Hyundai renames i30 - again

Those whacky guys and girls at Hyundai USA... It seems that rather than adopt the international nomenclature for Hyundai's all-new five-door hatch, the i30, the marketeers at H HQ in California will sell the hatch as the Elantra Touring. And it's not even a wagon!

The five-door i30 hatch is due in Australia before the end of the year (more here). Like Oz, in the USA the car will sell alongside the existing Elantra which is available only as a sedan.

The complication is that Hyundai's European boffins have also earmarked a true wagon (ie: Touring) version of the i30 for release. This is a co-development of Kia's Cee'd and will take the expected i30 family line-up to four: hatch, three-door coupe, cabrio and wagon.

Hyundai apparently has no intention of selling the i30 wagon, which will be built in the Czech Republic, in North America.

The Elantra Touring will reach US dealers during 2008 as a 2009 model year vehicle. According to Hyundai Motor America (HMA), the 'Touring' name captures the all-new model's combination of "high-function and fun-to-drive character".

HMA says it is lining-up popular Mazda3 and the Dodge Caliber with Elantra Touring.

Hyundai can claim the Elantra Touring as the first small five-door in the US market to offer stability control as standard. The new model will be sold there with the company's 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty.

No word yet as to whether we'll see a right-hand drive i30 wagon in Australian showrooms, but it's not the first time Hyundai has offered compact hauler with five-doors and generous cargo space: the Lativa, with a 1.8-litre four and good standard equipment list, was sold Down Under back in 2002.