Hyundai i40 Wagon – 2012 Model Year – receives design award

Over the past few years, Hyundai has surprised a lot of folks with their creative new designs, as well as their continued approach to providing quality, fuel efficient vehicles at prices that just about everyone can afford.

What isn’t surprising is how well consumers and critics alike have reacted to that change in direction, which has led to Hyundai snapping up many prestigious awards, and setting a whole slew of sales records along the way.

That success has propelled Hyundai to the ranks of the fourth most popular automaker in the world, but that upward trend may see them climb even higher, especially if they continue to snap up prestigious awards, such as the Golden Award at the EuroCarBody Conference in Germany.

The award was given to the Hyundai i40 Wagon, and it represents the first time that an Asian automaker has received the prize. What makes the story even more remarkable is that this is the first time Hyundai has entered one of their cars into the competition.

The i40 was up against some big names, yet the EuroCarBody Board and the 500 conference delegates, which was made up of a who’s who of industry experts from all over the world, decided that Hyundai’s entry eclipsed the competitors.

This is no snap decision either, as the panel takes a full three days to fully evaluate all the vehicles before settling on a winner for the Golden Award in body engineering, which is considered by most to be the highest international accolade in the industry.

The Hyundai i40 wagon (2012 model year) scored an impressive 37.98 points out of 50, easily eclipsing its big name rivals, the Audi A6, Mercedes-Benz B class, BMW 1 series and the Mazda CX-5. The judges were particularly impressed with the i40′s engineering, use of materials and production efficiency, all of which combined, was enough to take the prize.

All those positives have made the Hyundai i40 Wagon a roaring success in the European market, and the safety features of the car, many of which are brought about in the body design process, have helped to put it in the lowest insurance grouping for its class in the UK.

That 5 star Hyundai safety rating is due in large part to the European engineered body design which includes high strength steel which, despite its lightweight qualities, improves absorption efficiency in the event of a collision.