Hyundai has just launched their all-new family car model, the i40 here in Ireland. Unusually, arriving first in estate form - the new i40 Tourer comes with two trim levels.
The Comfort version will have a launch price of €24,995 ex-works. Some standard items in a very good specification list includes Stop-go, Bluetooth, air conditioning, two-stage rear seat recliner, a rear spoiler, etc.
The Executive version of the i40 Tourer adds €1,500 to give an ex-works price of €26,495 ex-works. These launch prices for the i40 Tourer will run until December when it will rise by €1,500, around the time the saloon version arrives.
The all-new Hyundai i40 Tourer arrives with Hyundai’s market-leading five-year triple care plan. Hyundai point out that it is the only manufacturer on the Irish market to offer a full manufacturer-backed five-year unlimited mileage warranty across the entire product range.
The triple care customer care plan includes unlimited mileage warranty, free health check, and free roadside assistance - all for five years. However, you should know that it does exclude public service vehicles and commercial vehicles, where Hyundai Ireland say that a three years or 100,000 km warranty applies.
The new i40 Tourer Bluedrive arrives in 1.7 diesel engine version and will be in category A, with road tax at €104 per annum. In fact it has a claimed 113 g/km CO2 emission level, which is a best in its class.
Hyundai Ireland really believes that the i40 is going to make the breakthrough into the difficult D-segment/ family car class, where a handful of established players rule the lion's share of sales. They are putting a lot of resources into attracting new people to the Hyundai brand. After a preview tour of their dealerships earlier this year with a pre-production i40 Tourer, they tell us that they have 100 pre-launch orders for the all-new Hyundai i40 Tourer here in Ireland.
Hyundai is aiming to appeal to Irish drivers who want sportiness, emotion, reliability, fuel efficiency, price, specification, and premium value in a new family size car.
It is very difficult to break into a new segment in the Irish motor industry, especially in the family size D segment and also the larger executive saloon segments. That said, and allowing for the fact that I haven't yet driven the Hyundai i40, I am a believer that new thinking does bring new possibilities. Watch this space!
All-new Hyundai Veloster Coupe
Hyundai has also just taken delivery of three pre-production examples of their all-new coupe, the Veloster. With 4,500 old Hyundai Coupe customers in their database, they can expect to see a lot of interest in this new car (pictured ). More on this at a later date.
