Hyundai i45
Not every fleet driver wants a sporting mid-size saloon as a mobile office, which Robert Barry discovered in the newly revitalised Hyundai i45.
In the competitive world of the midsize sedan, the market leaders are two dynamically- orientated sedans, being, of course, the brand-spanking new Mazda6, and the mighty Ford Mondeo, the latter due for replacement (fingers crossed) in 2014.
Hyundai, however, has beaten a different path with the more softly-suspended 2.4-litre i45 Elite sedan. It’s more of a highway cruiser than a back country road bruiser, and this is not necessarily a bad thing, for there is certainly a market within the fleet that values comfort and amenity and a large blingy chrome radiator grille.
For the 2013 model year the i45 Elite as tested here has a newly restyled grille, as well as repositioned daytime running lamps, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera with display in the rearview mirror.
Inside the Elite, the leather- clad interior (with heated seats all round) continues to provide luxurious ambience, which is complemented by high quality plastics and quite classy-looking instruments. Dual zone climate control, full Bluetooth integration, full iPod/ MP3 integration, and an easily used trip computer provide a road-bound executive with all the functionality required of a mobile office.
The i45 currently commands around seven percent of local sales in its segment, so it has certainly built up a following among New Zealand fleets and some private buyers.
Ironically, it was the Australian market that demanded the changes made by the factory to the steering and the retuning of the suspension to suit local driving conditions, but then the Australian distributor dropped the car from its sales line-up because the required supply volume was not guaranteed.
Fortunately, the much lower volumes required in New Zealand guarantees Hyundai New Zealand will be able to source the car until production of this model ceases.
It was an intercity business trip from Auckland to Hamilton which proved that the i45 admirably fulfils its role as a comfortable highway cruiser.
The steering might still feel a bit light and vague to some, but the normally quiet 2.4-litre engine will happily respond instantly when an overtaking manoeuvre is called for. The slick six-speed gearbox provides a manual override function, but we just left the selector in drive and let the transmission sort out the gear changes, which it does quietly and unobtrusively.
With the heated seat switched on, the aircon set at 21 degrees C, and classical music softly flowing through the six-speaker sound system with a sub-woofer, the i45 feels not dissimilar to being driven in a mobile lounge.
Noise, vibration and harshness is minimal, even over chip-sealed surfaces, and the tyre rumble heard within the cabin environment was minimal, while the i45 cruised over some nasty road corrugations without being overly unsettled or uncomfortable.
Set the cruise control to let the car eat up long distances on its own, and fuel economy becomes another consideration for the buyer, we saw an overall average of 8.5L/100km from our return jaunt to Hamilton from central Auckland.
It’s not a car that will suit every fleet driver, but the i45 easily meets the needs of those people who want a spacious, well equipped and comfortable sedan for long distance travel. It easily ticks all of those boxes.