Hyundai Motor to launch i40cw at Italy and A new Test Drive Strategy in Korea

Hyundai Motor is planning to launch at the Geneva Motor Show next year March the i40cw station wagon built for the European market and competing against such vehicles as the Opel Insignia Sports, the Ford Mondeo and the VW Passat.

The South Korean car maker released first sketches and details of the model, saying customers would now have 2 choices between petrol and a diesel unit. Fitted with start-stop technology, consumption is listed at around five liters per 100 kilometers.

Features include Bi-Xenon headlamps with curvature lighting and lane assist.

The sketch shows a flat windscreen with a roof sloping slightly to the rear. The upper window line forms a coupe-shaped silhouette while the front grille is in the typical Hyundai design.

On the other hand, with the result of the recent survey on how customers would be convinced in buying a car which “Test Drive” leads the survey that car fanatics would love to have a test drive first before deciding to buy the car.  Hyundai Motor Co. will soon introduce a test driving service that allows potential customers to test drive vehicles delivered to a place designated by the motorist from Jan. 3, 2010 around South Korea.

The service, which the company is operating on pilot basis until the end of the year, allows customers to pick any Hyundai vehicle for a test drive and have the vehicle delivered at a place and time set by the customer.

The vehicle can also be returned using a similar system with Hyundai employees picking up the car at a place and time chosen by the driver.

Until the end of the year, the service is available through 12 test driving centers in Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon. From Jan. 3, the company plans to expand the service to 30 centers across the country.

To use the service, visit the carmaker’s website at www.hyundai.com  or visit one of the designated test driving centers.