The new Santa Fe, which will probably carry the iX45 moniker in Europe and other regions that have adopted Hyundai's alphanumeric nomenclature, appears to have grown in size compared to the current version.
Read more »
Today, we're happy to share some excellent photos of the next generation of the Hyundai Santa Fe, which will be renamed to iX45 in Europe and other markets around the world that follow the South Korean maker's alphanumeric nomenclature.
The man behind the camera was Carscoop reader Landoni Corrado from Italy, who during a visit to the USA, caught a bunch of 2013 Santa Fe prototypes hot-weather testing in California's Death Valley.
Read more »
As reported previously, if not all, most cosmetic changes on the facelifted version of the South Korean automaker's first rear-wheel drive coupe are concentrated on the front and rear ends.
Read more »
Now, a Gencoupe forum member posted a set of grainy cell phone pictures of the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe that appear to have been shot on a transportation ship. While we can't be absolutely certain, the photos do look real and the cosmetic changes are the same we pointed out in our spy story.
Read more »
Okay, so we've established it's a Hyundai, but could it be the new five-door Accent? Well, we doubt it because we saw the new Accent hatch at last month's Montreal Auto Show in Canada and it looks quite different inside and out. So that leaves us with the i30 (and yes, our spy photographer assured us it was larger than the...i20).
With that out of the way, let's see what we can find out from these spy photos. Although the prototype is carefully bagged up, it's pretty clear that the new i30 will be a sleeker proposal to look at with an edgier exterior design than the current model.
Read more »
The only visible styling changes over the North American model concern the use of clear indicators up front, all-red tail lamps at the back and the newly styled alloy wheels. Unfortunately, our spies couldn't get close enough to the prototype to snag the interior, but don't expect to see any significant modifications other than trim and color options.
Either way, the compact-size four-door saloon looks like a mini-Sonata sharing the same "Fluidic Sculpture" design with its larger brethren. Apparently, Hyundai has learned its German lessons well - and by that we mean the "one design fits all size mantra".
As always, you can have your say in the comments section below.
These spy shots were labeled as the next generation 2011 Hyundai Elantra. And while we have no doubt that it's a Hyundai, we are not at all convinced that what we're looking at here is the new Elantra. In fact, we believe that there's a possibility it may be the saloon version of the next generation Accent.
Evidently, you're wondering what made us consider the new Accent.
Well, compared to other spy shots of the Elantra here in the U.S., this camouflaged prototype that was spied in Germany appears to be more compact in dimensions and it features a less swooping roofline. Furthermore, the shape of the window frame at the rear door is also different.
A third option is that this may be the Euro-spec Elantra, but for the time being, we're leaning towards the Accent.
You can compare these photos with spy shots of the Elantra from other sites by clicking the links below, and tell us what you think.
Accent or Elantra, one thing is for sure: the styling of the prototype model is clearly inspired by the larger Sonata, and that should be something from a design standpoint.
2011 Hyundai Elantra Scoop Links: Autoblog, Worldcarfans, Edmunds
It's obvious that it's a compact crossover / MPV model, while the manufacture's label on the windshield reveals that it's powered by Hyundai's 1.7-liter VGT diesel engine that develops 117 horsepower in the ix35 (Euro Tuscon), but which model is it?
Well, the spy shots had us baffled for a while but after careful observation of the prototype's size (as seen in the pictures), shape, profile and certain details such as the styling of the window line, our best guess would be the production version of the Korean firm's HED-5 i-Mode concept that unveiled at the Geneva Salon in 2008.
The HED-5 i-Mode was also presented at the Los Angeles show the same year with Hyundai announcing then that the crossover has been approved for production with a six-seater model to within the next couple of years.
We've enclosed photos of the HED-5 i-Mode below so you can compare them to the prototype model. Take a look at them and tell us what you think.
____________________________________________________________________
HED-5 i-MODE CONCEPT
A South Korean forum member has posted these spy shots of what clearly looks like the production version of Hyundai's hotly anticipated Veloster that will in some way replace the Tiburon, aptly known as the Coupe in Europe and other markets.
There are only two shots of the car, but from what we can tell, it appears that Hyundai Motor America's CEO John Krafcik wasn't exaggerating when he told Inside Line this past summer that the production model will look 70-80 per cent like the 2007 Veloster Concept.
