Mr Euro, Your Hyundai Has Arrived

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

In his review of the Ford Fiesta, Jack Baruth identified a personality type that anyone who spends time on car websites will recognize: “Mr Euro.”

Mr. Euro is the guy who, for some reason, wants the cars he cannot have in the United States. He’s the guy who says he would drive a 520i “in a heartbeat” given the chance, the dude who thinks we’re missing out because the Renault Twingo stays on the froggy side of the pond, the fellow who desperately wants a Vauxhall Zafira for child-lugging purposes.

Indeed, some of us might even recognize a little “Mr Euro” in ourselves. Especially when we consider the Hyundai i40, a Passat and Mondeo-benchmarked, Euro-only, wagon-first, expression of Hyundai’s “modern premium” aspirations. Hundai’s reps claim [via Autocar] the i40 will offer “all the credentials of an Audi but an affordable price,” and say that a four-door sedan version (coming in 2012) “would match the VW Passat CC for style.” 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.



Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Robbie Robbie on Feb 17, 2011

    Mr. Euro here. When I see these pictures, I think that this car will be like many euro-pretenders were before: when I sit behind the wheel of this thing, it just will not feel "euro" to me, in terms of interior and road manners...

  • Sam P Sam P on Feb 17, 2011

    That's a Mr. Euro car? It's a front wheel drive minivan/crossover like the Toyota Venza with the requisite US-spec automatic.

  • SCE to AUX All that lift makes for an easy rollover of your $70k truck.
  • SCE to AUX My son cross-shopped the RAV4 and Model Y, then bought the Y. To their surprise, they hated the RAV4.
  • SCE to AUX I'm already driving the cheap EV (19 Ioniq EV).$30k MSRP in late 2018, $23k after subsidy at lease (no tax hassle)$549/year insurance$40 in electricity to drive 1000 miles/month66k miles, no range lossAffordable 16" tiresVirtually no maintenance expensesHyundai (for example) has dramatically cut prices on their EVs, so you can get a 361-mile Ioniq 6 in the high 30s right now.But ask me if I'd go to the Subaru brand if one was affordable, and the answer is no.
  • David Murilee Martin, These Toyota Vans were absolute garbage. As the labor even basic service cost 400% as much as servicing a VW Vanagon or American minivan. A skilled Toyota tech would take about 2.5 hours just to change the air cleaner. Also they also broke often, as they overheated and warped the engine and boiled the automatic transmission...
  • Marcr My wife and I mostly work from home (or use public transit), the kid is grown, and we no longer do road trips of more than 150 miles or so. Our one car mostly gets used for local errands and the occasional airport pickup. The first non-Tesla, non-Mini, non-Fiat, non-Kia/Hyundai, non-GM (I do have my biases) small fun-to-drive hatchback EV with 200+ mile range, instrument display behind the wheel where it belongs and actual knobs for oft-used functions for under $35K will get our money. What we really want is a proper 21st century equivalent of the original Honda Civic. The Volvo EX30 is close and may end up being the compromise choice.
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