Watchful eye on i45

Hyundai's i45 has burst onto the local scene with fresh new styling, a direct-injection four-cylinder engine, six-speed transmissions, enticing prices and a long standard equipment list.

With all that going for it, the Sonata replacement should be a huge leap forward for Hyundai in the VFACTS medium-car segment, but the new mid-sizer has to pull the brand up by the bootstraps first.

Against a brand image of budget-priced small cars and SUVs, the new car has to tempt buyers away from stalwarts in the segment -- cars such as the Honda Accord Euro, Mazda6, Subaru Liberty and, not least of all, the Toyota Camry. This is the segment where the Korean brand has failed to gain traction time and again with its keenly priced Sonata, so the powers that be at Hyundai won't be expecting the contest to be any sort of easy victory for i45. The importer expects the i45 to sell to families with teenagers, empty-nesters and conservative fleet and novated-lease buyers.

Beyond the fierce competition itself within the segment, Hyundai faces some of its own internal problems bringing the i45 to market and with the necessary impetus to penetrate the wall of consumer resistance.

"The backdrop to developing i45 trim [levels] was one of shortage of supply," said Oliver Mann, Director of Marketing for HMCA, at the launch of the new model last week.

"Already the car is a huge hit in North America; there's a backlog of orders there. [When] it went on sale in Korea, it was the fastest ever selling car there. So, when we were planning our model range, initially faced with supply constraints, we focused on the top-range versions..."

While the i45 Elite (mid-range) and i45 Premium flagship were always on the agenda for Australia, the entry-level i45 Active was a late starter, according to Mann -- simply because of production capacity.

"Hyundai is busy ramping up global production and we've been able to secure some additional production -- so we're bringing in an entry-level i45, the i45 Active."

The medium segment is the principal chink in Hyundai's armour -- although the company's Grandeur sedan competes for sales in the large-car segment and that's an even tougher battleground for the importer. There's little hope that Hyundai can import upmarket vehicles such as the Genesis model if it can't convince Australians to buy cars other than the traditional staple of the company's product range: light cars, small cars and SUVs.

There are many signs that Hyundai is serious about the way it introduces the new car to the buying public here. The full-size spare alloy wheel seems like a product-planning concession for the Aussie market, to use one example.

While ANCAP is yet to test the i45, Hyundai anticipates the car will score five stars. The company is also promoting the fact that the i45 was tested for hot-weather durability in this country and is sold here with a unique suspension setting to suit the local environment. Both the ANCAP safety rating and the 'tailored for Australia' hook will resonate with local buyers.

Lastly, Hyundai has set its advertising agency the task of developing an expensive and sophisticated TV commercial in Australia for just the local market. All of these facts point to Hyundai's strong support for the i45 at a retail level in the Australian market. And then there is that traditional strength that Hyundai will bring to bear with the new car -- value.

"We look to i45 as the opportunity for Hyundai to lead the segment in terms of offering the highest level of standard specifications of any mid-sized sedan," said Mann.

"We have considerable capability to spec the cars as we wish, but even at our entry level, we've specced this as a luxury car."

To that end, Hyundai is offering the i45 in all its different permutations, with the following standard features: Full-size spare wheel, ABS/EBD, stability control, traction control, auto-on/off headlights, electro-chromatic mirror, Hill-start Assist Control, front fog lights, dual front airbags, side-impact airbags, side-curtain airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, remote central locking, MP3-compatible CD audio system, USB/iPod input, six speakers, remote audio controls in the steering wheel, 2 x 12-Volt auxiliary power outlets in the centre console, cruise control (N/A manual transmission-equipped cars), electric fold-in mirrors, electric windows, height adjustment for driver's seat, tilt/reach adjustment for steering column, trip computer, piano finish interior decorative trim, leather-bound steering wheel/gear knob, courtesy lights, map lights for front-seat occupants, air conditioning and 60/40 split-folding rear seat.

The base i45 will be available with both six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions, but the first shipment of this grade will not reach the dealers until July. As the only variant available with a manual transmission, the i45 Active will sneak in under $30,000 -- priced at $29,490. Opting for the automatic transmission will raise the price to $30,990. The mid-range i45 Elite is priced at $34,490 in auto-only form and the range-topping i45 Premium is priced at $37,990, also with the six-speed automatic as the only transmission available.

The i45 Active runs on 205/65 tyres fitted to 16x6.5-inch alloy wheels. Inside, the seats are trimmed in a combination of cloth and leather (for the side bolsters).

For the extra $3500, the i45 Elite builds on the base model's standard specification with these additional features: 215/55 tyres on 17x65-inch alloy wheels, reverse-parking sensors, proximity key/start button, rain-sensing wipers, transmission shift paddles, full-leather seat trim and climate control.

A further $2500 will put buyers into the i45 Premium, which adds: 225/45 tyres on 18x6.5 alloy wheels, six-disc CD audio, sport suspension with Amplitude Selective Dampers, electrically-adjustable front seats with memory, panoramic glass sunroof and rear map lights.

All models are powered by a 2.4-litre direction-injection DOHC four-cylinder engine. Peak power of 148kW arrives at 6300rpm and the 250Nm of torque hits its stride at 4250rpm. In combined-cycle testing, the manual i45 uses 8.0L/100km and the auto does slightly better at 7.9L/100km. CO2 emissions in the same test regime are 191g/km (manual) and 188g/km (auto).

Both the transmissions are six-speeders, with overdrive sixth ratios. The auto provides a sequential-shift facility for all models, but the buyers of the i45 Active must make do with the lever only, since the shift paddles are only fitted as standard to the higher grades.

Drive is to the front wheels, which are suspended by MacPherson struts and steered by means of a rack-and-pinion set-up, hydraulically-assisted. Brakes comprise ventilated discs for all four wheels (300mm diameter rotors at the front, 284mm at the rear) and the rear suspension system is a multi-link type.

Physically, the i45 measures 4820mm in length, 1835mm in width, 1470mm high and the wheelbase stretches to 2795mm. Hyundai claims the i45 will accommodate a better-than-large-car luggage volume of 523 litres in its boot. Kerb weight for the manual i45 is 1506kg and the auto adds 22kg to raise the figure to 1528kg.

With those stats the i45 is a formidable competitor -- on paper at least.

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