Hyundai's I40 "Korea-Passat" Gets A Sedan
In late December, Ed Niedermeyer reported that Hyundai’s “Euro-market midsizer, known as the i40, will debut as a wagon at the Geneva Auto Show in March, with a sedan version coming later next year:” Ed was right: The sedan will be shown at the Barcelona Auto Salon, May 14 to 22. Hyundai is taking aim at a big target: Volkswagen.
Germany’s Auto Bild already calls the i40 the “Korea-Passat”. The paper doesn’t shower the car with the usual disdain for far-eastern imports, in the contrary, it showers it with praise. The paper loves the design. No wonder, it was developed by a German, Thomas Bürkle, in Hyundai’s German design center near Frankfurt.
The car will be available in November 2011. On tap are four engines, a1.6 L direct injection gasoline engine with 135 hp, a 2.0 L direct injection gasoline engine with 177 hp, and a 1.7 LCRDi diesel, available with 116 hp and 136 hp.
And what did Ed say? “Too bad America’s Mr Euros make up such a tiny segment (and spend all their money on used cars and maintenance) that Hyundai is likely to never bring it to the US.” But one can hope. The Korea-Passat looks better than the Kraut-Passat.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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I hope they are taking about Passat of the old, current one is blander than a Camry.
If the Chattanooga Passat were available with Sonata's 200hp DI 2.4L and 6-spd manual, that would be perfect.
The new Euro Passat is not quite as bad looking as the upcoming American NMS, but neither is an improvement on the previous model, which was a nice design (in my less than biased opinion). That being said, I somehow doubt many Germans will warm up to the Jet Jaguar school of Japanese automotive design, even if it comes from Korea.
Saw the new Passat last weekend in Atlanta. Just walking down the street and could now figure what type of VW is that car parked in front of me :) Must say, even though over the internet looks boring ,in real life it actually looks good.