February 20th 2009 06:45

Just days after Hyundai exhibited the new i20 five-door at Melbourne motor show, the three-door version will debut at Geneva’s auto-fest.

The three-door is built on the same wheelbase, and carries the same 1.2-litre Kappa engine, but weighs 10kg less than the five-door’s 1045kg.

Hyundai Australia says they would welcome the three-door here, and doesn’t see any barriers to it arriving.

“We are certainly looking at bringing it to Australia,” spokesman Ben Hershman says, but can’t predict how soon after the five-doors arrival – set to be mid-year – that might happen.

“There’s no impediment, but we just can’t confirm what the timing would be on that. We haven’t been advised of production dates.”

Hershman says he expects both versions of the i20 will do well in the local showrooms.

“There’s a strong market for both three and five-door small cars at the moment,” he says.

“The Getz does very well for us in both areas.”

Hershman says the i20 will land here around the competitive $16,000 price mark, so he doesn’t believe there is any risk of the i20 cannibalising from its stablemate, which is currently around $2000 cheaper.

“We really see two different customers in that end of the market … the value buyer looking at price of entry, and then those who are looking for the slightly larger body and more sophisticated technology that the i20 will offer.”

The three-door has the same nose and tail as the larger version, but has larger doors and a more upswept line along the side profile.

Hyundai says its quick-release memory seats allow easy `walk-in’ access for the rear, while the car as specced for the overseas market will feature six airbags – front, side and curtain – plus active head-restraints.

Overseas specs show the 1.2-litre four-cylinder petrol engine in the five-door develops 57.4kW at 6000rpm and 119Nm at 4000rpm, with a five-speed manual driving the front set of 14” wheels. It’s reported to get to 100km/h in a fairly leisurely 12.9 seconds and to a top speed of 165km/h, with a frugal combined fuel consumption of 5.2L/100km and 124g/km of Co2.

Carsguide

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Posted By: Paladin - Category: Korean Cars, Hatchbacks, Hyundai, Melbourne International, Other Shows

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Aussie Car Costs 1.4 Cents Per Kilometre

February 12th 2009 10:57

Imagine a car that costs 1.4c/km to run… now it’s a reality.

The almost imperceptible hum of the electric motor and the cooling whoosh of the wind are shattered by one comment from the car's driver.

“If we built this without the proper parts or the know-how in six months, why is it taking car manufacturers so long?” says Professor Thomas Braunl of the University of WA's engineering faculty.

It's difficult to argue. Some university students and their lecturers purchased and transformed a 2008 Hyundai Getz from a petrol-fuelled hatchback to one running solely on plug-in power.

It cost $15,000 in materials _ most had to be purpose-built because the components aren't available off the shelf _ and in the real world, perhaps the same again in labour. This is in addition to the purchase of the car.

Hyundai Getz Electric

The bonus is that it costs 1.4 cents a kilometre to run _ about 10 per cent of its petrol-fuelled equivalent.

“If you recharge at night, using off-peak power, it's less than 1c a kilometre,” Professor Braunl says.

“It will charge in four to six hours and that's enough for 100km.

“As a household's second car, these are perfect. They produce no emissions, use no fossil fuels (dependant on the electricity source), are simple, quiet and reliable.”

The UWA uses roof-mounted solar cells to create electricity to run the car, making the car operate without any greenhouse gas contributions.

The conversion required removing the conventional 70kW petrol engine and its ancilliaries _ exhaust, fuel tank, cooling system and clutch _ while retaining the five-speed manual gearbox.

Under the bonnet went a 28kW electric motor and its controller, with a 144-volt lithium-ion battery pack set in a safety cage within the boot.

Despite the addition of the large battery pack and the electric motor, the Getz weighs the same as its petrol donor.

But the conversion requires some different thinking. There is very little heat from the motor so unlike a petrol engine _ where the heater and demister use the heat from the coolant _ the electric car must have an ancillary heater.

It also requires small electric motors to run the power steering and the brake system's vacuum pump. The airconditioner needs a bigger motor to operate the compressor.

Driving the car is as easy as switching on and pressing the accelerator.

Professor Braunl suggests keeping the transmission in third gear. It will accelerate as briskly as the petrol car and without needing to change gears, reach 110km/h.

A full load of passengers _ it'll take five adults at a pinch _ may require using second gear and it's possible to select fourth or fifth for country driving.

Basically, because of the inherent low-rev torque of an electric motor _ it produces maximum torque at 1rpm _ the driving characteristics are radically different to an internal combustion-engined vehicle.

A buzzer fitted to the UWA car warns of excessive accelerator pressure in an attempt to improve economy by extending the range.

A simple digital readout on the centre console acts as the fuel gauge.

“If the readout gets to about 20 per cent (of charge remaining) then you should start looking for a place to recharge,” Professor Braunl says.

While stationary, the energy consumption of the car is 0.8 amps. Use the steering and brakes and that rises to 3 amps. Turn the lights on and it becomes 4 amps and press the accelerator lightly and the drain is 75 amps. Maximum acceleration will draw 150 amps.

The DC system isn't as sophisticated as the AC units which, amongst other benefits, has the ability to accept regenerative braking energy. But the DC is simpler and significantly cheaper.

“Part of our research is to test the benefits of DC over AC. It may be that DC is more applicable to certain driving conditions than AC, for example,” he says.

The Getz was purchased new last year by the UWA without any financial assistance _ despite appeals _ from the car company. Sponsorship has come only from the WA Government's Department for Planning and infrastructure.

That hasn't deterred Professor Braunl.

“We have purchased a Lotus which will be converted with a high-performance AC electric system,” he says.

“The cost is much higher than a DC. The Getz 144-volt motor was about $3500 but the high-performance AC motor with 350-volts is about $30,000 _ it's a very big gap.

“We plan to have three cars operating at the same time _ one being built, one being tested and the other being used.

“The Getz will be sold at the end of next year. I've already had five serious bids and even requests for us to build cars.

“There's a lot of interest.”

The Sunday Times

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Posted By: Paladin - Category: Korean Cars, Electric, Hyundai

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