- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.4i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
103kW, 220Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 10.7L/100KM
- Manufacturer
4WD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
3 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Small 4WDs Mega-test
Small cars may be the kings of the urban jungle but four-wheel-drives continue their mass migration from bush to 'burbs.
And the most car-like of the off-roader herd - the compact SUV - is the latest vehicle type to suggest large cars are still on the endangered species list.
Compact SUVs have this year overtaken large-car sales for the first time, reaching third in popularity behind "light" cars and small cars. Three members of the class - the Jeep Patriot, Nissan Dualis and Volkswagen Tiguan - have achieved year-on-year sales increases in excess of 200 per cent.
Their appeal is the extra space and flexibility they offer over a conventional hatchback, as well as their "command" seating position. Even luxury brands have belatedly joined the trend. BMW released the world's first premium compact SUV, the X1, this year. Audi will follow with a direct rival, the Q3, next year, as will Land Rover with the LRX.
The X1 joins a growing number of SUVs, or "soft-roaders", that are also offered in two-wheel-drive form - the mechanical acknowledgement by manufacturers that most of these vehicles rarely stray from the bitumen.
Hyundai's ix35, the newest arrival in the sub-$35,000 compact-SUV class, follows its predecessor, the Tucson, in being available with both front or all-wheel-drive. We've pitched the ix35's mid-range Elite model against six key rivals in the low to mid-$30,000 mark.
These comprise the Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, Holden Captiva, Mazda CX-7 and Volkswagen Tiguan. All competitors here feature varying AWD systems, with the exception of the CX-7, which can compete on price here only with a front-wheel-drive model.
All testing for this comparison was conducted on sealed roads, the natural habitat of the soft-roader.