Hyundai confirms ix35 SUV for Oz

HYUNDAI has confirmed that the global replacement for its Tucson compact SUV, which was revealed a week ago ahead of its global motor show debut at Frankfurt on September 15, will carry the same new ‘ix35’ model name employed elsewhere, when it goes on sale in Australia before the middle of next year.

Badged as the ix35 in both Europe and Australia and the ‘Tucson ix’ in Korea, where it was launched last week, the redesigned small crossover has been launched with 2.0-litre petrol and diesel engines, mated to both front and all-wheel drive systems via Hyundai’s all-new six-speed automatic transmission.

In Korea’s ix35, the first application of Hyundai’s new R diesel engine produces 137kW and returns average fuel consumption of 6.5 litres per 100km, making it significantly more powerful than the current Tucson flagship, which mates a 2.7-litre petrol V6 with all-wheel drive to produce 129kW/241Nm and 10.9L/100km.

A 2.2-litre version of the Hyundai group’s new R diesel engine will power sister company Kia’s redesigned Sorento.

Similarly, the Theta II petrol-engined version of the ix35 develops 124kW – up from 104kW/184Nm in Australia’s current 2WD Tucson City auto – and returns 8.6L/100km, which is down from 9.2L/100km.

Previewed by the ix-onic show car at the Geneva motor show in March, Hyundai says the ix35 took 36 months and 280 billion won ($A268 million) to develop, under the project name LM.

Apart from power output and fuel efficiency, it is claimed to bring significant advances in style, comfort and safety over the Tucson, with is currently Australia’s third-best-selling compact SUV and has attracted more than one million customers globally since 2004.

In Korea, Hyundai expects leading Hyundai to sell 16,000 examples of the Tucson ix this year, with 40,000 annual sales forecast from 2010 in Korea and a total of 300,000 sales of the ix35 expected globally by 2011.

Expect the front-drive ix35 to come with a similar entry-level price to the Tucson, but for the first diesel-engined all-wheel-drive compact SUV from Hyundai to command a significantly higher pricetag.

“Compact SUVs are an important part of our (sales) volume base here,” Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) product communications and public relations manager Ben Hershman told GoAuto.

“The Tucson is doing well because of the sharp price point at which it is sold, but the current model has a natural price ceiling that will be higher for the ix35 because of its styling, which will allow us to have a wider pricing band and a richer model mix.”

While full details of Australia’s ix35 line-up won’t be announced until the SUV’s local launch in the first half of 2010, HMCA sales and marketing director Kevin McCann said the new model would be available in an increased number of specifications compared to the Tucson.

“Hyundai continues to broaden its footprint and the ix35 will widen the range of equipment levels offered to the growing number of affluent customers in the compact SUV segment,” said Mr McCann. “We will be able to prove our mix considerably with it.”