Hyundai Cars News

2008 Hyundai Santa Fe

2008-07-04T21:52:00.000+03:00

he value-priced, practical Hyundai Santa Fe doesn't get a lot of headlines.

But it made news this year when it beat out the Honda Pilot as the top midsize sport utility vehicle chosen by Consumer Reports magazine for 2008.

What put the Santa Fe amid the magazine's overall Top 10 Picks? A long list of standard safety equipment, roomy interior, decent ride, good reliability record, exemplary crash-test results and the fact buyers get a lot for the money.

One of the noteworthy standard features is a 10-year, 100,000-mile limited warranty on the Santa Fe powertrain. This warranty covers some of the most expensive components in a car, such as the engine, and compares with a three-year/36,000-mile warranty on Honda's Pilot.

Starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, is $21,845 for a base, two-wheel drive, 2008 Santa Fe GLS with 185-horsepower V-6 and manual transmission. With automatic transmission, the retail price starts at $23,145.

The lowest MSRP, including destination charge, for a 2008 Santa Fe with all-wheel drive is $23,545 with a manual transmission.

These prices undercut many other midsize SUVs, especially so-called crossover SUVs that are built on car-based platforms and provide a more car-like ride than do traditional, truck-based SUVs.

For example, the starting MSRP, including destination charge, for a 2008 Saturn Outlook is $28,995, while a 2008 Honda Pilot has a starting retail price of $28,230. Both the

Hyundai zips past Tata Motors

2008-06-26T01:08:00.000+03:00

In April-May period this fiscal, the company has lost its position to Korean car maker Hyundai Motor as the second largest car seller in the country.

The company sold 37,991 units in the passenger vehicle category selling models like the Indica, Indigo, Indigo Marina, Winger, Sumo and Safari in the first two months of this year. Hyundai sold 46,011 units during the same period preceded by Maruti Suzuki.

Tata Motors share in the compact car segment declined to 15.78 per cent in 2007-08 from 19.21 per cent recorded a year ago, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).

Its Indigo's share slumped to 13.91 per cent as against 17.42 per cent recorded in the two comparable periods.

Experts attribute the company's drop in sales to the delay in launching new vehicles like the Indica and the Indigo, which were supposed to be introduced in the market last year.

The loss in demand for Tata-badged vehicles was capitalised by other companies like Hyundai and General Motors-owned brand Chevrolet.

"The company hasn't launched any significant model for a long time, even as the demand for its outdated models including the Indica and Indigo is on a drastic decline," said a city-based auto analyst.

Microsoft's In-Car Software Now in Hyundai

2008-05-10T23:38:00.000+03:00

Microsoft in-car infotainment system, currently known as Sync, will no longer be a Ford exclusive as it has licensed its technology to the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group.

Microsoft's Sync is a robust car infotainment system that connects many of your gadgets into one convenient and easy-to-use system. This allows MP3 players of all types and cellphones to seamlessly integrate into a car entertainment system.

Microsoft had an exclusive partnership with Ford for Sync, but that contract is set to expire soon and Microsoft is already looking to expand its infotainment system by offering it to other manufacturers. Ford owns the rights to the name Sync, so it will undoubtedly be taking on another name for Hyundai and Kia.

Hyundai and Kia's 2010 models will be the first to incorporate this technology from Microsoft.

Hyundai exports five lakh cars

2008-04-09T03:22:00.000+03:00

NDIAN MAJOR small car manufacturer, Hyundai Motors India, has exported five lakh cars from India. The exports volume has been driven by its global car Hyundai i10, produced exclusively in India.

Commenting on it, the managing director of Hyundai Motors Limited, HS Lheem, said, “The exports are right on schedule. The growth has been very encouraging, as far as Hyundai cars are concerned.”

In order to meet the increasing demand from local and its overseas markets, the company had increased the production capacity to six lakh units from the existing three lakh. The decision to hike production target was taken up after it opened its second plant in Sriperambudur near Chennai in February, this year.

Hyundai is exporting four popular models -i10, Santro Xing, Getz Prime and Accent to its markets spread across 90 countries. The company achieved its first milestone of one lakh cars in October 2004. Thereafter, it has continued to sell one lakh cars yearly. It had touched the four lakh car mark in August 2007.

Official photos of the Hyundai Genesis Coupe were leaked all over the Internet today

2008-03-18T21:25:00.000+02:00

Hyundai showed off its Hyundai Genesis Sedan at the Detroit auto show. Although the cars are based on the same platform, the sedan gets a 4.6-liter V-8 where the coupe is limited to a 3.8-liter V-6. The automotive media showed a great deal of excitement over the new Hyundai Genesis platform when it was first announced, a fervor that leaves us baffled.

All of the attention seems to be based on the fact that Genesis is Hyundai's first rear-wheel-drive car. Hyundai has shown great improvements in quality recently, and the company has started introducing modern gadgets, such as navigation, into its cars, so maybe there really is something to get excited about.

Look for our coverage of the 2008 New York auto show starting on March 19.

Hyundai registers growth in exports; domestic sales decline

2008-03-06T01:32:00.000+02:00

Hyundai Motor India has recorded a growth of 16% in February sales, over the same month the previous year. As per statement issued by the company, car sales during the month stood at 29,001 units.

Domestic sales stood at 14,600 units, a decline of 5.5%. However, the company clocked exports of 14,401 units for the month, witnessing a growth of 50.5%. This increase in exports can be attributed to the company recently doubling its production capacity to 6,00,000 units per annum.

Apart from Santro, Getz and the newly launched i10, Hyundai India sells mid-sized cars Accent and Verna, and sedan Elantra. The company also sells premium sedan Sonata Embera and a Sports Utility Vehicle Tucson.

Segment wise sales stood at 24,563 units in A1 segment, 4,402 units in A2 segment, 27 units in the A4 segment and just 9 units in the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment.

Hyundai has slashed the prices of its small cars by up to Rs.19,419 after the reduction in excise duty on the same was announced by the Finance Minister in his 2008-09 Budget presentation. The excise duty on small cars have been reduced to 12% from 16% in the Budget.

Korean offers stylish ride

2008-03-01T04:02:00.000+02:00

he Hyundai's 16-valve diesel fires up with little drama, not too much indication from the cabin that there's a turbocharged oil-burning engine up front. Besides, a touch extra engine grumble is a small price to pay for Hyundai's claimed 4.7 litres per 100km. That figure would take some pretty careful driving but fuel consumption around 6 litres per 100km shouldn't be too hard for most drivers over mixed conditions.

And with the i30 developed to European tastes, the diesel engine was always going to be a flexible, driveable machine.

It needs a little extra throttle off the line, if no more than some small engined petrol cars out there.

Hyundai Cars Highly Rated by US Consumers

2008-02-29T18:05:00.000+02:00

Hyundai Motor has broken its Japanese rivals’ two-year sweep of the Top-10 list of ``Consumer Reports,’’ ― a prominent American monthly magazine, to show its enhanced brand image in the United States with its quality products.

Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, also continued to gain a good reputation in the European market with its small family car ``Cee’d.’’

In a first for South Korean carmakers, Hyundai Motor’s ``Elantra SE’’ and ``Santa Fe’’ were selected by the magazine as the top small sedan and the top mid-sized sport utility vehicle, according to the latest survey published Thursday.