to live up to that strategy. (You can check out all the details in the press release after the jump.) Engines include 1.6-liter fours with 113 and 120 horsepower and a 2-liter four with 141hp, driving through a 5-speed manual (113 and 120-hp versions), an available 4-speed automatic (in the 113hp version) and a 6-speed for the 2.0.

While the i30 is undoubtedly aimed at a younger market than some of its larger and more expensive offerings, Hyundai evidently (and inexplicably) thought five-year-old children would be their target audience and presented the car with a pair of mascots, rather unlike the pair of lookers that took the veil off the QarmaQ. Check out the pics in our high-resolution image gallery below.

click above image to view a high-resolution gallery of the Hyundai i30

Apparently Hyundai has had a hard time keeping its new European C-segment "Focus killer" under wraps, as official shots of the car that we now know will be called the i30 have sprung up all over the interweb. When we hear "i30", we think first-generation entry-level luxury sedan from Infiniti, but the name as it applies to Hyundai's new small car is supposed to invoke the hipness of the iPod, iMac and iPotatoPeeler. Unfortunately, adding an i to your product's name will not make it sell like an iPod, but at least the Hyundai i30 has some safe if not pleasing lines to partake. It does share a passing resemblence to the newish Kia cee'd, which isn't suprising since the cars are based on the same platform and will offer the same engine lineup that includes 1.4L, 1.6L and 2.0L gas engines and a 1.6L and 2.0L CRDi diesel engine. What do you think, should we be start complaining now that we won't get the i30 over here or is the Elantra good enough? Yeah, we don't think it is, either.

[Source: Carscoop]