Hyundai ix35 Facelift goes further in Korea - and looks better for it

Hyundai has revealed the facelift for the local market ix35 – the Tucson ix – which is more radical than the European facelift with a new grill similar to the ix35 FCEV.

Last year we had spy shots of the Hyundai ix35 facelift floating round Korea – Hyundai’s home market – which showed a much more convincing nose than the, then, ix35 in Europe, but they eventually turned out to be photos of the ix35 FCEV which Hyundai had given a nose much more like the new Santa Fe and which we thought pointed at the 2013 facelift for the ix35.

But when the Hyundai ix35 did turn up at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show with a bit of a titivate, it was exactly that – some very minor tweaking which kept the 2013 ix35 looking very similar to the 2012 model. But that’s not happening in Korea.

Now, the Korean version of the ix35 – the Tucson ix – has been given a facelift for 2014 (photo above), and it gets what we expected the European ix35 to get, namely a statement nose with a grill that gives it a family theme following on from the 2013 Santa Fe. And, as we said when we had the spy shots of the ix35 facelift last year, it looks more convincing.

Maybe the European tweaks for the ix35 were an interim measure, and maybe Hyundai are planning to roll out the same changes in Europe? But it’s a bit of an odd move from Hyundai to move the home market ix35 forwards with a more stylish update, and leave the European version with a nose that now looks a bit dated and out of kilter with the Santa Fe.

Still, we guess Hyundai knows what it’s doing. Possibly.