SPY PICS: Hyundai facelifts i40

Hyundai’s i40 launched here in mid-2012 and although it scored some minor upgrades at the start of this year, the time has now come for a mid-life upgrade.

Pictured alongside in these Automedia images is a heavily camouflaged i40 prototype that’s believed to be sporting remodelled front and rear fascias to add visual freshness to the mid-size vehicle.

Although the bulky cladding conceals all the key details, our sources suggest the updated i40 will gain new front and rear bumpers, as well as redesigned headlights and taillights.

Insiders say the i40’s new face will also be distinguished by a remodelled grille that features five horizontal bars housed within a hexagonal surround.

In addition, fog lights are no longer fitted on the side of the lower bumper, possibly replaced by an LED-based system installed as a secondary function of the headlights.

Sources suggest the cosmetic tweaks will endow the facelifted Hyundai mid-sizer with an Audi-esque appearance – no surprise, given that ex-Audi stylist Peter Schreyer calls the shots design-wise at Hyundai.

The existing i40 sedan and wagon are offered with a choice of two engines – a 2.0-litre petrol with 131kW and 214Nm and a 1.7-litre turbo-diesel with 100kW and 320Nm – and this is expected to remain the same with the updated model (although both units will likely be re-tuned to meet the newer Euro 6 emissions standards).

It’s possible the facelifted i40 will surface at the Paris motor show at the end of September, but this is yet to be confirmed.

The current i40 has been a modest seller for Hyundai in Australia, with 1654 sales until the end of July this year.

This is well adrift of the Toyota Camry (11,923 sales), which is far and away the number one seller in the mainstream medium segment, followed in a distant second place by the Mazda6 (3673 sales).

However, the i40 sedan and wagon will be joined in Australia by the seventh-generation Sonata sedan by the end of this year, fitted exclusively with a 2.4-litre petrol engine.