Hyundai has made an exceptional come back this year with a well developed promising technology that is ready to take on the biggest names in the car industry. Are the Koreans challenging the Japanese?
The gist is that gone are the days when the quaint Korean car maker, Hyundai stood for affordable, no frills eco-cars. The Nuvis concept raised the bar and is pitting Hyundai right up with the car industry giants. So what are the claims?
Nuvis, The Challenger. The Nuvis concept is making its world debut at the 2009 New York Auto Show and so far the critics are good. Designed at the company’s California Design Center in Irvine, California, the hotbed of car innovation is well and alive. The Nuvis caters to the U.S. insatiable hunger for crossover by hinting what direction the future-generation is heading.
Technically Speaking. With its all-new Hybrid Blue Drive system, its hybrid, HEV drive is mated to their 2.4-liter Theta II engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission. The 30kW, 205 N-m electric motor takes extends the maximum fuel economy. The Nuvis has an all-electric mode, which can be switched back to a parallel drive mode, making it a parallel HEV that will be used on future Hyundais.
Design Wise. The futuristic look of the crossover is pleasant and we can only hope it will keep its gracious lines.
And the interior is clean and what you would expect from a modern car.
Again, we hope the final design will be close to the concept. It seems too often, car companies water them down for no good reasons in the end. We look forward to yet another challenger in the car industry as innovations and competition have so far this year, turned up the heat.