2008 Hyundai iMax & iLoad preview
January 3, 2008 by Matt Brogan
Hyundai just keep the punches coming. First the sensational i30, which has worked wonders for the once cheap and cheerful manufacturer’s image, now comes the i-series van which will continue to see the big H fight well above their weight in the ring of global dominance.
Set to rival both commercial and passenger vans in one king hit, the i-series vans will square up to the likes of Express, Hiace, Transit, Trafic, Tarago, Carnival and Viano.
Soon to arrive in Australia as either the eight-seat people mover (iMax) and commercial van (iLoad), the range can be extended to include nine, 11 and 12 seat configurations over its 5125mm frame (wheel base is 3200mm).
Available in manual or automatic, and powered by either 2.4 litre petrol (125kW & 223Nm) or 2.5 litre turbo diesel (125kW & 392Nm) the i-series come complete with 16-inch alloy wheels, MacPherson strut suspension (up front) and rear wheel drive.
Encompassing a raft of features including dual sliding doors, lift or twin-swing (barn type) rear doors (commercial only), reverse park assist, roof mounted rear ventilation and sliding rear side windows, the i-series will be available shortly through dealerships as well as making an appearance at Melbourne Motor Show in March.
Print it: 
Jimmy
I know little about the updated HiAce
All that is confirmed is a update is due latter in the year [did i mention 3 - 6 month wait for a HiAce!] and that it may NOT be a SBV.
Anyway i cannot wait, if its a van it will be the iload
Cheers
F-0
Frugal One,
Thanks for your points …
Vito ‘06,
- still 1 year insurance left
- 110 kW, but I think Vito a bit more more fuel efficient
- 2 sliding doors as well as styandard, barn rear door optional
- I got MB commecrial dealer+service next to me
- Vito is a bit shorter and lower which is better for me (do not need long and high one for my trade)
What sort of Vito’s “issues” you are refering to ?
I heard that early model had issues because it was front wheel drive and joistic type of gear shifter, but they fixed them in current model which is rear wheel drive.
Warranty is a strong point, but I just want to figure out how “bad” Vito is and would I go with iLoad …
Does anyone know if iLoad rear seat are fold type or they are fixed ?
Does anyone know if iLoad is a new model or it has been around in Korea for some time ?
Just wondering if there is any history on iLoad reliability?
I have driven a Mercedes-Benz Vito for ages and think its the best vehicle i have ever bought. i have a current shape and had nothing but pleasure driving it. so easy to get in and out of, so easy to drive, superb fuel efficiency, 30,000km service intervals!!!! Looking at the big picture, the iLoad and Vito new aren’t too different in pricing and when you consider resale value (Merc leads the market), standard safety features (ESP, Traction Control to say the least), company image, icant see why you would look at buying iLoad at all
Sidor, I would suggest you take a test drive in both vans first before you decide to buy & I know the iload diesel manual will tow (2000kg) if need be. Not sure what Vito will tow if that is an important consideration in your case !
Lightbulb,
Towing is not important for me at all …
I did already test drive Vito and will do iLoad,
but I feel that they probably will be very similar in driving,
WHEREAS I am more concerned about long term run, reliability, cost of service and resale value …
Vito take 8.5lt/100km fuel, but iLoad – 9.5lt
What is the iLoad’s service interval ? can’t find in their brochure …
Sidor -
Service:
Iload is 15,000km or 12 months.Its around the $250 mark.
I suggest you go test drive it, its ok for me, maybe not for you.Frankly i cannot see $10k+ extra for a Vito, esp. when it has less kW [not that its a issue for me] less warranty and not new.
The H1 Hyundai has been sold in Europe and Asia for years, only new to us with this new model.
Yes the Vito has a strong *ask* resale price, but its false, they remain unsold, they are not a easy vehicle to sell 2nd hand.
I was impressed by it, and very impressed by the I30 i checked out while waiting at the dealer, would be mm behind a Corolla [BigT would be shitting themselves], Hyundai have come from nowhere to brilliant quality, i admit i was a non-believer, but hey they have done the miles and the product speaks for itself.
Cheers
F-0
PS Still negotiating a c/over deal, they are NOT giving me a fair price for my trade ins, close though, $3k is what we are fighting about.
PSS I checked out the Renualt Trafic [now with auto] they are nowhere and expensive, and the Vito, which is not for me and $10k to much.
Frugal One,
I am not sure why you are refering to $10k difference unless you are comparing with brand new Vito …
‘06 (1 yr warranty left) VITO CREW CAB will cost you $40-42k, same as brand new iLoad CREW CAB AUTO,
BUT Vito has ESC as standard whereas it is optional in iLoad …
I would say you have to compare 1.5yr old Vito with brand new iLoad, they will be same in price.
unless you want brand new van which is the only point.
and 15k service interval compare with 30k for Vito …
Hey Gino (Hyundai Sales Rep) Im looking at your VW Crafters. Can you give me a price on them. Plus i may need a VW Golf for my wife. What sort of deal can you do. You do deal with the Volkswagen brand right, thats what has been going on in this forum. A Imediate response will be great. Whats your finance like with VW, any good rates going on.
well guys if your after the best commercial van around its the VW, sorry to dissapoint you all, it has far less issues that the MB, is more comfortable than the toyota and has plenty of grunt.
I have looked at the i load and i have to say is every bit as good as the transporter and the transit. I would love to drive one.
Frugal do you think about the comments you write?
TONYN -
Do you?
LOVE this bit: “well guys if your after the best commercial van around its the VW, sorry to dissapoint you all, ***it has far less issues*** that the MB
ISSUES?? WTF? I spend $40k+ i dont want or expect ANY issues….E.O.S!
I know its NOT possible for the Euros to make something without *issues*.
U can have the brand-names and *issues* and the *best* [yeah, in your and the service-mangagers mind] i will stick with bulletproof Asian quality, E.O.S.
Cheers
F-0
tonyn,
VW is front wheel drive, isn’t it ?
Just made a great batch of home made Ginger Beer. God Im wasted. But anyway (Sniff)(Grunt) the i- load is (Burrrrrrrrrrp) great full of (Fart)safety features (Burrrrp) God i shouldn’t have eaten that Vindaloo Curry (Shit,) (Fart) i have to take a dump will be back guys
OH My go cant go by a mitsubishi express, very good yes come with 1 star safety rating. you can carry up to 15 people in one van. yes. big load . very cheap. yess
I fully reccomend the Vito i will pay full whack for it because of the value and prestige of the vehicle. Im going to test drive one, i reccomend that everyone should see the Merc Range.
No your a Towel
Toyota Hiace on the way out.
Had a 2002 Hiace brand new for several years nothing but broblems with it and Toyota Australia are not interested to help us!!!
Goodbye Toyota Hiace 3 Litre diesel 80Kw, Hyundai 2.5 diesel 125kw inclusive all safty and the all important tachometer.
My choice is clear Hyundai iLoad
Cheers
Jo.
j. ott,
what’s wrong with HiAce ?
How much diesel does HiAce take on 100km ?
iLoad looks OK, but who knows how it will be when you start driving it ?
Well enjoy your blogging guys and good luck with your purchase decisions re commercial vehicles. And to those pretending to be me you must have exciting lives to need to impersonate a Hyundai Sales Rep and making claims that I sell pizza and toilets and make ginger beers.
If anyone seriously wants info chaeck with your local dealers.
Im over reading thru comments by VW, Merc & Toyota dealers worried buy Huyndai’s price, Quality and Warranty’s. I’m now seriously enjoying selling my vans into those market shares. My first Vito trade owner said the i-load craps all over the vito he just traded.
Hi [R]H.S.R,
Yes!
Somebody above stole my ID too, as IF i would buy a Vito-POS, i KNOW not, pay more for less….smart NOT!
Have the local dealer @$37,500 for a Diesel Auto Iload fitted with barn doors,driveaway.
Pushing for $37k clear, trade-ins where no where, so i have had to sell them on my own.The Pregio was easy to sell and still worth over 65% after 3.5 years, as in only lost $8k, happy with that, the Transit is going to do my head in, wont buy a iload till i sell both otherwise it wont happen.
My son wants me to buy a VE SS Ute with canopy “so wecan do burnouts” LOL around the same coin!!We shall see really need a 3-seater and Falcon [had 2 WONT buy another] have the bench but not Commodore…..PITY
Cheers
F-0
Sidor -
Hard to belive it but the Iload diesel has MORE than 50% more power than a HiAce yet the fuel-economy is about the same.
The *new* SBV HiAce better be out soon to stop the slaughter that is about to happen.
Drove a Communter HiAce to Sydney, it drove ok, in fact it drove like my Pregio, the Iload was a RollsRoyce in comparison.
*THAT* centre seat [to small, bad design, not 3-point-belt, no head-rest] is the WORST thing i dislike about it.WILL asnd MUST be addressed in the next update.
Cheers
F-0
Frugal One,
that centre seat you are talking about … can it be easily removed from the van or not ?
I read that it is made like this to fold back to be used as a table for rear seat passengers if required. That’s probably why it is designed like that …
SIDOR -
No it would not be easy to remove, besides it has compartments in the back of it [when folded down] to hold keys, phone, coins etc etc etc.
Yes, you can fold it around and use it as a seat facing the back, smart idea really.Have not seen that on any other.
Just use said vehicle as a 2+1 and it wont be a issue.
Legroom is ok too as the passenger-bench-seat slides backwards increasing legroom, have not seen that on any other.
Good luck whatever you choose to buy
Cheers
F-0
Yo Yo im in the house. I didn’t mean to say all those things. I dont really do all the thingd i mentioned above, i am actually a Tazo player going for the world championships at Japan. Kowa Saki. Will make another batch of Ginger Beer
i think that vans are good
thanks for the dirty getaway last week dom, loved the spa
When i grow up i want to be just like Hyundai Sales Rep selling flyscreens, Toilets and drinking Ginger Beer. What a Life. I might change my name to Gino Riggs. So Hyundai sales Rep do you have a daddy.
So Hyundai Sales Rep do you have a daddy. He likes Aeroplane Jelly. So are you still drinking ginger beer
Frugal One,
Are you in Melbourne or Sydney ?
Anyone has bought iLoad already?
SIDOR -
In Melb.
They have sold a whole bunch to hire companies.
I am not happy about the trade-in offers, they are really low-lowballing my trade-ins.I dont want retail for my trade ins, not even redbook, just a *fair* market price.
Why should i brake my balls having to sell my 2 vans because they dont want to pay a fair price and expect me to do all the work.AM I THE BUYER OR NOT?
If i buy a van this will be the one, just i can get brand NEW 1 tonner auto falcon ute [auto/air/tray] for $25k.Put it on LPG [i hate the Ford mono lpg system] and a lockable canopy and be at $28.5k driveaway…ITS $10,000 LESS!
Either the Ute is to cheap or the van to expensive???
Cheers
F-0
Hey does anyone have a place where I can lay low for a while? Either that or does anyone have a garage in the Ryde, NSW area that would fit a couple of large wooden sea crates for a month or two. You will be rewarded generously for your co-operation in this matter. Oh yeah and like I said before, if anyone asks, my name is not Gino Riggs, forget that name, forget you ever heard it!!
Hey This is the real Gino Riggs whoever is out there impersonating my name please Stop. It has gone far enough and just on the recod that i do not sell Ginger Beer,Toilets or manaquins. I am a lonely farmer living on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie WA. Its not im my best interest to get angry and i would appreciate it if you would stop this childish act.
Kind Regards Gino Riggs
just buy a vito 120 nothing keeps up. good on diesel, heaps of grunt, stops well, good resale, looks smart what else do you need. dont forget its your office that you drive around in all day spend the extra bucks. i just traded my 115 vito in after 2 years 40k and still got over 75% of the cost 2 years before. i have had 5 vitos now and they just keep on leaving the rest of the market behind. never had any major problems. go on Spend Up
>just traded my 115 vito in after 2 years 40k
$40 trade-in for 115 Vito ???
they must have ripped you off on 120 then … unless you had 115 wagon.
dealers are selling 2-year 115 crew cabs for ~$42k …
For those who have been reading…..
Passing on the iload, cannot get any sort of deal because its to new, besides will save near $10k and also $ every km i travel.
Yeap, getting a 08′ Falcon BF Mk11 C/Chassis, as they in run out and *only* $28k driveaway [inc.8′ tray, a/c, auto, bench seat {HEAR THAT COMMODORE??} lpg, tow pack, driveaway.Has more gear than the iload too, ie trip computer, better centre seat with 3-point-belt, larger load area, much cheaper to run and own etc etc
Hope to sign up tommorow, @$15k c/over *trying* for $13k will go hard as i can on the dealers to close the deal! :-)
Cheers
F-0
Loksmf,
If your Vito was so good, why were you trading it after just 2 years with just 40k on the clock? Was it getting a bit tired.Or was it because you thought it would hold better resail value with a years warranty remaining. If you had bought the Iload you could have paid less, Got better resale and kept it twice as long with the 5 year warranty offered by Hyundai
Has nothing on a Tarago… hell a Tarago can beat a Falcon in accleration!
Come on!! Who was that? It can’t be the real deal. :)
Yes TP I give up, the Toyota Prius can beat the Bugatti for top speed!! Duracell batteries keep going and going…
‘Oh what a feeling’ when i’m choking on the fumes of a Prius with its 15 health hazardous pollutants
iLoad – diesel or petrol ?
$5k difference in price …
I am thinking how long it will take to get these $5K back saving on fuel ?
Sidor:
Even though I have not driven either the petrol or diesel iloads yet, my local Hyundai sales rep said in his opinion the diesel drives better than the petrol version. By this he mentioned noise factor and available low down torque. Where I live petrol is usually a few cents cheaper than diesel but I think that could change at any moment. It is really a personal decision but I like the diesel as it seems to be the preferred option at the moment with fuel prices continuing to rise !
Lightbulb,
thanks for the reply.
I am 100% sure diesel is much better engine, no doubt about this …
But I am only doing 25′000-30′000 km per year and I am concerned that in my circumstances it is difficult to justify $5k difference in price unless the difference in resale value will be also around $5k …
I was hot-to-trot on the iload but the dealers didnt or would NOT do deals on them AND low-balled my trade in.
I went to a dealer who had six in stock, they are still in stock 4 weeks latter [yes they are the same ones not new stock, sitting in the exact same spot just not sold]
Spoke to another dealer, he is honest [fancy that] also said there dealership has not sold one yet.
They need to get more aggresive, and they will in time, price reduction would be good too.
Should have a trip computer and cruise-control, my new Falcon Ute has and its $10k cheaper….
To late for me, i purchased better, a run out Falcon Ute on LPG, $9.15 per 100km -v- $15.50 iload diesel, looking foward to my HUGE savings, clean and green fuel and 157kW
Picking it up on Sat. [if its ready] hurry up guys!!
Cheers
F-0
Just went and trade my ute for a Vito, its got loads of new features including cruise control as standard. It gives me better mileage and costs a lot cheaper to run. I bought the 115 and it has 150 horsepower at 110KW.
Its going to completely blow Volkswagen and the I-Load out of the water. Go the Mercedes-Benz
Cheers
F-0
Wood Duck!!
F-0, you would have to be a f’n IDIOT of the first order to trade that brilliant Aussie LPG Green Ute [$9/100km -v- $15/100km diesel] and also put up with the rip off purchase price high running, spares, services cost together with a huge depreciation on a vito..
Get back to the dealer and get your Falcon back before some other lucky girl/guy buys it.
All the best
I/A/A/I
I-Am-A-Idiot at least you are aware that you are an idiot!! that takes most people of your mental abilities years to realise. Also should it not be spelt i-am-AN-idiot?? Gee i now know what they mean that ford drivers are a lower class of people!! yes, my friend you are an idiot!!
eat your crusts!!
I just seen the new Toyota Hiace on the web & even though it is a great looking van (inside & out), Hyundai have nothing to worry about with their iload as it seems to be better in all departments (especially in the engine specs)
Cheers !
Lightbulb, do you have a link to new Toyota ?
I believe you mean new HiAce SBV ?