We are already familiar with the new five-door hatchback Hyundai is bringing to the States in the form of the 2013 Hyundai Elantra GT. Now Hyundai's German design center has unveiled the wagon version. Can you tell the difference?
Located just across town from Opel's main factory in Rüsselheim, Hyundai's European R&D Center designed the i30 wagon "in Europe, for Europe," and it will be manufactured there, too. Hyundai also said that the i30 wagon was developed alongside the hatchback, the one that we are getting over here as the Elantra GT.
Hyundai isn't telling how much weight the i30 gains in becoming a wagon, but they will tell us that it grows seven inches in length and gains a bit over five cubic feet of trunk space compared to the hatchback, both with the seats up. Fold the seats down and you get more interior space than a Hyundai Tucson crossover that also has its seats folded down.
Not only does the i30 wagon share a platform with the Elantra GT, but the i30 wagon gets the same engines and transmissions as the hatch, only with more diesels. It makes sense to us to bring this wagon stateside — something we may ask for when we're at its Geneva Motor Show debut next month — but automakers don't always do what we think makes sense.
Photo Credit: Hyundai Motor Co.