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By
EWAN KENNEDY
7 July 2008
Keen to be seen as following the European automotive way of doing
things, Hyundai has added the option of a turbo-diesel engine to
its Grandeur. It will be part of the 2009 lineup from the South
Korea maker and is currently scheduled to be launched here within
the next two months.
Hyundai's
Grandeur is a large car and the diesel is a four-cylinder
2.2-litre unit producing 114 kW, and a very useful 343 Nm between
1800 and 2500 revs. These torque figures indicate that almost all
drivers will have the engine operating at its most efficient
virtually all of the time.
Transmission
is by a five-speed automatic with some manual overrides in a
tiptronic-type fashion. Unlike its smaller brothers the Hyundai
i30 and Sonata, no manual gearbox is to be offered with the
Grandeur in Australia. In Europe, where fuel prices can be double
those of Australia, some buyers still opt for the additional
economy of a manual ‘box, but it probably wouldn’t make sense
in Oz. With the automatic transmission, the Grandeur has a fuel
rating of 7.9 litres per hundred kilometres.
The
Grandeur has always come highly equipped and standard features on
the upcoming 2009 model include 17-inch alloy wheels, leather and
woodgrain trim, full air conditioning and multiple airbags. This
new model will have revisions to the front grille treatment as
well as a new shape to the rear lights and bumper. The interior
will have an interesting blue-illumination system, something that
we have yet to see in after-dark conditions so we are looking
forward to it.
The
Grandeur's suspension is set up for comfort, more so than sporting
handling, as it’s aimed at a relatively conservative market
segment. The result is a pleasingly quiet and smooth ride on most
surfaces, though the usual bugbear of noise from coarse-chip
surfaces can crop up.
Grandeur
continues to be offered with a 3.8-litre V6 petrol engine, with
194 kW, and 348 Nm at 4000 rpm. It’s a smooth, refined that may
appeal to those not chasing the full-on economy of the diesel
powerplant.
The
Hyundai Grandeur CRDi diesel will be priced at $41,990 and the
petrol V6 model has an rrp of $39,990. Both come with the
outstanding Hyundai warranty of five years and unlimited
kilometres.
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Marque Publishing Company
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