Taking on the Establishment Once AgainHyundai has been shaking up the automotive establishment since it came on the Canadian scene in 1984, but unlike the early days,
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| John Krafcik, Hyundai vice president Product Development and Strategic Planning unveiled the all-new 2007 Entourage at the Chicago Auto Show on Wednesday, February 8, 2006. (Photo: Hyundai Auto Canada) |
when it's rather poorly executed Pony fought for market share against Chevy's equally awful Chevette, Dodge's only slightly better Omni and Ford's similarly uninspired Escort (among others) at the bottom rung of the feeding chain, today's comparatively premium offerings are among the most competitive in their respective segments.
And since that car company came to town, with only one car in a single segment, Hyundai's reach has grown to encompass nine vehicle classes, starting with the subcompact Accent four-door sedan, and followed by the compact Elantra sedan and five-door, compact Tiburon sports coupe, midsize Sonata sedan and full-size entry-level luxury
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| With the new Entourage, shown here on its stand at the Chicago Auto Show, Hyundai's North American lineup grows into double digits. (Photo: Hyundai Auto Canada) |
Azera sedan in the car segment, plus the compact Tucson and Santa Fe crossover utility vehicles. What vehicles segment isn't it in?
Well, there's quite a few actually, and it seems that the South Korean company, finding success by building vehicles better than many of its rivals, with more features for lower prices, and even producing them in the U.S. for North American customers, is about to fill in some of the white spaces with all-new vehicles. Oh sure, a new three-door Accent has been announced, but it's not like we didn't expect this, being that Hyundai has offered an entry-level hatchback for as long as, well, the Pony; but the Entourage, first written about in these pages last spring (see automotive news section of this website for
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| Hyundai has never been in the minivan game, at least not here in North America. (Photo: Hyundai Auto Canada) |
June 7, 2005: Hyundai Minivan to Finally Arrive is Spring of 2006) is something entirely new.
Hyundai has never been in the minivan game, at least not here in North America. Elsewhere, like in its home market of South Korea or in other Asian markets, plus Australia, South Africa, etc, its Trajet has been available for some time, but here in Canada, where minivans have long been dominant on the sales charts, there's been no such vehicle. This will end later this year, however, when the Entourage will push Hyundai's lineup into double digits, and join
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| The new Entourage (shown) borrows much of what it needs from the recently released 2006 Kia Sedona minivan. (Photo: Hyundai Auto Canada) |
Kia's Sedona as the second Korean minivan to ever be offered on North American shores - unless you're counting the Kia Besta that was sold by Mazda Canada in the '80s, prior to the Japanese automaker offering its MPV.
But unlike those days, when Kia and Hyundai were arch rivals fighting over the same customers, the two companies are now joined at the hip, Hyundai having purchased Kia lock, stock and barrel a number of years ago, and as a result of doing so, is now sharing general architectures, drivetrains and additional components between models. Where the Accent and Rio are built off of the same platform and powered by the same engine and transmission combinations, and the Elantra/Spectra, Sonata/Magentis, Tucson/Sportage, and so on, are now cooperative Hyundai/Kia projects in one way or another, the new Entourage borrows much of what it needs from the recently released 2006 Kia Sedona minivan.
