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The all-new 2011 Hyundai i40 is going to feature smaller four-cylinder engines and gasoline direct injection -GDI technology.  

Next generation Hyundai Sonata is slated to make its official Korean debut in September this year, with sales expected to commence by the end of the year. By February 2010, its sales is rumored to expand to North America and a few months later also to Europe and other parts of the world.

In Europe, new Sonata will adopt Hyundais latest naming scheme and will be called i40. The 2011 Hyundai i40 will be first available as a sporty wagon, while later, the sporty wagon will be joined by a four-door sedan.

According to the tip, we received from a close Hyundai source, European buyers of the i40 will be able to chose from a wide selection of diesel and gasoline powered four-cylinder engines with many of them implemented to the all-new mid-size Hyundai for the first time.

Base model of the 2011 Hyundai i40 will be equipped with a range of 1.6L diesel and gasoline powered engines. Each of the engines will feature Hyundais latest gasoline direct injection (GDI) technology, which means their horsepower numbers will be increased and are expected to equal those of the current 2.0L powerplant.

According to our source, the 1.6L diesel will be available in two variants, as a low horsepower output unit producing 115 horsepower and a high horsepower output unit with 136 hp.

Diesel power in the new Hyundai i40 will also come from a 2.0L R-diesel engine, which will churn out 184 hp, and most likely also from a 2.2L R-diesel unit with an estimated output of 200 horsepower.

In addition to wide range of diesel powerplants, Hyundai will also offer new i40 sedan and wagon with a choice of several new gasoline powered engines. Base Hyundai i40 is expected to feature a 1.6L four-cylinder engine under its hood. The 1.6Lunit, applied with gasoline direct injection technology will produce around 140 horsepower and will achieve about 5 percent better fuel economy than the current 2.0L engine.

Other direct gasoline injected engines in the European i40 engine line-up include a 2.0L four-cylinder with 172 hp and a 200 hp 2.4L Theta GDI engine reserved exclusively for the top of the range Hyundai i40.

Here we have a couple of close-up shots of the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe, which is set to go on sale in the South Korean market next month. As you already know, Hyundai is going to update its mid-size SUV with a facelift for the 2010 model year, which will bring Santa Fe some subtle styling tweaks and several technical upgrads.

Hyundai Equus luxury sedan coming to the States in July 2010!  

Rumors of Hyundais plans to bring its high-end Equus luxury sedan to the States have been circulating over the web for quite sometime. It was announced during New York Auto Show that Korean largest carmaker is going to bring around 100 units of Equus sedan to its US dealerships this summer already to evaluate if market is ready for a super luxury Hyundai sedan.

The rumors have now been confirmed and according to Autoweeks latest report, an anonymous source at Hyundai revealed the Equus sedan is due to arrive to the US market in July 2010 with price of $60.000. The Equus will be available in low numbers and will be used to build brands image among US auto enthusiasts and especially those people that still dont see Hyundai as a tier one automaker.

Hyundai Equus made its world premiere at the Seoul Auto Show in April. Since its official launch the model has only been on sale in South Korea, but Hyundai already announced it plans to ship the Equus to other International markets, including China and Middle East.

Although the Korean-spec Equus is available with either a 3.6L V6 or 4.6L V8, US version will only be available with the top of the range V8 power. The 4.6L Tau engine develops an impressive 366 hp and 439 Nm of cranking power. Right now, the engines are mated to six-speed automatic transmission, but Hyundai already announced it is developing an all-new 8-speed automatic transmission, which will soon be applied to a range of its vehicles.  

When Hyundai brings its luxo-limousine Statesside, the Equus sedan will be loaded with all the luxury amenities already available in Korean market. Those include electric parking brake, lane-departure warning system, smart cruise control, 3.5-inch display screen connected to the driver information system, Amplitude Selective Dampers (ASD), video cameras in the rear and front, High Intensity Discharge (HID) head lights and Adaptive Front Lighting System. 

In the US market, Hyundai Equus will be set to compete against the similarly priced Lexus LS460, which costs $64,700 but features less standard equipment.

Image of new Hyundai Sonata surfaces to the web. Gives a sneak peak preview at the upcoming Sonata / i40 sedan.

The fellows over at YFlove.net have published an image that gives us a sneak peak preview at the new Sonata. The 2010 Hyundai Sonata is expected to be officially unveiled in Korea in about three months with official sales expected to commence by the end of September.

The all-new Sonata will be completely redesigned and will radically deviate from the current Sonata design. The model will be available as a sporty sedan and for the first time, as a wagon. The Sonata wagon will first go on sale in Europe, where mid-sized wagons have been gaining on popularity and taking away market share from their four-door sibling models.

The 2010 Sonata will incorporate Hyundais latest powertrain technologies, including a R-series diesel engines ranging from 2.0L to 2.2L. Both diesel engines feature the latest, third generation direct injection technology and offer class leading performance and fuel consumption ratings.

For the first time, Hyundai will equip Sonata with the brand-new 6-speed automatic transmission, which Hyundai has co-developed with its sister firm Kia Motors. The new auto tranny is expected to be applied to other Hyundai vehicles such as upcoming Hyundai Tucson and next generation Hyundai Azera.

The all-new Hyundai Sonata will also feature Hyundais hybrid powertrain consisting of Hyundai Theta II gasoline engine and electric motor. The hybrid system, which has been first previewed at last years L.A. Auto Show, will find its way into production in late 2011. Hyundai Sonata hybrid will be the second mass produced hybrid car from Hyundai after Hyundai Elantra LPi, which is going on sale in South Korea next month.

Hyundai Motor Company plans to release the new Sonata sedan in North American and European showrooms in February of 2010. In Europe, Sonata will adopt Hyundais latest naming scheme and will be named the i40, while its wagon variant will carry the i40 CW (Cross Wagon) nomenclature. [Photosource: YFlove]

UPDATE: New images of the 2010 Hyundai Sonata bow to the web…

The interior of the all-new Sonata has been kept under wraps until a few months ago, when we brought to you the very first interior spy shot, that revealed the 2010 Sonata will feature a very modern interior lay-out. After giving you one of the best interior shots so far, we’ve now gotten our hands on another sweet spy shot of the Sonata interior.

The interior lay-out of new Sonata seems to follow general trends that Hyundai has exhibited in some of its latest concept cars, and shares many similarities with the all-new Hyundai Genesis Coupe.

What we can see from our latest spy image is the two-tone center console that features a large LCD display a top of it and a plethora of audio and climate buttons positioned below. The interior might look a bit plain, but this is due to the fact that this is a pre-production model with low-quality materials applied. When the new Sonata goes on sale, it will feature a higher grade interior materials comparable to those found on latest Volkswagen Passat CC and Audi A4.

Scheduled to hit Hyundai dealerships in South Korea in September, the 2010 Hyundai Sonata is intended to do the battle with competitors such as Honda Accord, Toyota Camry and VW Passat.

Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea’s largest automaker, reached the milestone of one million exports to Africa. With the latest shipment of Elantra models bound for Egypt at the Ulsan port, Hyundai’s total exports to Africa reached one million units. Hyundai achieved this feat in 33 years following the first export of 26 Pony units, its first own model, to Liberia in 1976.

It took Hyundai 29 years to pass the 500,000 export milestone, reached in 2005. However, Hyundai realized the second half million in just 4 years, testament to Hyundai’s rapid growth in Africa.

Major importing countries in the region that contributed to the record sales include Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, Morocco and Nigeria. In Egypt especially, Hyundai sold 53,153 units and proudly sits as the No.1 brand (26.4% market share). Meanwhile, to strengthen its marketing potential in the region, Hyundai opened its Africa Regional Office in Cairo, Egypt in November 2008. [Source: Hyundai]

Hyundai quality improves. J.D. Power and Associates ranks Hyundai 4th in its 2009 Initial Quality Study!

According to the 2009 IQS -Initial Quality Study, Hyundai brand has made a come back and took the fourth spot in the latest quality survey released by renowned J.D. Power and Associates. The Korean car maker has jumped from 13th position achieved in 2008 to fourth in 2009, right behind the top three automakers: Lexus, Porsche and Cadillac.

The annual J.D. Power and Associates quality study measures IQS based on problems reported per 100 vehicles (PP100). With 108 problems per 100 vehicle this year, the industry average has improved when compared to last year (118 problems per 100 vehicles in 2008).

As already mentioned, with only 95 problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai has taken the fourth spot in the quality survey. Even more important is the fact that Korean largest automaker regained its number 1 status among non-luxury brands, beating Honda at fifth place and Toyota at seventh position. It has happened for the second time that Hyundai has finished among the top four most quality car brands. In 2006, Hyundai “landed” at third position.

Hyundais affiliate Kia Motors also performed very well this year. The company ended at 15th position, tied with Volkswagen and luxury carmaker BMW. In addition to Hyundai, Kia also improved its quality and now ranks just a bit below the industry average. The largest improvement was recorded by Suzuki that moved from 32nd place last year to 9th position in 2009.

Not long ago, Hyundai could have been found at the bottom of annual J.D. Power quality charts, but in the last few years the company has seen a major turnaround. With huge efforts and lots of money spent on improving quality, the hard work has finally paid off to Hyundai and their vehicles are now ranking a top of the segments in terms of quality. Go HYUNDAI! [Source: J.D. Power & Associates]

Another image of the 2010 Tucson body shell surfaces to the web. Hyundai plans to introduce i30 based mini MPV in late 2010 along with new Sonata/i40, new i20 mini MPV model and Veloster sports car scheduled for 2011!

The all-new 2011 Hyundai i20 mini MPV will be in a very close relationship with the upcoming Kia YN minivan that made its first public appearance at Geneva auto show earlier this year and received rave reviews from public and automotive media thanks to its really attractive exterior design.

Kia YN mini MPV has been penned by European team of designers under the Peter Schreyer guidance. Peter Schreyer is a famous car designer who worked for Audi for more than 25 years and designed the legendary Audi TT and many other attractive cars, including VW Golf GTI V.

2011 Hyundai i20 mini MPV

Responsible to give the new Hyundai i20 mini MPV a “soul” will be Hyundai designers working at Hyundais European design centre in Russelsheim (Germany). They will be responsible to give the vehicle a unique exterior and interior look to differentiate it from its Kia counterpart as well as make it look attractive when standing side by side with other rivals.

Competition in the European mini MPV car market has been heating up lately. There are several revamped models announced to enter the market within next two years. For example, Opel is going to bring its second generation Opel Meriva, while VW will soon unveil a sub-compact Polo based mini MPV.

Image: 2010 Hyundai Tucson, codenamed LM, body-shell

There is also Ford, who already revealed it will join the battle with Fiesta based mini MPV and Renault with its funky Modus. We should not forget to mention Citroen C3 Picasso, Honda Fit and Nissan Note. So, plenty of competition already and now we have Kia and Hyundai joining the segment.

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