Hyundai and the art of reinvention
A third-generation version of the popular i30 hatch is almost here. Rob Maetzig reports.
Good old marketing-speak. Hyundai New Zealand is about to launch a thirdgeneration version of its popular i30 hatch – but this time around it isn’t simply a brand-new car. This time around HNZ says the i30 has been reinvented.
Truth be told, reinvention isn’t a bad way to describe the new Korean-built hatch, which is scheduled to go on sale in early August. That’s because although the new PD series i30 is an entirely new vehicle, it does have plenty of design features that hark back to the second-generation GD model it replaces.
And it’s a good one, too. During a media event through the upper North Island the quality of the new i30 in both 2.0-litre normallyaspirated and turbocharged 1.6-litre forms shone through, quickly underscoring Hyundai NZ general manager Andy Sinclair’s opinion that its arrival will boost sales in the small car segment.
It’s an important segment, running third to medium SUV and large SUV categories in the new vehicle market with a share of 18 per cent, and the i30 is sitting in 6th place with around 500 sales over the opening six months of the year. While that’s a lot fewer than the sales being achieved by the company’s Tucson and Santa Fe SUVS, the i30 remains a vital part of the brand’s overall market aspirations.
"We see a shift to a more modern look that once again freshens the i30 but one that also acknowledges the outgoing model.
‘‘The comfort, practicality and style of the new i30 are a fitting evolution of the outgoing model.’’
The new i30’s value equation has also improved.
Although the new model is bigger and carries more comfort and safety equipment, prices remain unchanged at $35,990 for an entry 2.0 GDI with a six-speed automatic and $39,990 for a higherspecified Elite version, and $43,990 for a Limited 1.6T GDI with a seven-speed twin-clutch auto.
This time around, however, there are no diesels. There were two in the range the new i30 replaces, but only a handful had been sold in 2017 so they have been dropped.
The new i30 is an attractive hatchback that looks distinctive when viewed from the front thanks to use of the brand’s socalled cascading grille and vertical daytime running lights.
And while first impressions of the rear design is that it could be an amalgam of many other hatchbacks, particularly the Volkswagen Golf, the car looks clean and fresh, and is wider, longer and lower than the outgoing model.
The interior is fresh too, with an 8-inch touch-screen a dominating feature that offers a wide range of infotainment options and features satellite navigation as standard. Seat materials are fabric in the entry model and sport leather in the upper models. The 1.6 Turbo has a trim package that features red surrounds on parts of the dashboard – and even maroon front seatbelts.
With the GD series i30, the petrol engine selection comprises 1.8-litre and 2-litre units. For the PD series the 1.8 has gone, and the range begins with the Nu 2-litre GDI engine that develops 120kw at 6200rpm and 203Nm at 4700rpm. It drives through a six-speed automatic and is rated to return an average fuel consumption of 7.4L/100km.
Meanwhile, the 1.6-litre turbo engine installed in the Limited is the same unit aboard product such as the Hyundai Veloster coupe and soon the Kona SUV. Power is 150kw and the torque is a flat plane of 265Nm from 1500rpm through to 4500rpm.
It is mated to a seven-speed dual clutch auto, which can be used manually via paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
Macpherson strut front suspension is the same across all models. But whereas the 2-litre versions have a torsion beam rear suspension, the 1.6 turbo has a multi-link setup. That car also runs on 18-inch wheels – the others are on 16s and 17s – which help make it a fine handling car with particularly good turn-in when cornering. Helping along in this regard will be the fact that the new i30 has twice as much highstrength steel than before, which has helped boost body rigidity by 20 per cent and reduce weight by 28kg.
From the safety perspective, all models have seven airbags, blindspot detection and rear crosstraffic alert. The Limited model also gets autonomous emergency braking, driver attention alert, lane-keep assist and smart cruise control.
When asked why this active safety technology couldn’t be part of the safety packages in the entry and Elite models, Sinclair said it simply isn’t available.
The arrival of the new i30 kicks of an exciting time for Hyundai in New Zealand.
In coming months it will be launching a plug-in hybrid version of its Ioniq, a Series 2 Sonata medium-sized sedan, a new Kona compact SUV, a performance-oriented i30 N hot hatch, plus a Genesis luxury SUV.
‘‘It’s been a quiet year so far for us, but now things are coming right.
‘‘Right now we’re competing in around 69 per cent of all passenger and SUV segments in New Zealand, and our objective is to be in 100 per cent of them. That’ll really help lift our sales volume.’’