FIRST THOUGHTS: The styling might be questionable but the quality isn’t, and there’s mountains of room inside the Hyundai i40 Tourer.
Hyundai has fought hard to shake off the cut-price car builder image it arrived Down Under with in the early 1990s. And it’s now, thanks to a greater focus on quality materials and engineering offered at the right price, risen to become one of the best-selling brands in the country. This i40 Tourer is the company’s latest offering, and we’re testing it in turbo-diesel Active spec. Designed in Germany (at Hyundai’s Russelsheim studio), the i40 Tourer is a continuation of the ‘fluidic sculpture’ theme launched with the i45 sedan and Elantra. The fish-face design has elements of Peugeot and while it’s certainly eye-catching it’s not exactly attractive, luckily it’s got plenty of room inside for a family and the build quality is excellent.
Price & Equipment: 17/20
Undercuts its rivals and matches them for equipment
With a list price of $34,490 (+ORC) the i40 Tourer Active T/D just manages to undercut the Ford Mondeo LX (from $35,490), the Mazda6 Wagon (at $35,590), and the Skoda Octavia 103 TDI (from $35,990). For that price you get an impressive array of standard features like: Bluetooth and iPod connectivity; heated wing mirrors; powered windows right around with one-touch up and down and anti-pinch function; illuminated lockable glovebox; static bending lights; auto dusk-sensing headlights, a full-size spare wheel, and much more. What also helps the i40 Tourer is Hyundai’s impressive five-year unlimited kilometre warranty.
Space & Versatility: 17/20
Cavernous interior makes it a practical family hauler
Station wagons are always a more practical option for families and the i40 Tourer proves that with one of the roomiest back seats in the business. The 60/40 split-fold rear seats are comfortable and offer masses of head, shoulder, knee and legroom. And thanks to minimal intrusion into the cabin by the transmission tunnel, an adult can comfortably sit in the middle seat. Around at the back there’s a 553 litres of boot space with the rear seats in place, drop them down and luggage space grows to 1719 litres. And thanks to sturdy tie-down points it’s easy to keep your gear from slapping around in the back. There are also three child anchor points but, oddly, these are located on the floor of the boot, which means if you’ve got two child seats in place you’ve effectively lost one-third of your boot space. Back in the front, driver and passenger get generously proportioned seats, which are both comfortable and supportive. There are a handful of generously sized cubbyholes stashed around the cabin and, even on this entry-level model the plastics are all soft touch, which gives the cabin an air of quality you might not ordinarily expect.
Performance & Economy: 15.5/20
Grunty engine is let down by its auto gearbox
Under the bonnet of the i40 Tourer is a 1.7-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel, which makes 100kW at 4000rpm and 320Nm from 2000rpm (the six-speed manual equipped i40 produces 330Nm). Mated to a six-speed automatic this engine proved nice and strong around town and on the highway, but just every now and then it felt a little puffed on longer hills unless you provoked it into grabbing a lower gear via the paddle shifters (then it would become thrashy). The engine’s Achilles heel is definitely the six-speed auto, which, under load, loses its composure and either hangs onto a gear for too long, or let’s go of a gear too early. Around town, though, the i40 Tourer feels a lot more comfortable. Hyundai claims a low 5.6L/100km, but on test the best we managed was 7.4L/100km. That might seem like a lot more than the claimed combined figure, but with a 70-litre fuel tank that still gives the i40 Tourer a range of almost 1000km.
Ride & Refinement: 16/20
It rides better than any other Hyundai, but there are some noise issues
Hyundai claims the i40 Tourer’s ride has been tuned to better handle our “unique” conditions, and it certainly handles the bumps well, indeed it does a better job of ironing out the road’s ripples than any Hyundai before it. But it’s not quite as compliant as, say, a Skoda Octavia or a Ford Mondeo. That said, it’s still an incredibly comfortable car for chewing through long drives across this Big Brown Land. And while there’s almost no wind noise leaking into the cabin, you do hear a fair amount of tyre rumble and engine noise. You’ll get used to it over time, but the i40 Tourer lacks the noise insulation of its rivals; luckily the stereo is great so you can drown the engine out with music easily enough.
Steering & Handling: 15.5/20
Handling is on par with rivals, but the steering is a disappointment
With good front-end grip and decent body control, the i40 Tourer is surprisingly well behaved in the bends, but where it falls down is in its steering. Around town the motor driven power steering feels nice and light making the car an cinch to manouevre, but push to highway speed and assistance becomes way too intrusive. Indeed, the steering becomes so rubbery and artificial that it’s almost impossible to pick exactly where the front wheels are pointing. And this means you tend to over-steer and then have to wind off lock, which ends up unsettling the ride.
Safety & Security: 18/20
A five-star ANCAP safety rating and nine airbags
Besides a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating the i40 Tourer features an impressive list of active and passive safety systems. All variants get Vehicle Stability Management (VSM), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), ABS with EBD & Brake Assist System (BAS), Cornering Brake Control (CBC) and Hill-start Assist Control (HAC). As well as these active safety systems, the i40 Tourer comes standard with: nine airbags (driver and front passenger, driver knee, driver and front passenger side (thorax), rear outboard side (thorax), and full length curtain); as well as anti-whiplash headrests for the driver and front passenger. Multiple pedestrian safety features (such as the impact absorbing bonnet structure and member-less front-end side module) are implemented to reduce the chance of pedestrian injury in the case of a collision. All variants of the i40 Tourer are equipped with central locking, an engine immobiliser, impact-sensing door unlock system and keyless entry with burglar alarm.
The rivals
Ford Mondeo LX: $35,490; 120kW; 340Nm; 5.9L/100km
The Mondeo’s boot is on par with the Hyundai, but there isn’t quite as much rear seat legroom. It’s a more compliant car with better noise insulation, and is dynamically sharper too.
Skoda Octavia 103 TDI: $35,990; 103kW; 320Nm; 5.1L/100km
There’s not as much rear seat legroom in the Skoda as there is in the i40 Tourer, but the engine and gearbox a miles better as is the Octavia’s agility. The Skoda’s ride is on par with the i40 Tourer.
Mazda6 Wagon Diesel: $35,950; 132kW; 400Nm; 5.9L/100km
The Hyundai beats the Mazda6 for rear seat legroom, but the zoom-zoom Mazda beats the Korean for steering feel, and it’s a lot more attractive looking.
