Hyundai i40 long term report 2 | CarAdvice

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Hyundai i40 long term report 2

HYUNDAI I40

Pros: Looks, build quality, interior spaciousness and practicality, fuel economy, smooth diesel + transmission combination

Cons: Lack of satellite navigation and touchscreen audio system.

By Alborz Fallah
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Price: $34,870 to $41,470

Our Rating:  

It’s been almost three months since we picked up our silver Hyundai i40 wagon. In that time the stylish Korean has been transformed into our main family car, taking care of all the daily drives and never missing a beat.

Despite being on sale for almost six months, our top of the range Hyundai i40 premium still turns heads wherever it goes. It’s partially due to the modern edgy design but the bright Audi-like LED daytime running lights (DRLs) certainly play their part as well. It holds quite a lot of road presence when driven during the day.

After three months and over 5,000 km, we’re still to experience a hiccup, with the 1.7-litre diesel engine, six-speed automatic gearbox, interior trim and overall quality remaining as impressive as the day it arrived.

During the last few weeks the i40 was taken for a spirited drive around some mountainous roads to see how it behaves outside its comfort zone. Given it has been designed for European buyers, it’s noticeably superior in the ride and handling department than the slightly larger and American-focused Hyundai i45.

The diesel engine does tend to weigh the front down a little and that’s felt as you begin to explore its limits, but overall it’s more than comfortable to sprint from one corner to another without a hassle. The pickup provided by the diesel engine can lag at times but for everyday driving it’s not a real issue. Once you understand where in the rev-range the torque and power is delivered, it becomes easier to drive. It’s also worth noting that despite the rigorous and gruelling route it had to endure, there was little to no interior vibration from the console, doors or anything else. Which is a sign of how far the Korean giant has come since we first encountered the brand in the early 90s.

Our biggest criticism still remains the interior. In particular the centre console with its blue lighting, which we believe is not up to scratch for a top of the range medium car. We’ve heard rumours that Hyundai Australia will soon announce the addition of satellite navigation as standard equipment for the premium variant for the i40 and i45 (and perhaps other models as well), meaning the cabin ambience will be significantly improved by a touch-screen LCD unit.

Fuel economy for this month has risen noticeably compared to last months since our i40 has spent most of its time conducting short trips to the shops. Being a diesel, fuel economy benefits are best appreciated on the highway but at 9L/100km for the way it’s been driven (including our spirited drive up the mountain), is still very reasonable. Initially there was a bit of negotiation required to make the missus realise that there’s nothing wrong with driving a diesel family car. Thankfully the i40 spoke for it self and now she wonders why anyone would ever buy a petrol.

The missus says:

What a great turning circle for such a roomy car! We have graduated over here to a forward facing baby seat and have tried and tested an adult sitting comfortably in the back between the screaming infant and the singing 6 year old in his booster seat.

I love how easily I am able to manoeuvre the busy shopping centre car parks and am truly amazed at the tight turning circle this car offers.

The i40 so far is ticking all the boxes when it comes to comfort too especially in the Queensland summer. The air-conditioned seating system makes for instantly cool seats even when the car has been left out in the hot midday sun.

As far as fuel economy, I can count the number of times I’ve had to refuel in the past 3 months on one hand and the Hyundai i40 is certainly being driven. This may in part be due to the incredible fuel capacity of its tank (70L) but all things considered the fuel economy is certainly impressive. If I where to buy a car tomorrow it would have to be a diesel as the i40 has definitely converted me and sold me on the benefits of driving a diesel.

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  • Jojo

    interesting report as this car has rated low across the board in various tests from reputable motor car magazines. They criticised its ergonomics, build quality and extremely poor ride. Not sure how CA think this is a 4/5

  • save it for the track

    Like most things in life, everyone will have a different opinion. The reviewer has articulated its usage and offered their opinion. Does the i40 have a DPF that may need replacing if it does only short city based trips? How often is a trip of 50km or some such needed to effectively activate the DPF if it has one? I would be interested how it compares to other vehicles that cost $46,490.

    • Mr Plow

      Seems every time there is a story on a diesel powered car, the DPF-scaremongers come out. If it’s too hard for people to read the owners manual and follow the guidelines, then you deserve to pay $$$ for a replacement.

      Why concern yourself about something (that if driven properly) won’t need replacing for at least 150,000 kms? The Ford cdpf units last at least 200,000 kms.

      • Robin_Graves

        Those same people would probably be more likely to fill it up with petrol and do more $$$ damage anyway.  Most newer ECU’s have a regen feature inbuilt anyway so the DPF can regen easier by injecting fuel when the exhaust valve is open making it fairly unlikely there will be a problem.  The only issue is if you totally ignore the ‘idiot light’ and keep driving while turning up the stereo.

        • save it for the track

          In some reviews of vehicles, supposed shortcomings and possible problems for the plebs that don’t read their owner’s manuals (but does not get mentioned that way) are mentioned. Yet in all too many reviews of diesels there is no mention of the possibility of the DPF issue. I’m sure that those same people that don’t read their owner’s manuals in regards to DPF’s are the same morons that fail to check their tyre pressures and take responsibility for the wear of their tyres. Not to mention overlooking the expiry date on their registration stickers (WA & SA excused of course), and the instructions on how to fit said stickers. These also seem to be the same ones that don’t seem to know how to turn their fog/driving lights off.
          .
          This of course is not the first Hyundai/Kia vehicle to fall well short on long term testing of the claimed overall fuel consumption. But hey it’s early days yet.
          .
          My question remains, is the DPF an issue in this Hyundai vehicle or not?

          • svd

            Many Toyotas and probably other cars as well don’t make the claimed fuel consumption figures.  I had a 2005 Corolla that never got in to single digit figures unless driven in the country.  The i30 diesel I now have has been 7l/100 at its worst on shopping journeys but drops to high 5s cruising in the country.  It would probably do better at lower speeds in the country. The DPF on the i30 is not a problem as it doesnt have one but if it did I would simply take it for a drive on the motorway at 80kph or above for about 10-15 mins every month.  I am hooked on the torque of the diesel and dont think I could go back to a petrol where you have to put ear plugs in and change down before you accelerate or watch the speed dropping off everytime you look at a hill.  

      • Guest

        The same people who talk about hybrid batteries too but you never see anyone defending that one?

        • nickdl

          How about the Prius taxis in Cairns doing upwards of 500,000km and still on their first battery?

        • Robin_Graves

          Just look at a 5year old hybrid’s resale value – I know I’d much rather go for a diesel even if it has a DPF, there’s no way I’d take a risk on a second hand hybrid.

          • Guest

            That’s your choice and I respect it but I would hestitate less with a hybrid than I would a new European petrol. Having owned a Euro and within the first 2 years go in to the workshop several times for warranty work compared to a hybrid which has only had it’s basic oil and filter changes, the choice was clear for me.

            But horses for courses. I wouldn’t be so blunt like you to say no way to diesels even with the wee-in-a-bottle and magic filters but there is a time and place for both. City driving is not it. I know when I follow a diesel car with all the latest filters, I’d still need to close my windows and vents to stop that diesel exhaust smell coming in.

      • Sydlocal

        Cat converters on a petrol require much more frequent replacement than a DPF but no one seems to do it…

        • Guest

          Cats breaking down is not a show stopper a petrol car however a blocked DPF is for a diesel. That’s why cats are only replaced when the pink slip guys say you need it for rego purposes.

      • Jap Car

        DPF’s are a complete failure. what moron would manufacture something that requires you to drive further and longer for it to work to its design spec. absolutly ridiculous. Nissan can build a diesel without one. !!!!
         

  • MisterZed

    In the very first photo at the top of the article, the paint on the front bumper does not match the front guard where they meet.  The front bumper is noticably lighter in shade.  I can only assume this is because the bumper has had damage and been (poorly) resprayed, rather than the fault of Hyundai’s painting process which is near the best in the industry.

    • Golfschwein

      Look closely and you’ll see it’s happening front and rear. I’m a bit of a spotter of this sort of thing myself. It’s so widespread across so many makes of good quality cars that I would not raise it as a problem, if I saw it on one of mine. Of greater concern is ‘banding’, where you look along the flanks of a car and, in bright sunlight, you can see vertical stripes of paint, as though the paint guns paused too long in 100 millimetre wide sections. I don’t know if the industry has a name for it, but I’ve seen it on numerous late model Falcons as well as a  Golf wagon and Honda Accord. 

    • http://www.caradvice.com.au/ Alborz Fallah

      That’s likely a case of the lighting for the photo than anything else. I just went out and had a look at the car in natural light, can’t pick it. 

      • ryan bane

        Thanks for that clarification Alborz, while im far from a Hyundai fanboy,in my experience, the paint finish on new generation Hyundais is very impressive and better than the competition.

    • Henry Toussaint

       I’ve heard plastic is harder to get the same colour, but like alborz said it could be the lighting…

    • UyhbibU

      Hyundais are orange peal heaven. just walk into any showroom and look.

    • Kinggav34

      Not many cars on our roads have bumpers that match the paint on the bodywork these days. The bumpers and usually any of the plastic parts like mirrors, door handles and fuel filler flaps etc are painted separate to the car in the factory. The paint may be the same exact paint but believe me the paint can appear different to varying extents due to different spray tecniques, gun settings, film builds and the colour of the parts being painted can all lead to poor colour matching accuracy. Most cars all offend with some only having some models or colours which look out. Any auto spray painter could pick colour differences on probably 90% of the cars avaliable out there.

  • Jerrycan

    I have a 4 year old Skoda Octavia Wagon with the old 1.9 litre pump deuse injection system and I have never got worse than 6.5 ltr/100 (validated), even when driving through Sydney.
    Quite honestly I cannot see how you get such high fuel consumption (9 ltr /100) on a much newer design, even around town, even with an automatic.

    You have done over 5000 km and we don’t know what your overall fuel consumption is, just that it is ‘empressive’ Don’t forget to top up the tank before and after and check the instrument claims.
    While you are about you might like to check the speedo and odometer accuracy against a GPS.
    It is amazing how much variance there can be, even on new cars and that is never mentioned in any reviews.

    A long term test should provide a more in depth information than has been given so far.
    I’m not sure you taking this test seriously.

    • http://www.caradvice.com.au/ Alborz Fallah

      I have to reset the average fuel consumption per refill so that I can get a clearer view. It’s unfair to label the 9L/100km around this time as average given it has been recently driven aggressively to test the car’s dynamics. One week we can easily get it down to 6.5 and the week after it hits around 8 if it spends most of its time in traffic and on its way to the shops and back. 

      • Jerrycan

        Fair enough, but I will be watching out for a bit more detail in your next installment.

        IMO you should include less obvious facts about the car in a long term review for a broad demographic.
        What is the torque steer like? Usually a poorly managed feature of FWD Hyundai diesels.
        How good are the headlights for country driving? The original Santa Fe had headlights as effective as glow-worms due to poor reflector design.
        Ease of access for older people? some modern designs have broad sills for better safety but combined with a low roofline could make it difficult for the less mobile.
        How well does it handle pot-holes? Do you drive serenely through or unconsciously avoid?
        Speed bumps and ground clearance with a load, or just handling and braking with a load? It is a wagon after all.
        Internal lighting at night? Woeful on the Santa Fe R as only the rear centrelight comes on and not the forward map-reading lights(manual operation only). Funnily enough its sister ship the Kia Sorento does not have this problem and the Octavia internal lights all come on when the doors are opened, which is literally ‘brilliant’.
        Alborz, all car design is a compromise so there must be something that grates just a bit?

        • http://www.caradvice.com.au/ Alborz Fallah

          Thanks, Jerrycan.

          Good points in there. I will cover all those points in the next update. If you have any more questions or want me to test anything else, please let me know.

          • Jerrycan

            Thanks,
            Things that come to mind are dirt road handling especially the calibration of ABS and stability control. Holden and Ford do a particularly good job of this.
            Visibility from driver seat, effectivenesss of mirrors, blind spots when driving, rearward visibility when parking (without aids, which are probably not in the lower spec models).
            Visibility from rear seats, can the kids see out ok (rear seats in the Mazda CX7 are like being consigned to a tomb for the height challenged).
            When you open the doors in the carpark, what touches the adjacent parked car first, hopefully not that pronounced styling crease ‘cos that could cause or suffer some expensive damage on a windy day.
            Some of the above is probably not relevant but you get the gist.

  • David

    Great looking car. Needs a larger diesel and more power. The average consumption you experienced is a bit disappointing for a modern diesel.

    • Robin_Graves

      Its only done 5000km and he was giving it stick.  Most diesels need 10K plus to loosen up a bit.

      • Jerrycan

        I have had two diesels from new and the extra kilometres do not make that much difference to overall consumption.
        I’m more inclined to agree it is mostly driving technique to blame.
        The other thing is that if it is anything like the Santa Fe R I had, then the 6 speed auto will put it in 5th at 60 kph, but then does not quite ’lock’ the drivetrain so you lose some efficiency through the torque converter.
        Diesels and Hyundai type conventional autoboxes even with 6 speeds are not very efficient. Same with the current Captiva diesel and auto box and the previous model Mondeo with the ZF gearbox. Manuals are much better suited in the lower priced vehicles.
        I think it is this behaviour that the Mazda CX5 new auto gearbox overcomes and also other double clutch units.
        Hyundai will be producing their own double clutch autos soon so I think they recognise this.

        In reply to David It may be only 1.7 litre capacity but there was no hint in the review that it was underpowered.

        • Jerrycan

          Sorry, a small mistake as the 6speed slush box in the Mondeo was not a ZF unit. Point is the current upgraded diesel and dual clutch box are claimed to be far more efficient

  • Chris

    Have you tried towing with it… I am interested to know if the diesel handles a small caravan fine?

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Karl-Sass/100000921334936 Karl Sass

      You’d be better off in a ve sportwagon.

      • Chris

        Possibly.. I have a VYII wagon at the moment and can’t say I am very impressed with it… looking at cheaper options or more options, so things like 7 seats, etc, but did not really want to go up to a Territory for example. Specs say it can tow 1500kg braked, and ours would be about 1200 or so… but again it seems like it would be hard work for it.

        • http://www.facebook.com/people/Karl-Sass/100000921334936 Karl Sass

          Fair enough. I was thinking a dedicated lpg sportwagon could suit you because it’d cost about the same to buy and run, but has a bigger towing capacity and rear wheel drive. It depends if you’re going to want that extra ‘safety margin’ but I could only assume this would tow okay. I always prefer rear wheel drive when towing.
          The LPG engine also makes more torque and lower in the rev range (both the diesel in the i40 and the lpg Commodore make maximum torque at 2000rpm).
          I’d also make sure to check the rated tow ball load on the i40 because lots of imported cars have very low ratings (all Australian cars are 10% of trailer weight). 

      • Chris

        Possibly.. I have a VYII wagon at the moment and can’t say I am very impressed with it… looking at cheaper options or more options, so things like 7 seats, etc, but did not really want to go up to a Territory for example. Specs say it can tow 1500kg braked, and ours would be about 1200 or so… but again it seems like it would be hard work for it.

  • marc

    i saw this car the other day – and was sure its BMW X1… was surprised its i40… great looking car… it could be worth of cross-over style like Outback, Scout 

  • Zephaniah

    have 260,000km on my i30 diesel……..

    noisy but chearfull…….no complaints.

    • MisterZed

      260,000 km?!  Hahaha… good luck with resale value.

  • Jap Car

    hyundai are ticking a lot of boxes and are nearly there with styling…. when they get the interiors right and get rid of the god awful interior light (back-lit blue), they will be on top.  

  • Fred17

    Terrific looking car, and nice specs on paper. Why do manufacturers insist on offering only black interiors in cars these days? To my eyes, the i40 interior is hideous, and would put me off buying one regardless of its other attributes. Also, why do maufactureres insist on packaging that most useless of extras, the sunroof, with useful goodies like HID headlights? Again, I’d be put off, as my current car has a sunroof I never use (and it allows a lot of extra heat into the car in summer). Trade-in for previous car was a deal-clincher, otherwise I’d have looked elsewhere.

  • Dispela0

    Too bad about the fuel economy of the petrol version inthe real world though. Have just done a cross Sydney trip at rush hour with a fuel consumption of 12.6 l/100km. Struggle to et better than 10 at any time in Sydney too. Very disappointing, and a lot worse than the Camry I had before this.

  • muhammad

    Does the hundai i40 comes with 7 passengers 
    many thanks

  • Viking545

    Fuel economy in the “real world” is often far worse than manufacturer figures, and those quoted in car tests are questionable too, as in “I got 11.5 l/100km in a mix of city and highway driving”. Where do they get this figure from? Presumably, the onboard computer. How accurate is the onboard computer? Mine is often 0.5 l/100km optimistic. The speedo is 7% out, the odometer around 1%. Muhammad- I doubt the i40 comes with 7 passengers and it’s even more unlikely they’d fit:) You’d have to try an iMax for your football team.