Hyundai's i45 medium-size sedan has been given a handling makeover after criticism by a small segment of Australia's motoring journalists. The Mercedes-lookalike i45 was criticised by some media for it's poor performance on Australia's not-so-even roads, particularly when cornering. As a result the Amplitude Selective Dampers on the premium model have now been added to the Active and Elite models, to enable engineers to `tinker' with the ride settings. In addition the front spring rates have been made 15 per cent stiffer, while the rears have been increased by six per cent.
Hyundai denies it has over-reacted to the criticism, saying it took the evaluation on board before having Hyundai Motor Corporation in Korea conduct their own evaluation. The changes come just six months after the car was launched nationally in South East Queensland – ironically on the same roads that a week earlier hosted the launch of the much-acclaimed all-new Suzuki Kizashi, also a mid-size car, but smaller than i45. Unfortunately for Hyundai journalists had the opportunity to drive both cars on the same uneven roads and were able to do an apples-with-apples comparison of the handling ability of the two new offerings.
Hyundai Australia say they have not had one complaint from i45 owners on the issue and have defended the vehicle saying it was set up for comfort and was alive with features. “This (i45) is not aimed at the buyer that wants to drive dynamically,” said marketing director, Oliver Mann. “Our priority is to deliver a car that our customers want, and i45 does that,” he said. “But it's also important that we listen and have a pro-active response.”
Hyundai say the tweaks to the spring rates and adjustments to the dampers provide the car with improved stability with less roll and pitch as well as handling on Australia's less-than-perfect roads. Thicker stabiliser bars front and rear have reduced body roll and understeer. “This delivers more neutral and predictable handling characteristics and improves steering weight,” said Mr Mann.
“The sum total of these revisions is focused on improved handling, driver feedback and ride quality for Australian road conditions. In particular, mid-corner stability, steering response and ride quality over second-rate roads has been benchmarked against significant volume sellers including Toyota's Camry and Honda's Thai-built Accord.” Additional sound deadening has been added to the rear wheel arch to reduce NVH and boost refinement levels. The changes to i45 headline 2011 upgrades to Hyundai i20, i30, i45 and ix35 models.
Highlights include side and curtain airbags fitted to the i20 Active variants, making the i20 Australia's cheapest car to deliver 5 Star ANCAP safety as standard. The 2011 ix35 gains revised steering and modified suspension while all i20, i30 and ix35 models for 2011 will be fitted with Bluetooth integrated audio system. This enables wireless audio streaming from handheld appliances through the car's audio system. The system is also standard on i45 Premium and optional on other i45 models.
Pricing on the i20 range has increased by up to $500 with the entry-level car now starting at $15,490*. The i30 range increased by up to $200 and now starts at $19,590, the i45 range is up by $100, but with optional Bluetooth satellite navigation costing $1000 standard on Premium, that vehicle is now $38,990. Prices on ix35 are up by up to $500 and start at $26,990. (* These are MLP which does not include dealer delivery or government charges)
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