Hyundai’s Model Naming Conventions: From 0 to Fubar in Just 4 Years

Hyundai is one of the world’s biggest automakers, and the most visible of South Korea’s business and industrial acumen. So you would think a company that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Toyota and pre-bailout GM would be pretty consistent with its model naming conventions, right?

Well, not exactly. When Hyundai first launched the i30 hatchback in Europe, Australia and other markets, it seemed that familiar nameplates such as Elantra and Sonata would soon be dead and buried. Not so. In fact, the i30 CW (basically, the station wagon version of the i30), is still sold in the U.S. as the Elantra Touring.

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2012 Hyundai i30: VW Golf Rival Spied Inside and Out

There's been a lot of confusion lately about the spy pictures of the next Hyundai i30. To elaborate, many readers on various websites and forums supported that the scoops may be showing a Kia. Thanks to some additional work from our spy photographers, we can now put the brand speculations to rest. What you see here is indeed a Hyundai, with this being proved by the brand's logo on the alloy wheels as well as the typical Hyundai styling of the interior.

Okay, so we've established it's a Hyundai, but could it be the new five-door Accent? Well, we doubt it because we saw the new Accent hatch at last month's Montreal Auto Show in Canada and it looks quite different inside and out. So that leaves us with the i30 (and yes, our spy photographer assured us it was larger than the...i20).

With that out of the way, let's see what we can find out from these spy photos. Although the prototype is carefully bagged up, it's pretty clear that the new i30 will be a sleeker proposal to look at with an edgier exterior design than the current model.

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Hyundai's European Plant Hits New Production Milestone with 300,000th Vehicle

The 300,000th Hyundai rolled off the firm's manufacturing facility in Nošovice, Czech Republic, marking a new production milestone for the company in Europe. The vehicle was a white i30 CW, which is the station wagon version of the European market i30 compact hatch.

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Chop Shopped: Hyundai i30 Sedan and Kia Forte Station Wagon

Designer Eduardo Oliveira has sent us some interesting photoshops of some cars from the Hyundai-Kia lineups. First is a more traditional, wagon version of the Forte (or Cerato) as opposed to the production Forte 5-door hatch. Second is the a look at what the a sedan version of the i30 (Elantra Touring in the States) could look like. Any thoughts?

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New Hyundai i30 Sport Hatchback and Crossover Wagon Models

Looks can be greatly deceiving as Hyundai proves with its new special edition i30 Sport versions that were launched in Germany today. Despite their sporty appearance and promising name, the i30 Sport Hatchback and Crossover Wagon (sold in the U.S. as the Elantra Touring) only differ visually from their normal siblings as there aren't any mechanical changes. To be produced in a limited run of just 200 units, the hatchback is offered with a 126HP 1.6-liter petrol engine while the Crossover Wagon with a 140HP 2.0-liter turbo diesel.

Both i30 Sport models are offered exclusively in a Crystal White paint finish and come equipped with a design package that includes a faux carbon-fiber grille cover, black inserts around the fog lights (sedan only), a discreet front spoiler, side skirts, roof wing, a rear apron with an integrated diffuser and two chromed exhaust tailpipes plus a set of rather neat looking 18-inch alloy wheels finished in Anthracite.

Inside, the Sport insignia adds leather seats, leather steering wheel and shift knob, an automatic air conditioning with cooled glove box, cruise control, steering wheel audio controls, USB and iPod connection as well as electric windows.

Prices in Germany are set at €20,990 for the i30 Sport hatchback and at €24,490 for the station-wagon variant.