Hyundai has taken the cover off its new i40 saloon at the Barcelona motor show. The new saloon will go on sale at the start of 2012, following the arrival of the i40 estate later this year in the UK.
Designed at Hyundai's European facility in Russelsheim, Germany, the i40 is 4.74m long to compete with the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Mazda6. Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe, said: "We have ambitious but achievable targets for the i40 range, expecting to sell 60,000 units in a full year and building on the momentum Hyundai has gained in Europe in recent years. The launch of i40 will help us reach 3% market share by the end of 2011."
Hyundai has a number of engines lined up for the i40, including a 174bhp 2.0-litre direct injection petrol engine. Coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox, this motor offers 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds, 41.5mpg average economy and 159g/km of carbon dioxide emissions.
There's also a 133bhp 1.6-litre petrol with 149g/km emissions, but more i40 buyers will be interested in the two 1.7-litre turbodiesels in 113- and 134bhp forms. These engines emit 122- and 124g/km CO2 emissions respectively, but they can also be ordered with Hyundai's stop-start system to drop emissions to 113- and 119g/km, which should appeal to company car drivers.
The less powerful diesel covers 0-62mph in 12.9 seconds, while the 134bhp model manages a more respectable 10.6 seconds. Only the 134bhp 1.7-litre turbodiesel will be offered with an automatic gearbox, the rest of the range using a six-speed manual transmission.
Hyundai is promising a raft of high tech features for the i40 saloon, such as smart parking assist, lane departure warning, ventilated front seats, automatic de-fogging, voice recognition and an optional LCD Thin Film Transistor instrument display.
On the safety side, the i40 saloon will also be available with Hyundai's Brake Assist System, seven airbags and Emergency Stop Signal. A five-star rating from Euro NCAP is expected.
UK sales of the i40 saloon will start in early 2012 and Hyundai will announce prices closer to launch, though we can expect them to be very competitive against segment leaders such as the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Insignia.
Alisdair Suttie - 13 May 2011