Package tour
Hyundai i30 Tourer £24,155 OTR/£25,740 as tested
Hyundais are, as we all know, Really Not Rubbish nowadays. The i30 has graduated from left-feld choice into a credible rival to the VW Golf and Ford Focus... a car with no glaring weak points.
But here’s a question. Though there may be no reason NOT to buy an i30 in 2018, is there a compelling reason TO buy one? In other words, does it have what it takes to move from the “ought to consider” to the “must have” column of your shopping list?
To fnd out, we’re testing an i30 Tourer for a few months, because TopGear likes estates. And I reckon this one looks pretty tidy, by small estate standards. Sleek and understated, without being utterly anonymous, and adorned with a natty set of roof bars to give that impression you might just strap a canoe to the roof and head of for a spot of, I dunno, island-hopping or whatever it is one does in a canoe. Sure, they cost a few mpgs in wind resistance, but that’s fne because this is a keenly priced car to start with.
Our Premium SE i30 – with the 178bhp 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine – is loaded with every bell and whistle you could reasonably ring or whistle, and comes in at a fair £25,740, but you can pick up an i30 Tourer for as little as £17,500. The cheapest VW Golf estate costs over 19 grand, the cheapest Focus wagon a couple of grand more than that.
Matters are equally appealing, if equally understated, on the inside. Everything’s logical and rational, while the i30’s infotainment system, if not quite up to the lofty standards of the VW Group gubbins, is a peach. Less virtuous, on frst impressions, is the optional seven-speed double-clutch gearbox, which feels decidedly ponderous by modern standards. Hopefully it’ll perk up with use…