Hyundai Reduce Amica Prices

With the impending launch of the all new Hyundai i10 drawing ever nearer, Hyundai dealers have been getting concerned that surplus stock of the outgoing Amica will be difficult to sell when the i10 hits the showrooms on April 2nd with a price point of £6,495.

To remedy this Hyundai have announced price reductions on the top-of-the-range CDX manual and automatics from £6,617 to £5,995 and £7,467 to £6,495 respectively. The basic Amica GSI and Atlantic prices remain the same at £5,995 due to low stock levels.

The Amica was re-introduced in the UK in 2006 as a stop gap whilst the Korean car maker revised it's small car strategy. Based on the Santro Xing which was exported from India and based on the original Atoz and Amica has done suprisingly well in the UK offering cheap and cheerful transport for under £5,000.

Now that's all about to change as Hyundai introduce a new family of models based around the 'i' brand over the coming months and years.

The new price reductions for the Amica CDX manual and automatic take effect as of today.

Hyundai Coupe TSII Limited Edition

Hyundai announced its first special edition coupe of 2008 and at the same time dropped the V6 from its model line up.

The Hyundai Coupe 2.0 TSIII limited edition adds over £3000 worth of additional equipment over and above the 2.0 SIII on which it is based.

The Hyundai Coupe TSIII will be launched to customers in March with sales to continue through to 2009, by which time a new fresher model and design approach should be introduced to UK shores.

After an initial launch stock of 40 vehicles, further batches of 40 vehicles made available through the course of the year to maintain the exclusivity.

Key Features and Enhancements over the Coupe SIII 2.0

• 17” Alloy Wheels with Anthracite Finish


• Wild Sports Spoiler with Integral Brake Light


• Eibach Lowering Sport Springs


• Quad Exhaust Pipes


• Deluxe Sill Guards with TSIII Logo


• Black Interior with Sports Leather Package including: rally style, TSIII embroidered, quilted sports seats & contrasting quilted door trims

The 2.0 TSII will be available in 4 colours including 1 solid, 2 metallic and 1 mica exterior paint finishes and priced from £19,595 on the road.

Hyundai drop V6 Coupe from line up
Hyundai decided after a review of market conditions to drop its V6 high performance Coupe from its 2008 model line up. The decision comes on the back of poor sales presumably heightened by the Governments announcement to hike up road fund tax on all big engined vehicles. Coupled with new emission charges hitting the city of London the future doesn't look bright for high performance Coupe's above 2.0-litre.

New Mazda 2 3-door Geneva 2008

Mazda will keep up the momentum of its most successful sales period in Europe by showing off its new Mazda 2 3-door.

Promising buyers a more sporty version over the current 5-door design, the new Mazda 2 3-door will incorporate a new rear window design and an optional sports appearance package with a special front bumper design and side sills that visually lower the car’s centre of gravity, and a rear roof spoiler.

Mazda 2 Three-door Show Car
Under the spotlights of the Mazda stand is a Mazda 2 3-door created especially for the Geneva Show that emphasises the car’s sporty nature. Its exterior is painted in the same special ‘red mica’ colour as the Mazda Ryuga concept shown at the Detroit Show in 2007. The show car has the optional exterior Sports Appearance Package enhanced by lowered suspension, projector-type headlamps and special 16-inch wheels.

On the inside, the Mazda 2 3-door's sporty theme continues with Recaro seats in racy red and black two-tone, and matching red stitching on the leather steering wheel with a painted bezel. The door trims have leather inserts and panels in special paint.

Powertrains – low consumption and low CO2 emissions
Power will come from the same engines used in the 5-door model including two 1.3 petrol engines, one of which has more power, and a 1.5-litre version with 103 PS and can manage a frugal 47.9 mpg with low emissions of 140 g/km.

For the ultimate economy, customers can order a MZ-CD 1.4-litre common-rail turbo diesel. This engine produces 68ps at 4000rpm and 160Nm of torque at a low 2000 rpm for lively acceleration. At the same time, it achieves a remarkable 65.7mpg (combined cycle) and produces a very low 114 g/km of CO2 for low operating costs.

All the engines will be mated to a 5-speed gearbox but with higher ratio's than its 5-door partner to improve fuel consumption.

No prices have been announced as yet but expect the entry level version to be under £8,000 when it hits UK showrooms in late summer.

Hyundai i10 Future Values Looking Good

In advance of the launch of the new Hyundai i10, some results were released showing how the new i10 will fare on future values with CAP.

CAP is considered to be the leading provider of residual value forecasts for the UK market, especially the business car market.

CAP Monitor New Car data for March 2008 predicts future values based on 3 years, 60,000 miles for the new i10 at:

%RV Model

39% Hyundai i10 1.1 Classic 5 Dr
39% Hyundai i10 1.1 Comfort 5 Dr
39% Hyundai i10 1.1 Style 5 Dr

Looking at the other leading competitor models in the current market place the Hyundai i10 has been received positively by, some might say, the most critical audience in the UK:

% RV Model

26% Chevrolet Matiz 1.0 SE 5 Dr

27% Fiat Panda 1.1 Active 5 Dr

30% Kia Picanto 1.0 5 Dr
29% Kia Picanto 1.1 2 5 Dr
30% Kia Picanto 1.1 Ice 5 Dr

34% Citroen C1 1.0 Vibe 5 Dr
33% Citroen C1 1.0 Rhythm 5 Dr

34% Peugeot 107 1.0 Urban 5 Dr

35% Toyota Aygo 1.0 VVT-i 5 Dr
34% Toyota Aygo 1.0 VVT-i+ 5 Dr

The only vehicle to match the i10 is the Volkswagen Fox 1.2 which isn't really a true competitor as it is only available as a 3 door, the RV here matches the i10 at 39%.

For the first time, Hyundai are in the most competitive possible position with a new product, and with the Press and Influencers both being incredibly positive, the i10 launch could yet prove to be one of Hyundai's most successful models ever.