THAT old saying of never say never certainly applies to the automotive market.

Looking back to 1982 when I drove one of early basic, cheap and cheerful Hyundai Pony cars to be imported into the UK I would have laughed out loud if anyone had suggested that this then new name would be producing cars which could stand comparison with a BMW 30-odd years later.

But the seemingly impossible has happened and a few hours at the wheel of the company's latest i40 Tourer I can happily confirm that this model is premium all the way.

The Premium trim Tourer that I drove underllines the market importance of the modern lifestyle estate which is a hard-fought market sector.with manufacturers struggling to gain the buyers' favour.

Hyundai recognises this and has bucketed a vast amount of equipment into this £27,170 car including the latest must-have estate feature, the powered tailgate.

The i40 Tourer rides the wave of quality which has been sweeping through Hyundai, the world's fifth largest car maker since 2007. It is now one of the few manufacturers to offer a five year warranty on its cars.

Standard features, which give the i40 Tourer a sharp market appeal  include 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. 

There is also touch screen satellite navigation with rear view camera, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control and dual zone climate control standard on the mid-point Style range. 

The Premium models benefit further from the addition of leather upholstery, panoramic sunroof, keyless entry and supervision instrument cluster with LCD colour display as standard, plus the option of the Lane Departure Warning and Smart Parking Assist, heated leather steering wheel and ventilated front seats.

Designed and engineered at the company's European development headquarters in Rüsselsheim, Germany, the Hyundai i40 Tourer shows just what Hyundai is now capable of and if this standard is maintained things bode well for the future.

Under the bonnet on this car was a Euro 5 emission standar 1,685cc four-cylinder DOHC diesel with 136ps on tap, driven via a very smooth six-speed automatic transmission.

Featuring ride quality previously unknown in Hyundais the i40 Tourer could reach 118mph with a 0-62mph sprint factor of 12 seconds.

Economy was well up with the rest with a combined readout of 47.1mpg and CO2 emissions of 159g/km.

Altogether an impressive car from a manufacturer that has broken out of the bargain basement to prove it can compete with the best of Europe.