Hyundai SUV concept uses new DCT
The new dual-clutch transmission developed by the Hyundai-Kia group is featured on Hyundai's
latest concept vehicle, the ix-onic compact SUV.
Scaled to compete with models like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4 and to be built on a Golf-sized C-segment platform, the ix-onic showcases many of Hyundai's latest technologies. These include the new 1.6 liter direct injection gasoline engine, Hyundai's own Idle Stop and Go stop-start system, and the new dual clutch transmission.
For this SUV application, with its greater frontal area and higher ride height, the engine is equipped with a turbocharger, which boosts its output to 170hp; developed by Hyundai, the dual clutch gearbox is a dry clutch design with three shafts and six forward ratios.
In the ix-onic the power is transferred to all four wheels by what Hyundai describes as an intelligent four wheel drive system, fine-tuned to give outstanding on-road driving dynamics together with significant off-road ability.
No further details of the transmission have been disclosed by the company, but a sectioned
example of the transmission was on display at the Detroit motor show in January under the brand of sister marque Kia.
In the ix-onic, which appears virtually production-ready and which is expected to replace the current Tucson later this year, exploits the combination of the downsized turbo engine and the dual clutch gearbox to deliver a creditable 149 g/km CO2 on the European test cycle – although, to put that in perspective, the full-size luxury gasoline hybrid crossover from Lexus, the RX450h, manages a remarkable 48g/km on the same cycle.
It is likely that the new transmission and engine will also appear on the family-sized H yundais and Kias produced in Europe at the group's plants in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Story Filed: 3/10/2009
By Tony Lewin, managing editor DCTfacts.com