HYUNDAI Australia has enjoyed great success with its Korean- and European- sourced ix35 in recent times.

So great, in fact, that it was this country’s second-highest selling SUV of any stripe in 2013, behind only Mazda’s rampaging CX-5.

Furthermore, in the first two months of this year it has almost doubled the sales of its nearest competitor I the VFACTS Small SUV segment, Subaru’s sharp-looking XV.

In the past, Hyundai’s ix35 has wooed buyers with its snappy value, with the trade-off being a somewhat anaemic and uninspired experience behind the wheel.

Late last year, the company launched the visually similar but dynamically-sharper “Series II” ix35, with more Australian-specific tuning said to offer a more inspiring time behind the wheel.

You pay a bit more for all the new variants bar the base model, but hey, given the gains, it seems worth it – even for the range-topping Highlander tested here.

Click here for the full review...