Hyundai i40 sedan test drive since 2011 sedan

All photos of Hyundai i40 sedan since 2011

Car for Mrs. Hudson. Hyundai i40 test

Santa Claus is not. The Soviet detective film epic about the London detective Sherlock Holmes starred in Latvia and Estonia. Korean cars are developed in Germany. Everything was mixed. Around of illusion and imitation. But on the course of life, this does not affect the Earth not to stop, the Baltic Sea is in place, the Grimpenian quagmire has not gone away, everyone is happy.

The test route, on which I managed to try the Hyundai i40, ran through the Baltic states: Cape Kolka, spathy town of Engura, Jurmala, Riga, Tallinn. Only about 500 kilometers. High-speed highways, in some places patch asphalt, and graviks are also a lot. In general, there is where to walk around. The main question that I asked behind the wheel of i40, why do Koreans in the lineup two identical cars? After all, i40 flesh from the flesh of sonata. The supporting structure, suspensions (in front of MacPherson, a multi -link in the back), the main nodes and units are all identical.

I40 appeals to the newly -minted Hyundai design. Koreans themselves call it liquid sculpture. The model is an enlarged copy of Solaris and Enntra. A sloping roof, smoothly flowing into the trunk, a hexagonal grille of the radiator and bold substetings on the sidewalls, the new Hyundai design cannot be confused. Characteristic

Koreans answer simply: why not? Who said internal competition is harmful? And this is not competition at all. If you want, this is a kind of option that implies a choice of two identical cars that differ in design and equipment. In the tables about the ranks of Sonata and i40 at different levels. Who not? Hyundai company is rich, even if the experiment is recognized as unsuccessful, Koreans will not lose anything. Who does not risk, he does not drink or vice versa?

Interior materials i40 are similar to the fact that they are used in i30 and Kia SEED. For folk hatchbacks, they are good, but in the D-class they are already inappropriate. The soft front console and inserts on the doors are pleasant to the touch and are good in the eye in black, the brown panel looks frankly cheap. Unpleasant tactile sensations are caused by a leather decoration of the steering wheel and AKPP selector. The panel is massive, there is little space for it under it

The shape of the sidewalls is how beautiful, so practical. On top of the shoulder rib, passing throughout the body, there is a clean stream of running air from the front wing and hood. Moisture and dirt raised by the front wheels are besieged on the sidewall under the rib and on the surface of the stamping, which forms the vacuum zone

More massive Sonata, originally oriented to the North American market, simpler and cheaper. But the i40, aimed at the tastes of Europeans, is already with a certain claim to premium. It is addressed to those who appreciate the provocative look and who needs a wider range of additional equipment aimed at increasing safety and comfort. The Hyundai i40 is shorter than its donor by the sonata as much as 80 mm, and already 20. The clearance of a magpie is 140 millimeters (in sonata 150) and the base 2770 (in sonata 2795). But, despite the fact that the i40 has smaller dimensions, it costs a step higher. The appearance, of course, is a matter of taste, it may like it, or maybe not. But if you look at the I40 wrap, we will find a rotary xenon light there, an additional knee airbag for the driver, heating the steering wheel, the front seats ventilation and the rear heating, a panoramic roof with a huge sliding segment, an automatic parking worker with a rear view camera, an electric -made parking brake for a sonata We are offered two 150-horsepower 2.0 and 178-horsepower 2.4. But the magpie has only one power unit. From the new 149.6-horsepower MPI gasoline unit (it was specially deformed for Russia with 177 hp. According to considerations of saving on customs duties and taxes), combined with the new six-speed hydrotransformer automatic machine for the Hyundai-Kia development, you are initially waiting for good dynamics.

Hyundai i40 received a rotary xenon in front and fast LED optics from behind. With emergency braking, the stop-signals go into flickering mode and attract attention to a sharply slowing car. But the alarm is automatically turned on only after an emergency stop is late.
I am in a ditch, reception! I'm in a ditch! Everything would be fine, but it is already pointless to blink from the cuvetus.
In many modern cars, the emergency woman begins to blink already during a sharp slowdown along with flickering stop signals, this is more correct. So lighting equipment already in the process of emergency actions attracts more attention from all sides

And what's in practice? The vigorous start in the first two gears is replaced by apathy to press the accelerator at speeds for 90. The moment by modern standards is not enough only 200 Newton meters at 4700 rpm. But you still need to swing the engine before them! Only after the voiced line and up to the cut off at 6500 revolutions from the motor can more or less sane accelerations be achieved. The acceleration figures to a hundred are not so bad 10.7 seconds. But then acceleration is very much sour. For a D-segment car, which costs from 1,089,000 to 1,398,000 rubles such a dynamics is a frank failure. Okay, if it only touched on the image, pleasure or pride. But no, the issue of security is already emerging here high -speed leaks with a trip to the oncoming lane I40 are not easy. And this is with a couple on board! What will happen if you load to the eyeballs? Such a motor would have come, perhaps, only Mrs. Hudson.

When we made our way a very bad road along the coast of the Baltic Sea, one day we did not have a 140-mm clearance. The stone knew where to beat! Having first broken a plastic spray, the cobblestone took out to the unusual silumin crankcase of the gearbox, then, having sampled the stretcher, it made the plastic casing of the brake and fuel highways. Working, fortunately, was not lost well. In Russia, the metallic protection of the power unit will definitely not hurt

Even Sport mode will not help other Schumachers. It was not possible to feel his benefit on himself. In the instructions, something is written about a faster response to the gas pedal and more long-term retention at high speeds. In practice, if there is a difference in responses, then it elusively small. The power unit in all modes responds the same on the Kik-Dawn, and the choice of transmissions is identical. What is the salt? Koreans are tactfully silent, but promise to figure out the issue.

Why not a crossover? We hung the rear wheel like that, for the sake of just the sake of just the anti -wings system allowed to do this. But along the way, it turned out that even a hanging body did not distort, all the doors and trunk opened and closed without jamming. In general, and I40 did not make excavated last year into five euro NCAP stars

But the presence of steering wheel switches is always good. Before overtaking with departure to the oncoming lane, the ability to drop a couple of gears down the valuable quality in advance. Only a reduced gear in this case will stay for six seconds, after which the power unit will automatically fall into mode D. If you need the machine to hold the selected step constantly, you need to click no longer with petals, but a selector on the central tunnel. An important business to achieve maximum revolutions, electronics automatically sticks increased gear, and this is correctly concern for the forgetful ones. To rest on the limiter and hang on it when overtaking a long truck, when you need to accelerate intensively, oh how unsafe!

The dashboard is simple, pleasant, concise and well read. Between the scales of the tachometer and the speedometer of the color display, to which pretty icons are displayed that clearly demonstrate operating modes.
Heated steering wheel with pleasantly formed places for grip. The only gap is narrow and uncomfortable petals of manual transmission control. They have too much move (about 1.5 centimeters) and clasp loudly when pressed. It is not serious somehow, especially when you take into account the class and cost i40

Koreans have always been distinguished by the illogical location of the keys, the Hyundai i40 is no exception. Light control unit and start-stop button in the shade of the steering wheel. And the disconnection key of the system of dynamic stabilization (it is disconnected by a simple press without holding) is adjacent to the heating key. How not to confuse a blindfold?

The advanced multimedia flaunts the AUX and USB connectors, the Bluetooth radio modulus, navigation capable of showing high -speed limits, and a parking camera. The image obtained from the camera is applied to the trajectories of the car, it is convenient. 6.1-channel Infinity audio system is installed in the TOP, but even it is not able to satisfy the city -acular requests, it sounds on a three

The absence of engines capable of endowing i40 adequate traction is perhaps the main drawback of the model. Otherwise, everything is more or less evenly. The harsh chassis i40, focused on the tastes of the demanding Europeans, which faces controllability at the forefront, perfectly holds the trajectory. On a broken Latvian asphalt and gravel roads, it was shaking, but you can’t call an oak suspension frankly. Just right, the rolls are small, and there are no buildups on the gentle waves (this is the sin of Elantra and Kia Ced adaptable for Russian conditions). There was a clear thing here without unnecessary wisdom, after all, this is not BMW or Mercedes, here the amplitude -dependent characteristics of shock absorbers does not even smell. But in general, the chassis deserves a fourth with a plus. The reactions to the turn of the steering wheel are not bad, but the excessively light drive by the driver’s returns does not indulge. Drivers that do not bother with handling, this setting is perfect.

At the back of the place is plenty of and in length and in width. The average passenger will be pleased with the low central tunnel. But the feet under the front seats can not be much so much, the openings under them are small. With a height of 190 cm, my head rests on a sloping roof.
You will not surprise anyone with a split back for a long time, but the attention to the little things is always good for the safety belt when laying out the backs is held by a special bracket, they do not clash when folding

The interior is spacious, but for the legs of the front passenger in a niche under an unjustifiably massive panel there is little space. The knees and legs of tall passengers rest on the glove compartment cover, and the feet cannot be expanded.

A mirror camera will easily fit into the central box, by the way, the hook-lid could be adjustable

Glasses behind the gliding facet are very predicted, demolition is smoothly replaced by sliding of both axes. And in order to provoke a skid, you need to try thoroughly. If you need to deactivate an anti -book to overcome a cool icy upsurge, remember that the system of dynamic stabilization is completely turned off with it. The latter is good in that it can fight with a skid and demolition. The degree of intervention of the system depends on the intensity of the operation of the wheel and the angle of rotation of the wheels, today it is a common thing, but, in general, the effectiveness could be higher. Electronics, allowing rather deep slides, is caught and begin to be active when it can already be too late.

In the underground of a large 503-liter trunk, a full-sized stock on regular casting. The volume is good, but the functionality under a big question is to load heavy things through a high side is inconvenient, in addition, there are no pockets, no organizers, no niches, no straps, no hooks in the upper part in the trunk. And the basket of the subwoofer, which uses the trunk as a resonance volume, is greatly issued inside. Be careful, the dynamics membrane can be damaged.

A separate story of a fluorescent shift, which allows you to open the lock from the inside of the trunk. The thing is useful when the children began to play. But be prepared for the fact that the trunk can independently swing on the go. My cover opened during an intensive rearrangement a heavy backpack flying from board to board, hooked a pen and simply moved it to the side. Well there is a signaling device

For a couple of months that I40 is sold in Russia, 160 cars have already been ordered. And by the end of the year, Hyundai plans to sell us no more than a thousand. Quotes, frankly, are small (sonata, for example, 3746 pieces have been sold over the past year). Exclusive? Isn't that why the prices for i40 are so high? But in the range from 1,080,000 to 1,398,000 rubles, which has a magpie, the D-class has a huge number of more thoroughbred alternatives (a detailed list of closest competitors below), which will be packed no worse. For example, Volkswagen Passat with a 152-horsepower TSI turbo engine and a pre-sequential DSG box costs from 1,112,000 rubles. Ford Mondeo, equipped with a 161-horsepower 2.3-liter atmospheric and automatic, starts from a mark of 994,000 rubles. The cost of Mazda 6 with a two-liter 140-horsepower engine and automatic transmission begins with a line of 966,000 rubles. Opel Insignia with an automatic transmission and a turbocharged engine developing 200 forces will cost at least 1,075,000 wooden.

It is clear that the list of additional equipment and systems is very different. Nuances are a million. In insignia and Mondeo, for example, at a lower price with more powerful than that of the i40, power units can be obtained with adjustable shock absorbers. The optional light of many rivals, although not rotary, but bixenon, but in the same insignia, it is able not only to look into a turn, but also to adapt to various conditions, changing the width of the light bundle. Subaru Legacy (2.0i CVT, 150 hp from 1 215,000 rubles), ceteris paribus, is flaunted by all -wheel drive, and the Peugeot 508 (1.6 thp at, 150 hp from 994,000 rubles) may have a four -zone climate. And all this is among the huge variety of engines, boxes and types of bodies to choose from sedans, and hatchbacks, and station wagons. I don't want to choose. Do not forget that dealers from time to time arrange promotions, campaigns and sales, which suggest solid discounts. So, buying i40, you risk overpaying for the brand. Only not in the literal, but in a figurative sense.

Not everything is calm in the Danish kingdom. Looks like my karma has deteriorated. Over the past year, I planted and drove the cars more than in my entire car life. The epic began a year ago with Volkswagen Tiguan, then my colleague and I got stuck in one of the alpine rivers. Later there was a broken gearbox on the hybrid Peugeot 508 RXH, which resulted in a delay in the plane. Then a few more Moscow failures in traffic jams. Then the belly in the meter snowdrift on the Audi Q5 Hybrid. I generally keep silent about digging up the updated Toyota LC 200 in the Caspian sands. Although the reversal and departure on the new Kia SEED was very predictable

Holmes! How did you manage to pull out i40 from the Grimpenian quagmire?
Well, this is elementary, Watson!

The test route ran to the places where the Soviet film epic was shot about Sherlock Holmes. And this time nothing portended trouble. I just wanted to stop, make a couple of frames against the backdrop of a Grimpen quagmire, into which Yankovsky took his secrets in a series about Baskerville's dog. The swamp is like a swamp. But the roadside, in which our Hyundai i40 got the right wheels, turned out to be soaked. Our Estonian Savior Allan, seeing that we need help, stopped even before we got out of the car. For rescue from a quagmire, he turned out to be everything that needed, and a shovel, a strong cable, and a truck. Thank you, Allan! Kindness will save the world!

Hyundai confidently states that it makes no sense to set the cost below, they say, there will be any people who want to. An example provides a situation with a clearly overvalued Elantra. Nothing, they disassemble, though it was not so cheerful in the five months of this year in Russia 2460 Elantr were sold, this is quite happy with the company. In Europe, I40 is sold in the CW version with a station wagon. A spacious and harmonious car, I must say, is very popular among taxi companies. There are modifications with mechanical gearboxes, and the assortment of engines is wider. There are only three units: two gasoline volumes of 1.6 liters (135 hp) and 2.0 liters (177 hp) plus a diesel 1.7 liter with two degrees of force 116 and 136 forces. It’s a pity, but we can’t see these executions. And they could shoot, if not for prices and cut quotas! Hudson would be delighted.