Hyundai i45

[Notsogoodman]

They are not going to sell to as a taxi or the taxi owner not going to buy from them?

 

That make a huge differ hor

 

u int har?

[Ferraricalifornia]

i suppose it's possible for the i45 to come in now...though not yet for registration...

 

probably going for LTA testing...

 

that time for REnault Laguna also the same...salespeople don't even know the Laguna came in, but i ming ming saw it on the expressway...PIE to be exact...

 

they say the RL is probably the boss car lor, or for someone VVVIP...

 

i guess the same for the i45 Sonata too!!

 

and it's really a long way till Sept when Hyundai Korea make RHD for their Genesis and Equus range...

 

haiz...

 

but i suppose in LHD, demand is too high for them to meet liao...so slowly introduce RHD...

[Vitamin_V]

Reminds me of Infiniti marque.

[Tas0577]

Overall design is nice as it is a SLK Clone but the grille and side mirror are very ugly.

[Mikael74]

mitsu used to provide hyundai with their powertrain in the past and the theta 1 was jointly developed with mistu and chrystler . not sure about the roots of the theta 2 but GDI tech is really flourishing with the release of this theta 2 engine. i hope hyundai kia have resolved all the issues with the decade old mitsu GDI engine of yester years.

 

Probably hyundai may not have solved these problems yet as the 2400cc engine in the new sonata is a non GDI one producing 178hp instead of 198hp

 

However volkswagen and mercedes also using direct injection in cars sold in singapore so perhaps they have solved the sulphur issue?

[Hiphiphoray]

Just replace this @ 1.7k for my 4.5 yr old Sonata NF 2 weeks ago.

 

premature failure of high pressure fuel pump.

Increased chance of clogged injectors

premature failure of catalytic convertor

increased service intervals for throttle body and intake manifold

98 and above petrol will be required (not for engine knock ratings, as GDI engines are very resistant to pre detonation, but for the premise that premium petrol would contain less sulphur content)

 

[Zyrofillica]

sonota NF is not using DI engine right? Hmm, if can pass LTA emission inspection, then dun change CAT lol~ 5 yrs le, 140k km still can pass lta inspection. pray i dun ever need to touch the CAT, cos DI engine CAT uses more expensive precious metals and is going to be even more expensive!

[James75]

looks like german make

 

[Humblepie]

The local Theta II engines are non-GDI. For the 2.4L you get 178hp and about 230nm of torque. They are in the showroom now and I've had a test drive several days ago. Pretty good, and this is coming from an ex Camry 2.4 owner! Very refined in nearly all aspects - the get up n go of the 2.4 version is as good if not better than a 2.4 Camry. Only minor short coming is that, pass 4K rpm you can hear the engine more clearly than in a Camry, but it's a very free revving engine, despite it being very new and still rather tight.

 

This is one big car that feels alot smaller "even more than a Camry" when driving it around - the sign of a well sorted out car. Even flew through a high bump at mid corner without slowing down (at the encouragement of the saleman) and it still remained poised, not even bump thumps like a Camry would do. This is not a "Sports car" (and I know what one feels like as my second car is a low slung open top 2 seater) and even then I wasn't disappointed.

 

The way the switch gears, indicators etc, works tells me that Hyundai's target wasn't just a Camry. They were aiming much higher.

 

How impressed was I? I'd bought the 2.4L version.

[Kuek66]

i test drive a few days ago.Compare to Camry and Honda accord it a much refine car. Power and comfort is above the 2 model.

[Karu]

Humble indeed...

[Aaron_soh80]

i test drive a few days ago.Compare to Camry and Honda accord it a much refine car. Power and comfort is above the 2 model.

 

 

 

U mean u test drive this 3 car & compare?

[Kuek66]

Yup ! I thinking of changing to Camry or Accord. Currently drive Stream.

[Xmark]

i test drive a few days ago.Compare to Camry and Honda accord it a much refine car. Power and comfort is above the 2 model.

You test drive 2.0 or 2.4 i45?

[Darryn]

I spent some time with the i45 2.4 litre today..

 

overall impressions....

1. Electronics = fantastico

2. Instrument panel and trip computer = really cool (especially distance till empty)

3. The paddle shifts = I would leave in auto mode, but it was super cool that could shift using the paddles without neediing to go to sport mode on the gear lever

4. Engine - enough go and was quiet enough

5. Refinement - the car scores really really well here, it was quiet and comfortable and no noise at all

6. The handling - ERM, not very good, there is a lot of body roll, and if want to change direction quickly the car is quite unpredictable. The steering I thought was a bit "imprecise" and I didn't feel confident to push the car at speed. This being said, the car soaks up bumps really well, and if you set the car properly for a tightening apex it does have plenty of grip. Overall, considering that its an executive sedan, the suspension is "ok" (even if personally I would go for something with a sportier setup - like the Accord)

7. At a good $15 k below its "natural competitor" the car is quite a bargain.

8. exterior = very pretty (desing work was done in California duncha know)

[Kuek66]

You test drive 2.0 or 2.4 i45?

 

 

2.0

[Humblepie]

Took delivery of the i45 2.4L a couple of days ago. Black!

 

Having lived with it for 2 days now - I am not disappointed. I am an ex-Camry 2.4 owner. Notable absence are the auto wiper and auto head lights which the Camry has. Apart from these all other equipment are comparable.

 

It is a BIG car when you take a walk around it or actually look around once in the driver seat. More legroom in the rear than the Camry. The boot can swallow 5-6 full golf sets without even lowering the rear seat!

 

On the move it does not feel as big as everything is well "tied down". It's new, and I have not rev'ed it beyond 3K rpm and at engine speed up to that level, everything is quiet and peaceful in the cabin. Sound insulation is good, very good up to this point. The engine is very torquey and I would not see a need to rev beyond 3K rpm in day to day driving.

 

Now Hyundais in the past has the stigma of being a Gas guzzler and I'd never believe those quoted figures. To get those figure you would probably have to drive at below 2k rpm and cause a traffic jam in the process. New and tight as the engine is it gave me 9 l/100km on mixed driving. Not bad considering that the best my 2.4L Camry could give me was 10L/100km. I'd still expect this figure to improve another 1 l/100km when fully run in.

 

Overall I would say that in the dynamics, this car will not lose out to the competitors. It's good value, and at the current price of more than $100K

it is not what i would consider cheap. In the looks and presence department this car does stand out. It looks and feel well put together and put together from good quality material. The way the doors shuts reminds of of some three pointed star cars, for example.

 

Kudos to the Koreans. They have caught up and even surpassed the Japs in some areas. Despite all the negative publicity about Toyota, I'd still think that they make better cars overall but this particular model, the i45 (2010 Sonata) just outscored the Camry in my opinion. Even if the two are at the same identical price, I would buy the i45 instead of the Camry.

 

[Jp66]

Congrats!

 

If not for the COE hike, I might have also trade in my 2 yrs old Camry for i45. I can live without auto wiper, but not without auto headlight. I have never turn on my headlight for the past 7 years. If go back to manual mode, very likely I might forget to turn off at times. I believe this feature will come in later, hopefully by then COE price also drop a bit.