Hyundai launches new 2011 range

Hyundai is rolling out an updated 2011 line-up of four key vehicles this month, and has addressed concerns its i45 medium car is too 'soft'.

The i20, i30 and ix35 all benefit from improved standard features across the range, including Bluetooth audio streaming and telephony fitted as standard on all models except the entry and mid-level i45.

i20 gets a new interior look with blue-lit instruments to match the rest of the range, and along with Bluetooth audio and phone connectivity, safety levels have been boosted, with all models (including the entry-level Active) now equipped with six airbags. Hyundai says this makes the i20 now the most affordable car in the marketplace with a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Next in line is the i30, which gets minor cosmetic upgrades such as titanium-coloured alloy wheels and new headlamp bezels along with Bluetooth functionality.

The Hyundai ix35 introduces a new variant, the 2.4-litre petrol Highlander, and adaptive suspension (Amplitude Selective Dampers) has been added to AWD models.

There are minor price rises for the updated 2011 range, all of which are listed at the bottom of this page.

A significant change has been made to the i45's chassis, intended primarily to improve its cornering -- an area that journalists and Hyundai's own engineers have questioned in the past /news/2010/medium-passenger/hyundai/i45/hyundai-i45-set-for-chassis-tweaks-20080 .

"At launch a handful of journalists were quite critical of the car," Oliver Mann, Hyundai Australia's director of marketing, told the Carsales Network. "Having said that, it prompted a review -- we don't like journalists criticising us, effectively.

"So what we've done is struck a slightly sportier balance [for the i45]. It does drive significantly differently. It probably sits somewhere between a Camry and Mazda6, when possibly it was softer than a Camry in the first place. It's been an interesting process finding the correct balance for us to strike. It's a very good all-round package," opined Mann.

Along with changes to the i45's suspension setup, Hyundai's medium car also benefits from a fully integrated satellite navigation system for top range Premium models while the Bluetooth/sat nav bundle will be a $1000 option on Active and Elite model variants. All models now get the dual mode suspension system (Amplitude Selective Dampers), which changes the ride from comfort to sports at the touch of a button.

"We conducted a survey of all the i45 owners who had taken delivery of the car so far -- a couple of hundred of those -- and the car came through with flying colurs on all fronts including on dynamics. And I guess that supported in some ways our original [plan]," said Mann.

"[i45] Demand is still outstripping supply. Supply month on month globally is ramping up. We're in a position now where we have sight of our fourth quarter supply, and we've got considerably more cars coming through in the next three months than we have had in the previous three years. It's enabled us to address the order backlog we've got on the i45 program, which is one and half months, and it'll enable us to introduce the entry-level Active car, which we've not had till now. Things will improve over the next three to six months for the i45."

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