Crossing The Name Divide

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday October 15, 2008

Brent Davison

NAMES chosen by car makers can sometimes be a little bit misleading.

Take the Cross Wagon name chosen for the station wagon variant of Hyundai's award-winning i30 hatchback, revealed at this year's Australian International Motor Show.

The "Cross Wagon" naming convention could suggest to some that the slightly longer (by 180mm) wagon with its marginally longer (50mm) wheelbase is something of an adventurer, a crossover kinda car built to go places i30 hatchback owners would never take their prized possessions.

For the record, i30 Cross Wagon is basically a slightly bigger i30 with 22mm more legroom, 35mm more rear headroom and cargo space increased by between 75 litres and 145 litres. Hyundai says the size increases of the i30 CW over the regular hatchback mean more versatility.

The slight increase in the dimensions makes for an equally slight increase in the turning circle, up from the hatchback's 10.34 metres to 10.42 metres.

Engine choices for the new model set to go on sale early in the new year will mirror the successful hatchback with a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel and 2.0-litre petrol engine both available.

Changes to the i30 range for 2009 include standard fitment of electronic stability and traction control systems.

At this stage pricing is unknown but will probably range between $19,990 and $26,990.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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