2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0t Turbocharged All Wheel Drive ~only 12,ooo Miles on 2040-cars

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Hyundai HG350 ready to take on Europe's Transits and Sprinters

Here in North America, Hyundai has been historically known as a purveyor of affordable, content-laden everyday cars and crossovers. More recently, it's also been pushing upmarket and attempting to gain respect for its sporting joneses. In other parts of the world, however, the Korean automaker is a major force in commercial vehicles, providing everything from chassis cabs and dump trucks to fullsize motor coaches. Now, it's looking to push further overseas, squarely into Europe's already mature van business with this new HG350, a new commercial vehicle that will form the basis for a cargo van, passenger transport and flatbed truck.
This three-pronged approach will see Hyundai fighting directly against the new Ford Transit, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, and models like the recently overhauled Fiat Ducato/Peugeot Boxer twins. The rear-drive, six-speed manual-equipped range is available in 3.5-ton cargo or flatbed spec, or in 4.0-ton guise with as many as 15 seats. The cargo version, incidentally, can hold up to 456 cubic feet of stuff. Regardless of configuration, power comes from a common-rail diesel displacing 2.5 liters with either 148 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque or 168 hp and 311 lb-ft.
With the American market finally embracing Euro-style cargo vans, does that mean that Hyundai might bring the HG350 here? Not likely. "While a heck of a vehicle, this isn't anything we are seriously considering right now for the US market," Jim Trainor, Hyundai Motor America's national manager of product public relations, tells Autoblog.

2015 Hyundai Genesis 5.0 First Drive [w/video]

The original Hyundai Genesis was something of a mixed bag. A great first effort, no doubt, but as with any, well, genesis, there were weak points – the infotainment system and some interior materials, for example. In creating its second-generation model, Hyundai paid plenty of attention to these shortcomings while wisely deciding to retain the most notable of the original model's strengths: its 5.0-liter V8. The 420-horsepower rocket from the former Genesis R-Spec has once again been named the top-flight engine for this updated, 2015 model. Hyundai has comprehensively overhauled its first rear-wheel drive sedan, and while it might use an older – but impressive – engine, the 5.0-liter V8 isn't nearly as big of a story this time around. That's because it's now wrapped inside a far better package, as we found during a week behind the wheel. Hyundai's stylists have matured the Genny, opting for significantly more standout sheet metal in this new iteration. The old car featured a more traditional three-box shape, while the second-gen car is more open about its rear-drive layout, featuring a long hood and a short rear deck that feeds right into an aggressively raked rear window. The upright front fascia, with its broad, crisply styled grille and almond-shaped headlamps is clean and fashionable while still coming off as sort of conservative. Around back, Hyundai maintained some semblance of its old fluidic design, with sweeping, wraparound taillamps, while the V8 model's bumper is home to sporty, staggered quad exhausts. That said, the updates to the exterior are overshadowed by the comprehensive overhaul found in the cabin. The Genesis finally has an interior befitting of its price tag, thanks in large part to the swath of natural-looking matte wood trim on the dash, complemented by aluminum accents. The upper and lower dashes are finished in plastic, but its quality is no better or worse than what you'd find in a German competitor. However, while the cabin certainly feels much better than the last-gen model, there are still a few shortcomings. The "ultra premium" leather is standard on the 5.0's wide, supportive seats, and while it feels very, very nice, we did notice that even with fewer than 8,000 miles on the clock, a regular parade of denim-clad auto journalists has already started to stain the driver's side bottom cushion – something we noted during our year-long test of Hyundai's larger Equus.

Facelifted Genesis G70 spied in new photos

The updated Genesis G70 was spotted testing on the road in Europe, and spy photos shared with Autoblog depict a prototype wearing significant camouflage that could be hiding some big updates to Hyundai's luxurious newcomer.  Mid-cycle refreshes are often nip-and-tuck affairs, but the extent of the coverings on this prototype suggest that Genesis has more in store for its compact luxury sedan than a fresh set of LEDs and some delicately re-drawn bumpers.  According to our spies, there may even be revisions to the materials used in the unibody and exterior panels to reduce weight and improve both efficiency and performance. The sedan's manual transmission is expected to live on for at least another model year, but whether it will carry over to the face-lifted model remains to be seen.  While both the head- and taillights on this prototype do appear to be new, we expect the G70's list of updates to be far more comprehensive, including updated powertrains and chassis updates. One of Hyundai's latest generation of turbocharged four-cylinders making at least 290 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque is even rumored to be making an appearance. Currently, the four-cylinder engine in the G70 makes 252 hp and 260 lb-ft. Based on Hyundai's estimates for the Sonata N-Line, the G70 could be getting a boost of nearly 40 horsepower and 50 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers might be conservative, as the G70's rear-wheel drive platform will take more readily to extra power than the Sonata's front-wheel drive setup. Increased power from the turbo four would make the 365-horsepower, twin-turbo 3.3L V6 less of an upgrade, but we suspect Hyundai will massage the 6's output to keep the natural order of things intact.  Related Video: