RE: Hyundai at the Nurburgring
Thursday 17th January 2013
There’s been a lot of good news coming out of the offices of Hyundai and Kia lately. Teasers of the forthcoming Pro_Cee’d GT suggest that it, and its Hyundai sister car, might be the first truly mouthwatering performance hatches to come out of both companies. Both will boast 200hp 1.6-litre turbos, both will offer enormous warranties, and both promise to be the best-handling cars of their respective brands yet.
Goodbye to all that? We can only hope...The news only got better with the appointment of Peter Schreyer as CEO of Kia and head of both companies’ design departments. Schreyer’s past efforts have included the first Kia Cee’d you might actually enjoy looking at, as well as the original Audi TT and the previous VW Passat, and his appointment should ensure that both companies continue to produce genuinely appealing-looking cars.
Hyundai at the Nurburgring
New facility demonstrates Koreans' seriousness about creating fine-handling cars
Goodbye to all that? We can only hope...
And now Hyundai has announced that it’s to open a new test facility at the Nurburgring. Leaving aside for a second the debate over whether the ‘Ring is a relevant place to develop a car’s chassis, you can’t help but feel these latest announcements show that the Korean companies really are serious about producing cars which are both good to look at and great to drive. And frankly, at a time when so many companies are concentrating on pushing their tree-hugging credentials, we think that’s worthy of kudos. Whether these moves will yield models which serve as an antidote to the frankly dire yawn-boxes that both companies punted out in times past remains to be seen. But the promise of more choice for the enthusiastic driver, combined with those enormo-warranties, sounds good to us.
Discussion
The Crack Fox said:
The Koreans are really going for it, aren't they ? Who would buy mainstream GM or PSA stuff over something from the east ? They have great warranties, good specs, look reliable and drive OK.
Indeed. Will be interesting to see how they stand in 10-20 years. 'Team Europe' had better raise their game.
j_s14a said:
Now that the French are truly out of the game, maybe it's to Korea we need to pro cee'd for our hot hatches...
Hardly "Out of the game". Personally, I'll await the journo's reviews and my own TD before making those sweeping comments. Hyundai have certainly come along in the past 3 years though, fair play to them.Toffer said:
I think Hyundai should concentrate on designing and building decent quality and affordable cars, which generate a profit and sustain the company.
None of these criteria fits Lotus.
...which is exactly why you buy a separate brand if that's what you want to do.None of these criteria fits Lotus.
It's the same as the argument against VW buying it. That's moot now I appreciate, but I found it somewhat perplexing that people seemed to think they'd move in at Hethel and start producing Lotus badged Polos or something. In the same way that VAG produces Veyrons and Aventadors I think a back to basics Lotus left to its own devices with British creativity and some Volkswagen parts bin stuff would be great. Same goes for Hyundai.
j_s14a said:
Now that the French are truly out of the game, maybe it's to Korea we need to pro cee'd for our hot hatches...
Oh god that's terrible ^^^^I dont have a problem with the korean makes personally, i regularly see them taken the mick out of on here, or in the coxtext of "i'd rather -insert OTT suggestion- than drive one". IMO some of thier vehicles are a hell of a lot more interesting (to look at at least to save arguments) than some of the stale, bland rubbish that we are fed by the more established european makes.
We bought a new i10 8 months ago, now with 7,000 miles from mix traffic, fantastic little car, well built. All our friends were scepticle but once they've had a drive in the 'Tardis' they are all considering the car as a future purchase.Also had a hire c'eed on holiday in Spain also great car. No wonder the European mass market manufacturers are worried at losing market share. But these Korean cars are built in India (I10) and
Slovakia to a very high standard with terrific warranty and with style, French cars cannot compete on the first two and Renault seem to be putting all their eggs in the electric basket , Twizy. Zoe anybody? As for PSA, Citroen DS3 okay but Peugeot non
Slovakia to a very high standard with terrific warranty and with style, French cars cannot compete on the first two and Renault seem to be putting all their eggs in the electric basket , Twizy. Zoe anybody? As for PSA, Citroen DS3 okay but Peugeot non
Having purchased a year old cee'd in the last four months as a sensible family-to-be daily hack, I have to say I'm mildy disappointed. Don't expect because it has a multi-year warranty it's going to be any better than a Vauxhall equivalent.
Faster cars they may start producing, but I'm sorry to say their build quality is average at best. I'm getting out of mine as soon as I can find a credible alternative.
Faster cars they may start producing, but I'm sorry to say their build quality is average at best. I'm getting out of mine as soon as I can find a credible alternative.
irocfan said:
JonathanLegard said:
Okay, who's going to be the first to trot out that ignorant, hackneyed James May line about the Nurburgring ruining cars?
IF cars are being developed with performance and handling as ultimate criteria rather than 'wafting' then might he not have a point?I sold a 1997 Hyundai 3 door thing (Accent?) on The Bay of Evil a couple of months ago. She'd had it from new and it had done about 100'000 miles. Another mate used it for a month and did 2000 miles on trips to Exeter, Glasgow and God knows where else. What a fine machine. Everything worked, it never failed to start in those 15 years, it used no oil and it cost bugger all to run.
She replaced with with a Megane Convertible - that could prove a different ownership experience.
I have a feeling Kia and Hyundai will be the death knell of non VAG European manufacturers. Why on earth would you buy a Ford or a Peugeot over one of these?
She replaced with with a Megane Convertible - that could prove a different ownership experience.
I have a feeling Kia and Hyundai will be the death knell of non VAG European manufacturers. Why on earth would you buy a Ford or a Peugeot over one of these?
threespires said:
Hyundai & Kia could / should buy Lotus.
What do you think?
An excellent idea and one with 'form':What do you think?
Plus, Lotus made this handle in a way that defies its shape:
Hyundai and Kia are no longer seen as no-go areas for enthusiasts. They're no better or worse than Vauxhall or Toyota in most peoples' eyes, but they are seriously lacking in proper petrolhead cred. What they do have, however, is reliability and stability.
Lotus could do two things for Hyundai. Firstly, do Lotus versions of their cars, a la Lotus Cortina. Given that Hyundai and Kia get their warranties and reputation for reliability at least in part by detuning their engines, Lotus versions could be 're-tuned' and supercharged/turbocharged etc.
Secondly, given that people in Europe aren't exactly going to buy a Hyundai Genesis no matter how good it actually is simply because it's a Hyundai, then if the car was given a Lotus identity and handling tweaks for Europe, its prospects might be better, especially if similarities were drawn between it and the Lotus Carlton.
My only main concern would be engines. OK, so they have engines that could be put in an Elise, but they need a punchy V6 for the Exige and Evora and a V8 for the Esprit with the kind of power output that'll keep a Ferrari honest. Could Hyundai really supply them with these? Because I can't see them being allowed to buy them in from Toyota, nor for reliability's ake develop their own.
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