IN the past few years Hyundai has gone from the maker of cheap and cheerful motors to offering stylish and high quality products.

And the Korean company's latest offering, the sleekly styled i40 Tourer, on sale in September, can only take the brand up a further notch.

Many estates still retain a boxy appearance, but the i40 looks anything but, with sweeping sculpted lines, slim windows and a low stance which give it the appearance of a much more up-market, sporty motor.

I hadn't seen the i40 until I arrived in Norway for the model's European debut and it's not often that I instantly like the look of new models, but for me the i40 is a real head turner.

It doesn't only look the business, it handles and drives almost as well as some competitors in the same sector which cost considerably more.

Hyundai says it is majoring on three guiding principles: price, quality and emotion, and in the i40 the car maker has got it bang on.

The i40 estate will be up against the likes of the Ford Mondeo, VW Passat, Vauxhall Insignia and Citroen C5, which are all more expensive, and the Hyundai comes loaded with equipment which makes it even more desirable.

Power for the i40 Tourer comes from both petrol and diesel engines - a 1.6 and 1.7-litre diesel and two-litre petrol, Transmissions are 6-speed manual and 6-speed automatic.

Hyundai UK says the 1.7-litre 136 bhp is likely to be the biggest seller and after having driven both petrol and diesel versions that's likely to be spot on.

The oil-burner is quiet and refined and fuel consumption for the 136 bhp is claimed at 55 mpg and CO2 emissions are low at 119 g/km.

Peformance from this package is a top speed of 124 mph and a 0-62 mph time of 10.6 seconds.

Designed specifically for the European market at Hyundai's German R&D headquarters in Russelsheim the new tourer's interior is particularly impressive with loads of room for driver and passengers, quality soft plastics panels and nice touches of brushed aluminium features.

Seating is comfortable and I like the clarity of the dials and switches.

Load space is huge, with figures ranging from 553 litres with the rear seats occupied and up to 1,719 litres with the rear seats folded.

Despite the shallow window design I found that all-round visibility was good and the driving position easily attainable with several seating adjustments to choose from.

Norway has extremely strict traffic laws and severe penalties for breaking speed limits so despite light traffic and first class roads I couldn't give the i40 the gun and really test it to the full, but it did handle extremely well for a pretty large vehicle.

The suspension soaked up the few bumps I did encounter but I wonder what it will be like on our horrendous potholed UK roads.

The i40 Tourer will be available in three trim levels - Active, Style and Premium - and the equipment level is impressive, even on the entry-level model.

Features include 16-inch alloys, seven airbags, air conditioning, anti-lock brakes, automatic headlights, Bluetooth connectivity, brake assist system, electric front and rear windows, heated door mirrors, electronic parking brake and automatic hold function, front fog lights, hill-start assist, steering wheel audio controls, radio/CD player, trip computer and much more.

Options include a lane-assist system, automatic parking and panoramic roof on certain models.

The entry level Active GDi Blue Drive comes in at £18,395, with the top range 1.7 CRDi 135 bhp Auto at £25,895.

Hyundai is on target this year to sell 64,000 cars in the UK which will make its market share 3.3 per cent, up from just 1.8 per cent in 2008.

The brand appears to be on the way up and if they continue to produce such stylish, well built new models such as the i40 Tourer I can only see the brand taking a bigger chunk of the market.