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Hyundai i20 shows what brown can do for you [w/video]

With the latest generation of the i20 at the 2014 Paris Motor Show, Hyundai continues to shake off its old image in Europe as a maker of cheap, unstylish little penalty boxes. This five-door hatch has to fit into the crowded, compact hatch market over there against popular entries like the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo - a high bar for success. But the Korean automaker claims that its latest vehicle is up to the task because it's designed in Europe specifically with European buyers in mind.
The new i20 takes a small step a bit more upmarket with features like LED front and rear lighting and a rearview camera. However, the biggest change is the jump in interior room, though. The wheelbase is two-inches longer than before, and the growth gives the hatch best-in-class legroom and cargo capacity with the rear seats up, according to Hyundai. Rounding out the improvements is an available panoramic sunroof that the company also believes is unique for the segment.
For the Paris show, Hyundai made the i20 extra sweet by covering it in a chocolaty shade of brown to look like a little French confection on the show floor. Scroll down for all of the details about it, and for the impossibly epic launch video.

Hyundai Palisade SUV supersizes it at L.A. Auto Show

Hyundai is adding to the SUV fracas at the L.A. Auto Show with the debut of its new 2020 Palisade SUV today. We got a sneak peek a couple of weeks ago here in Detroit, but now we can give you our full impressions as it's revealed in California. Let's start with size, because the Palisade is larger than any SUV currently offered in Hyundai's lineup, including the Santa Fe XL. It's considered a midsize SUV and will compete with vehicles like the Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, Subaru Ascent and others. Hyundai is aiming to attract buyers who might have passed on the Santa Fe XL due to its smaller size compared to other mid-sizers. The Palisade can be had in a true eight-seat configuration, however, a captain's seat second-row option can make it a seven-seater. To move all the extra heft around, Hyundai has dropped an updated 3.8-liter V6 engine into it, which now runs on the Atkinson cycle. It's a curious choice for a big vehicle meant for utility and towing, but the engine makes 291 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. No upgraded engine options are available, and it will be mated to Hyundai's eight-speed automatic transmission. Front-wheel drive will be standard, but all-wheel drive is optional. The Palisade uses Hyundai's HTRAC all-wheel drive system with a few different selectable modes, which changes the torque distribution depending on the conditions (up to 50/50 front to rear). It rides on a modified and enlarged Santa Fe platform that we're told will have some similarities with the upcoming Kia Telluride. Looking at the large and proud new Hyundai, it has a few bits here and there to make it stand out from the crowded midsize SUV horde. Hyundai is definitely latching on to the headlights-in-bumper styling, which ends up making the daytime running lights a bit squintier. It doesn't look bad per se, but it's definitely different. It hardly even bears mentioning, but the large grille on the Palisade makes for but another big car with a big face. Around back is where Hyundai went a little off the beaten path. The metal surround taillight design is worthy of a double take. All around, the Palisade just feels a good bit larger than the Santa Fe, but carries its own look. The interior is where things really start to come together for the Palisade. It's safe to say that Hyundai just keeps getting better and better at putting together a high-quality and luxurious-looking place to live in. We love the sweeping center stack look and array of metal buttons.

We check out Hyundai's HRL exoskeleton, a robotic mobility suit for paraplegics

Hyundai makes some of the largest vehicles in the world – to wit, 185,000-ton ships with 56-foot high engines making power at 84 rpm – but its R&D division has found enough human-factor synergy with autonomous vehicle development that they're now working on robotic exoskeletons. We were recently introduced to two of these devices: the HRL designed to increase mobility and therefore quality of life for paraplegics; and the WEX, designed to assist in repetitive-motion lifting. Both of these machines are powered by replaceable lithium-ion battery packs with a 4-hour run time and 40-minute recharges. The HRL robotic legs are designed for people 64 to 71 inches tall and less than 250 pounds. The aluminum segments are adjustable in centimeter increments over a 10-cm range, and the 22.4-inch width means it would fit in many long-haul aircraft forward seats. With the 4.4-lb battery pack, the HRL weighs about 41 pounds. There are six 50:1 reduction-gear actuators, two pelvic actuators rated at 224 pound-feet of peak torque with 60-degree range of motion, and two hip and knee with 112 lb-ft peak, 180 degrees and twice the rotational speed of the pelvic motors. Twenty sensors control it all with default speed of just under a mile per hour and a top speed of 1.5 mph, and step length can be adjusted by smartphone via Bluetooth. One of the accompanying crutches has four thumb buttons much like a video-game controller, though they're experimenting with simpler inputs including a joystick. The crutch communicates with the leg unit over a few feet of distance via Zigbee wireless protocol, with security layers added for both obvious reasons and to ensure two users in the same vicinity won't transmit to the other's unit. An HRL can help you sit, stand, walk or climb and descend stairs; it will also stand on its own, simplifying the process of putting it on. Your correspondent is outside the design height limits so rather than do any impromptu CG research we deferred to colleague Chris Davies of Slashgear for impressions wearing it: "It grips tightly, the support would be comforting, and it delivers good posture. It does take some getting used to – when it first lifts up a leg to move it forward you do feel like you're going to fall over – but once you establish a gait and stop over-thinking it becomes much easier." Indeed, he never fell over and most who tried established a rhythm within a few minutes, if not a 1.5-mph sprint.