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Hyundai i40 Saloon first sketch

First glimpse of Korean Mondeo rival ahead of its debut in Barcelona later this week.

Hyundai i40 saloon

By Jack Rix

09th May 2011

Hyundai's Mondeo-beater is here! The Korean firm has released this sketch of the i40 saloon, ahead of its debut at the Barcelona Motor Show on Thursday this week. Unusually, we've already seen and driven the estate variant, which debuted at the Geneva Motor Show this year, but now the four-door is ready to join the ranks.

Aimed specifically at European customers, hence its launch in a vibrant European city like Barcelona, the i40 was designed and engineered at Hyundai's European R&D headquarters in Russelsheim, Germany. It marks the latest evolution of the firm's 'fluidic sculpture' design language, also applied to the ix35 and ix20.

“We have used very strong, fluid lines from front to rear to give i40 a distinctive appearance,” commented Thomas Bürkle, Chief Designer for Hyundai Europe. “We wanted to move away from the typical three-box saloon and create a car that was in keeping with the sporty nature of the i40 estate. By sculpting a low, elongated roof line, we’ve given the i40 saloon a striking coupe-like silhouette,” he added.

But it's not all about style, with its 2.77-metre wheelbase, Hyundai claims the saloon has class-leading head, shoulder and leg room inside. We'll have more details, live from the show floor in barcelona, when the car is unveiled later this week.

For an alternative review of the latest Hyundai i40 visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

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5 Comments

Can someone please explain this to me? If Hyundai is gonna do a i40, then where does the Sonata fit in? We have the Sonata here in SA, launched about a year ago, and it looks exactly the same as these sketches!

By danielbez on 9 May, 2011, 1:40pm

@danielbez

Don't stress mate, the reason it looks so similar to your Sonata is because it's also the same as our new i45 here in NZ...The only mystery is why this is breaking news...Any journalist could have come here 18mths ago for a test drive...and what's also very surprising is the NZ and SA got at new car before Europe!

By jon_abbate on 10 May, 2011, 8:26am

To every thing there is a purpose.

There's nothing unusual about a major manufacturer trying out its products on less important markets. You help Hyundai remove the gremlins so that we get better cars. Very sensible, in my not at all serious opinion. The point about journalists being a bit slow is excellent; here's hoping AE take the lead in dealing with that.

By ThatOne on 10 May, 2011, 10:17am

Korea 1 Germany 0

Now thats what the 3 series BMW should look like.
The Koreans seem to be going from strength to strength.

By toycollector on 10 May, 2011, 10:43am

i40 and Sonata not exactly..

The Sonata has always been an executive car - the i40 is for the class below.

By volvofan on 10 May, 2011, 6:32pm

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