Hyundai reveal all-new i40 saloon in Barcelona

Following the debut of the i40 wagon earlier in the year at Geneva, Hyundai has unveiled the i40 saloon version at the 2011 Barcelona Motor Show. The i40 is designed as a slightly smaller, sportier D-segment version of the bigger i45.

Senior Vice President and COO of Hyundai Motor Europe, Allan Rushforth, has high hopes for the new model: “We have ambitious but achievable targets for the i40 range, expecting to sell 60,000 units in a full year and building on the momentum Hyundai has gained in Europe in recent years.  The launch of i40 will help us reach 3% market share by the end of 2011.”

Designed at Hyundai’s R&D headquarters in Rüsselsheim, the i40 will communicate the brands new ‘fluidic sculpture’ design language which is characterized by nature-inspired flowing lines. According to the design team, this makes the i40 look like less of a three-box saloon and instead retain a sporty, coupe-like silhouette.

Four powertrain choices will be available for the i40; two petrol and two diesels. Hyundai is pushing the 1.7 litre diesel model as the one it expects to sell the best and it can be selected with either 115hp or 136hp. The less powerful model is claimed to be able to achieve CO2 emissions and fuel economy figures of 113 g/km and 65.7 mpg thanks to Hyundai’s Intelligent Stop & Go (ISG), low rolling-resistance tyres and alternator management system (AMS). The 2.0 litre gasoline direct injection engine will produce 177hp and 213Nm, and is said to achieve a 0-62mph time of 9.7 seconds when fitted with a six-speed manual transmission. Fuel economy for this variant will be 41.5mpg in the combined cycle with a CO2 rating 159 g/km.      

The diesel i40 will also benefit from a specially developed acoustic package to improve noise, vibration and harshness (NVH). Materials such as air permeable carpet, sound absorbing layers for engine-room encapsulation, and textile wheel-arch liners to absorb noise sources from the engine, road, and muffler are claimed to reduce interior noise by 20 percent as well as reduce outside engine noise when idling.

Optional tech features for the i40 will include smart-parking assist, lane departure warning, Bluetooth connectivity, a rear view camera, an electric parking brake, front air ventilation seats, heated and reclining rear seats, auto-defog, a heated steering wheel, Xenon headlamps and an LCD instrument cluster. Standard safety features on all i40’s will be ESP, ABS, Hill Start Assist, Vehicle Stability Management, Brake Assist and seven airbags.

The i40 saloon will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2011.