Hyundai i40 sedan debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2011

14 May 2011 - Hyundai’s new i40 sedan has been unveiled at the 2011 Barcelona Motor Show – the Europe-only offering follows in the footsteps of the i40 tourer, which made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The Hyundai i40 sedan boasts a purely European identity having been designed and engineered at the European R&D headquarters of Hyundai in Rüsselsheim, Germany. The car is the latest model to be unveiled under the company's new brand slogan - 'New Thinking. New Possibilities.'

The 4.74-metre long Hyundai i40 sedan will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2011, supported by Hyundai's industry-best, fully transparent Five Year Triple Care customer assurance. This package has been attracting European consumers to the brand through its combination of a five-year unlimited warranty, five years of roadside assistance and five years of vehicle health checks.

The car bears cues taken from the ‘fluidic sculpture’ philosophy, though here there are also elements of what is tagged ‘premium wing’ – Hyundai says its designers wanted to emphasise on creating fluidic volume with a modern touch as well as a sophisticated wing-like detail. The D-segment car has a wheelbase measuring 2.77 metres, and the company says it delivers best-in-class dimensions for front head (1,025mm), shoulder (1,455mm), and leg (1,170mm) room.

"We have ambitious but achievable targets for the i40 range, expecting to sell 60,000 units in a full year and building on the momentum Hyundai has gained in Europe in recent years. The launch of i40 will help us reach 3% market share by the end of 2011," Allan Rushforth concluded.

It will enter the market with a choice of four Euro V-compliant engines – two petrol and two diesel, with both manual and automatic transmission options. The diesels are 1.7 litre units, in 115 PS and 136 PS form; Hyundai is expecting the 136 PS unit to be the most popular engine among private and fleet buyers.

As for the petrol unit, these will be the 1.6 litre Gamma mill, offering 135 PS, and the all-new four-cylinder, 2.0 litre GDI engine called the ‘Nu’, which makes its debut in the i40. The Nu GDI lump generates 177 PS at 6,700 rpm and 208 Nm of torque at 4,700 rpm, and offers a 0-100 kph time of 9.7 seconds in an i40 equipped with it.

Transmission-wise, all four engine variant forms come with a six-speed manual gearbox, with only the 136 PS 1.7 litre diesel version also available in six-speed auto form. In terms of environmental performance, the car features the latest Blue Drive-derived technologies, including Intelligent Stop & Go (ISG), low rolling-resistance tyres and an alternator management system (AMS).

Elsewhere, the diesel-powered versions feature a new acoustic package developed for the variant/s – it utilises materials such as an air permeable carpet, sound absorbing layers for engine-room encapsulation, and textile wheel-arch liners to absorb noise sources from engine, road, and muffler, providing a 20% improvement in interior noise levels and a reduction in outside engine noise when idling, compared to an i40 without these features.

As for equipment levels, there’s smart-parking assist, a lane departure warning system, Bluetooth connectivity and full map navigation with a rear view camera, among others. There’s also standard day-time running lights with optional Xenon headlamps (optional) somewhere in the mix.