Paris show: Hyundai and Toyota present mini-MPVs

FURTHER proof of Hyundai’s unabated pursuit of Toyota’s global automotive market dominance has arrived in the shape of the all-new ix20 mini people-mover.

Revealed in sketch form yesterday – precisely 48 hours after Toyota issued first images of its all-new Verso-S micro-MPV – the ix20 will make its world debut alongside the conceptually identical Verso-S at the Paris motor show on September 30.

While the ix20 – the third new Hyundai to feature the Korean brand’s latest ‘fluidic sculpture’ design language after the ix35 compact SUV and i45 medium sedan – is Hyundai’s first light-sized people-mover, the Verso-S marks a return to the B-segment MPV category for Toyota.

Given the distaste for compact people-movers demonstrated by Australians in the past, neither model is likely to ever grace local showrooms, with Hyundai today confirming that at this stage the ix20 will not be sold here.

While Hyundai’s bevy of upcoming new models should eventually include everything from the pint-sized i10 micro-hatch to a full-sized one-tonne utility, additions to Toyota’s traditional line-up so far appear to be limited to this year’s Corolla-based Rukus and next year’s Prado-based, Hummer-style FJ Cruiser.

Left: Toyota Verso-S interior.For the record, Toyota’s new B-segment MPV - which will be presented at Paris alongside a new interior for the iQ, a new multimedia system for the Aygo, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid and further developments of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system - will be launched in Europe in early 2011.

Based on the Yaris, Toyota claims the “small, spacious and smart” Verso-S is “an object lesson in space management”. It says that despite the fact it has the shortest overall length of any B-segment MPV in Europe (less than four metres), a practical, flexible interior design maximises usable space, comfort and perceived quality.

Alongside the Verso-S in Paris, Toyota will stage the interactive Hybrid Synergy Drive Gallery, which aims to chart the Japanese giant’s drive towards sustainable mobility through its development of the HSD system in plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHVs), electric vehicles (EVs) and fuel cell hybrid vehicles (FCHVs).

No further details of the Verso-S will be revealed until show day, when Toyota will also host the European debut of the FT-CH concept - Toyota’s first proposal for a full-hybrid in the small compact car segment.

Toyota will highlight its hybrid vehicle leadership with the Prius Plug-in Hybrid, 200 of which are currently on the road worldwide - including in Australia - as part of a selective lease program before global sales begin in 2012, the British-built Auris (Corolla) HSD – the first full small/C-segment hybrid – and the Prius, more than 200,000 of which have now been sold in Europe.

Over at Hyundai, the world’s fifth largest car-maker says the ix20 will represent “a striking departure from the boxy ‘minivan’ image typically associated with the segment, adopting a more dynamic, sportier profile in line with Hyundai’s reputation as a modern, progressive automaker”.

It says the ‘ix’ nameplate for new compact people-mover, which was designed at Hyundai’s European R&D centre in Rüsselsheim, was chosen to reflect the new model’s crossover-like versatility, which it says allows it to be both a functional people-carrier that is also fun to drive.

Hyundai said it will revealed further new models ahead of this year’s Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris, where the Korean maker will increase its floor space by 66 per cent “in order to showcase the company’s broad product line-up and new technologies”.

Alongside the ix20 in Paris will be a facelifted version of the i10 city-car, which is claimed to bring a range of design, specification and engine enhancements – the latter in the form of a new 1.0-litre engine with CO2 emissions of just 99 g/km.

In line with what is shaping to be a concerted environmental focus from most mainstream brands at Paris, Hyundai said it will also use the bi-annual French car festival to display the latest developments in its BlueDrive eco-vehicle strategy.