Hyundai on the ball with schools in High Wycombe, and Africa

* Hyundai donates 3,000 footballs to local schools in High Wycombe
* SOS Africa receives 5,000 new footballs and 50 new football kits
* Globally, Hyundai to deliver one million balls to African children

High Wycombe-based motor company Hyundai UK has been having a ball with local schools. To celebrate its sponsorship of the World Cup, Hyundai purchased 57,000 footballs – one for every car it sold last year. Many were used for ‘football scrappage’ at dealer events where old footballs were traded in for shiny new ones, but Hyundai made sure it had enough to keep children in the High Wycombe area happy too.

First to receive 200 footballs was Ash Hill Primary School. On the day that England was due to play Algeria in the World Cup, Hyundai invited a class of children to Hyundai HQ and handed out footballs and flags to each child.

Jennifer Gamble, Head Teacher of Ash Hill Primary School said: “The children had a wonderful day visiting the Hyundai head office. They were all so excited and the event really gave the children something to look forward to”.

Last week, Hyundai set to work pumping up over 3,000 footballs. An i800 people-carrier and i30 hatchback full of footballs were then taken to the children of - Booker Hill, Castlefield, Penn, The Wycombe Grange, Bowerdean Nursery, Walters Ash, Hamilton, King's Wood and Chepping View schools.

Hyundai UK’s Managing Director, Tony Whitehorn, said: “We decided to take up this initiative to show our commitment to caring for the local community. We plan to work closely in the future with local schools on further projects”.

As well as making the children of High Wycombe smile, Hyundai also knew how important it was to help children in host nation South Africa. Hyundai UK donated 5,000 new footballs and 50 new school football kits to SOS Africa. On a global scale, Hyundai Motor will donate a total of one million footballs to African children.

SOS Africa is a small, non-profit, volunteer-run charitable organisation that funds the education and care of underprivileged African township children. Football legend John Barnes is currently helping distribute the footballs in South Africa.

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GERMANY'S BEST QUALITY CAR IS..... A HYUNDAI

When the Germans think of a quality car, there’s only one brand that now springs to mind – Hyundai. Leading German motoring magazine AutoBild, has awarded Hyundai the honour of first-place in its annual AutoBild Quality Report for 2010.

Hyundai eclipsed its rival Toyota and edged out local manufacturers BMW and Audi to take the prestigious award based on a comprehensive analysis of reliability, long-term quality and customer satisfaction.

AutoBild's annual list evaluates seven key criteria, each weighted equally, including feedback received from 9278 owners, manufacturer warranty provisioning, recall information, and data from Germany's Technische Uberwachung Verein report (TÜV) based on no less than 7.5 million vehicle inspections.

Considered to be one of the most respected industry quality surveys and endorsed by a fastidious German audience, the award further demonstrates the gains Hyundai has made in consistently improving the quality of its products, service and support available to its owners.

It’s not just in Germany that Hyundai’s quality has been applauded. Here in Britain, the i30 recently took first place in the Driver Power Top 100 survey, a customer satisfaction survey conducted by AutoBild’s sister magazine, Auto Express. This confirmed the findings of Which? consumer guide whose subscribers revealed i30 to be Britain’s most reliable medium-sized car.

Platts Hyundai

ALL-NEW FORD FOCUS REACHES NEW HEIGHTS ON TEST

The next generation Ford Focus has been tested in some of the most extreme locations on the planet. It’s been thrashed over frozen arctic lakes, hammered across the hottest deserts, and driven overloaded up and down high Alpine passes to ensure impeccable reliability and dependability wherever it is sold…

Altitude affects cars in the same way it affects humans. The higher you climb, the less oxygen there is in the air and it becomes harder to breathe and function. Ford demands its products meet high standards of performance at all altitudes which is why the company frequently heads to the Austrian Alps and to the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

Completed in 1935, this breathtaking and beautiful ribbon of tarmac weaves its way right into the heart of the Hohe Tauern National Park, before terminating opposite the tallest mountain in Austria, the Grossglockner (3,798m) and its glacier, the Pasterze.

At 48km long, with 36 challenging bends and a maximum altitude of 2,504 metres, this masterpiece of road engineering is a mecca for motorcyclists and driving enthusiasts. It's also the perfect location to carry out altitude testing on the next generation Ford Focus.

Ford vehicle integration engineer Bernd Herweling is here for two weeks, driving 200km up and down the hill every day. “We’re here testing next generation Focus with a variety of powertrains, both petrol and diesel," he explains. "We’re evaluating driveability on steep mountain roads from a customer perspective. The bottom line is we’re here to find out how the car performs driving up and down seriously steep hills.

Platts

Santa Fe Tows away award

* Hyundai Santa Fe wins prestigious award for towing capabilities
* Industry experts praise standard equipment, performanceand value
* Lower fuel consumption than many family cars, grip of a 4x4

It’s not just memories of the bitter winter weather which are making 4x4 vehicles a popular choice for British buyers. More and more are choosing to discover the delights of Britainrather than go abroad on holiday - and they want a car which can keep up with their leisure activities.

According to a panel of experts the Hyundai Santa Fe could well be the perfect choice for these adventurous ‘staycationers’. The family 4x4 has just been named as the ‘Best Value 4x4 of the Year’by a panel of judges from the Caravan and Camping Club and from magazines What Car? and Practical Caravan.

What Car?’s Editor-in-Chief, Steve Fowler explained why the Santa Fe is a worthy winner of this accolade:

"TheSanta Fethoroughly deserves its award as the best value 4x4. You know the Santa Fe is a good towcar after just a few miles, but it's easy to miss just how good until you consider the price.

“For more than £10,000 less than the XC60, and nearly £20,000 less than the Land Rover Discovery, this is a car that will happily tow the majority of caravans, has room for seven and an enviable list of standard equipment. You can expect 41.5mpg driving solo, according to official figures. That's excellent for a car which weighs the thick-end of two tonnes."

Hyundai UK’s managing director Tony Whitehorn said; “We are delighted to win this prestigious award. We know the Santa Fe is a popular choice for owners who like to get hitched, and we have worked hard to make it the best possible package.

“The Santa Fe offers a great mix of supercar torque and hatchback fuel economy, as well as being a spacious and extremely capable family car.”

The Hyundai Santa Fe range starts at £21,620 and is available with five or seven seats and six speed manual or automatic gearboxes.

Platts Hyundai