The very styling of Hyundai's ix35 is a declaration of war against Ford's Kuga and the Volkswagen Tiguan. Introduced at the Frankfurt motor show last week, the ix35 is the replacement for the Tucson and it shows an aggressive streak in its rivalry to the two established compact SUVs.
A little larger than the Tucson in the wheelbase (by 10mm; 2640mm), the ix35 is longer and wider as well. At 4410mm, it's 85mm longer and 20mm wider (1820mm). According to Hyundai, the changes to the external dimensions have led to substantial gains in interior spaciousness also.
The new car will be powered by a 2.0-litre version of the R Series diesel engine or the Theta II petrol four-cylinder engines. In the US, the ix35 will be sold in both 2.0 and 2.4-litre Theta II variants, but no diesel. For Europe, the ix35 will be fitted with the diesel, with just the 2.0-litre Theta II petrol to sell alongside.
There will also be a 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol engine and a 1.7-litre turbodiesel for Western Europe, but don't expect to see them here. Based on our unique market environment, we would expect that the ix35 sold in Australia will offer the higher-output R Series diesel (developing 135kW of power) as a premium alternative to the 2.4-litre Theta II.
Whatever engines are chosen for Australia, the ix35 will feature six-speed transmissions (both manual and automatic). The autobox has been developed entirely in-house by Hyundai. It's lighter and more compact than the five-speed transmission it replaces.
Hyundai will build the ix35 in three plants, Slovakia, South Korea and China. Australian supply is most likely to come from the South Korean plant at Ulsan, says global PR Director for Hyundai, Oles Roman Gadacz.
Gadacz, present in Frankfurt for the show, says that the ix35 is built on a unique platform, but the Slovakian plant building the SUV is a Kia plant, which strongly suggests to us that the next Sportage will share the Hyundai's platform.
Gadacz couldn't say whether the car would be sold in Australia as the ix35 or the Tucson (it's still apparently being sold under the older name in North America).
"I think our people there [in Australia] will be better prepared to answer about our future naming strategy for Australia," he said.
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