08 Elantra Gls, 2.0l 4 Cylinder, Auto, Cloth, Pwr Equip, Cruise, Clean 1 Owner! on 2040-cars

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2014 Hyundai i40 Tourer / Sonata wagon

Recently, we took a vacation to Australia, because sometimes we have to get away from all of that other travel and good living that we withstand in order to bring you the latest car news. While there, we grabbed the keys to a Hyundai i40 Tourer, essentially the Sonata wagon we never got a chance to love here.
Even though it didn't have a manual transmission, it did have a diesel and, for reasons beyond that oil-burner, our enduring affections. No, this story will not include another plea for Hyundai to bring it to the US - it likely wouldn't stand a chance against our crossover- and size-crazed mania, but it's a brilliant fit for markets that appreciate tidy haulers.

370-hp Veloster by Fox Marketing rounds out Hyundai's SEMA lineup

Hyundai is certainly bringing the horsepower wars to Las Vegas next month. We already know that its SEMA lineup includes a 1,000-horsepower Genesis Coupe, but now the company has announced that it is teaming up with Fox Marketing to create a 370-hp Veloster Turbo.
Keeping the Turbo's 1.6-liter engine, this show car gets an extra 169 hp by adding a bigger turbo and intercooler, cat-back exhaust and nitrous and methanol injection... oh, and the engine runs on 101-octane racing fuel. The brakes have been upgraded with six-piston calipers and bigger rotors, while the suspension now includes adjustable coil-overs. And since this is SEMA, this Veloster Turbo gets the requisite flashy exterior styling.
Scroll down for the full press release, but we'll have some better shots of this Veloster in just a few weeks.

Why Kia doesn't need a premium brand

Hyundai's creation of the Genesis luxury brand means it and fellow Korean brand Kia have finally hit the mainstream in the U.S. – as far as products are concerned – after nearly three decades of trying. Which is about as long as it took Toyota and Nissan to roll out Lexus and Infiniti, respectively. It's history repeating itself. Genesis is supposed to be the way Hyundai's premium models get the respect they deserve, without carrying the baggage of a name associated with frugality. Hyundai has, in fact, built up a reputation over the last decade or so for cars that compete head-on with class leaders, rather than aim to be 90 percent as good for 75 percent of the price. And because Kia shares a number of components with Hyundai, its vehicles have also steadily become not only better mainstream vehicles, but have continued to aim higher than their price points. Does Kia need to follow now in its parent's steps with a prestige brand to market its most expensive models? I'm aware of the Kia K900, the company's deepest foray into luxury territory notably occupied by Lexus. Kia, however, has consistently been pushing this $60,000 full-size luxury sedan along with $0 down, low monthly payment lease deals. Turns out there really aren't many people looking for a full-size Kia luxury sedan. Or maybe they're just waiting to get it for $20,000 in a couple of years. Consider the K900 and Genesis when I convince you Kia already makes upscale cars to rival those with premium badges. They just don't happen to be its most expensive model. Shortly after Hyundai's announcement it would spin its luxury models off into the Genesis brand, I spent a few days with a 2016 Kia Sorento SXL. And I'm willing to call it a more convincing attempt to get people out of luxury cars than the K900. Driving the Sorento is not an emotional experience. You feel parental driving it, thinking you might've forgotten to pick your kids up until you remember you don't actually have kids. But after settling into the nicely stitched and perforated leather seats, you respect its comfort, quiet and amenities. The headliner is soft, the stitching on the dash top is convincingly real and everyone is impressed by the sharp graphics on the touchscreen and the slick powered shade that reveals an expansive glass roof. A Kia Sorento costing more than $46,000 sounds absurd until you wonder how much better an Acura MDX or Lexus RX350 is when those cost as much as $10,000 more.