Sonata and i10 to lead Hyundai model rush

By mid-2015 Hyundai will have no fewer than seven new or refreshed models available to Australian buyers, including the new range-opening i10 micro-car.

As well as its new flagship Genesis sedan, due in November this year, the Korean importer will also bring its all-new seventh-generation Sonata medium sedan early next year.

Both the Genesis and Sonata are currently undergoing testing in Australia, and the Sonata was originally due here around October.

The petrol/sedan-only model will essentially replace the now defunct i45 sedan, and run parallel to the similarly-sized i40, which is available in petrol, diesel, sedan and wagon form.

Hyundai Motor Company Australia CEO, John Elsworth, said Sonata pricing was not yet finalised, but it's likely to be positioned as a fleet-friendly mid-size rival for Toyota's locally-made Camry, priced from under $30,000.

However, the Sonata will not only be available in normally-aspirated 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol guise here. Australians will also be offered the higher-performance 2.0-litre turbo-petrol model sold in Korea and the US.

“We’ve got to figure out exactly where it [Sonata] fits in the market -- it’s still a work in progress.” said Elsworth.

Also by early 2015, Hyundai showrooms will be joined by facelifted versions of the Santa Fe large SUV, Veloster sports coupe and i30 small hatch.

More significantly, however, they will be followed soon after by Hyundai Australia's first micro-car, the second-generation i10 hatch.

Confirmed for release here in the first half of 2015, the i10 will be a belated replacement for the discontinued Getz, positioned beneath the i20 – which itself will be replaced later next year – at under $15,000.

Motoring.com.au understands the new i10 will come with a five-star ANCAP safety rating (a prerequisite for all Hyundais in Australia) despite the fact Euro NCAP awarded it just four stars in its more stringent testing regime, which factors in advanced collision avoidance technologies.

Built in Turkey, making it subject to European currency fluctuations, the i10 will rival the likes of the Mitsubishi Mirage and Suzuki Alto locally, and will be offered in a five-door bodystyle.

The i10 is available with 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2-litre petrol engines as well as a 1.1-litre turbo-diesel and even pure electric versions in selected markets.

The i10 will be followed "sometime in 2015" by the all-new i20.

As with the current model, the redesigned i20 – expected to debut at the Paris motor show in October -- will compete with the new Mazda2, facelifted Toyota Yaris, Suzuki Swift, Kia Rio and Ford Fiesta, among others.

Off the list for Australians, however, are the updated ix35 medium SUV and smaller ix25 SUV. Locally, Hyundai will continue with its recently revised ix35 Series II until the model is replaced in 2015, and will not adopt the Santa Fe-inspired look seen on the Korean-spec model.

Similarly, Elsworth said the smaller ix25 SUV, which is slated for Chinese showrooms within the next couple of months, will not be offered in right-hand drive, thus ruling it out for Australian showrooms.

“It’s for China only,” said Elsworth at a preview drive of the new Genesis in Korea this week. “[Meaning] that generation of car will stay left-hand drive only.”

The decision not to offer the ix25 in right-hand drive format will hurt Hyundai’s chances in what Elsworth himself described as “a booming segment”, both here and in the UK.

Were it offered here, the ix25 would have competed directly with the likes of Nissan’s JUKE, the Holden Trax, Peugeot 2008 and Ford EcoSport, as well as the upcoming Honda HR-V and Renault Captur.

What's coming from Hyundai:
Genesis sedan – November 2014
Santa Fe facelift – Q1 2015
Veloster facelift – Q1 2015
i30 facelift – Q1 2015
Sonata sedan – Q1 2015
New i10 – H1 2015
New i20 – H2 2015