Hyundai’s i40 saloon will be priced from £17,395 when it goes on sale in the UK on January 5, 2012.

Hyundai will be looking to boost its fleet sales with the new model with an insurance group rating of 12E, Benefit in Kind’(BIK) costs and CO2 emissions from 113g/km.

Tony Whitehorn, Hyundai Motor UK managing director, said: “The i40 saloon represents the next-step in the launch of the i40 range to the UK market.

“It will broaden the appeal of the i40 range to buyers in the D-segment by offering a unique, value for money, customer proposition.”

The Hyundai i40 Saloon will be available in the same three main trim levels as the i40 Tourer (Active, Style and Premium) with the choice of two engines, three power outputs and manual or automatic transmission.

Hyundai’s Blue Drive technologies – incorporating Intelligent Stop & Go technology –is fitted as standard on all Active derivatives, and on the Style 1.7 CRDi 134bhp Blue Drive and the Premium 1.7 CRDi 134bhp Blue Drive model with CO2 emissions of 119 g/km.

Standard equipment includes 16-inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth connectivity with voice recognition, leather steering wheel with audio controls, electric heated door mirrors with integrated LED indicators, electric front and rear windows and electric parking brake with automatic hold function.

Touch screen satellite navigation with rear view camera, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control and dual zone climate control are standard on the mid-point ‘Style’ range.

The Premium models add leather upholstery, panoramic sunroof, keyless entry and supervision instrument cluster with LCD colour display as standard.

Optional extras include lane departure warning and smart parking assist, heated leather steering wheel and ventilated front seats.

Active safety features include ESP (electronic stability program), ABS (anti-lock braking system), hill-start assist control (to prevent roll-back when starting on an incline), VSM (vehicle stability management), brake assist system and emergency stop signal.

In terms of passive safety, every i40 on the road in the UK will be fitted with seven airbags as standard – front, front side and curtain, with driver knee airbag available as standard on all models.

Hyundai anticipates the i40 saloon to follow in the footsteps of the Tourer by achieving the maximum five-star Euro NCAP result.