Hyundai i30 Tourer 1.4 GDI

ROAD TEST

As recent industry feats go, Hyundai Motor Company’s incursion onto the European continent must rank among the most impressive. A decade ago, when the original i30 was launched, the Korean manufacturer was little more than a sideshow in volume terms. In 2015, it registered 470,130 vehicles here – which was nearly 11% more than it managed the year before. Its success story owes something to good fortune (the scrappage scheme of 2008 benefited no other firm quite so vigorously) but mostly it has been achieved by adroitly supplying buyers with what they want: build quality, equipment, keen pricing, practicality, reliability and a long, unlimited warranty to underpin it all.

Moreover, and no less important, there is Hyundai’s rapacious appetite for refreshing its line-up. This latest generation of the i30 is the third, and although it might not quite qualify as ‘all-new’ (the platform has been overhauled materially rather than switched out), the new model’s introduction is significantly more impactful than many will believe.

Not least among its alterations is a new look – delivered by Peter Schreyer, the Hyundai-kia design demigod – that will inform (another) new generation of product. There are new engines, too, most notably the 1.4-litre T-GDI fitted to our test car.

Also bolted on is the Tourer configuration, which, the firm believes, will achieve close to a 20% share of total i30 sales in the UK. The reason for that is simple: the estate’s starting price is £1500 lower than its predecessor’s, and there’s now only £500 between it and the hatch across the rest of the range. And if Hyundai’s meteoric rise proves anything, it’s that customers respond very kindly to evidence of good sense. Now the car just needs to prove at least as good as a Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, Vauxhall Astra, Mazda 3, Honda Civic, Peugeot 308, Renault Mégane and Seat Leon. Acid test time.

DESIGN AND ENGINEERING

Schreyer’s influence over Hyundai’s design language has been well earned. The foundation of the success of sister brand Kia is partly built on the sophisticated, clean-cut look that the German design chief is justly famous for delivering. However, the i30 finds him in a relatively conservative mood. Despite the firm touting design as the “number one buying reason” among European customers, the car – in both Tourer and hatchback format – is a thoroughly conventional-looking C-segment prospect. Its most notable feature is the new ‘cascading grille’, a tapering affair apparently inspired by the flow of molten steel and destined to become a hallmark across the line-up, but even this is a rather conformist affair and makes the i30 no more likeable or distinctive than a regiment of similarly modernlooking mainstream rivals.

Arguably, of course, there is no overriding need to stand out from the crowd (overly quirky family hatchbacks have a history of falling flat with buyers) and most repeat

WE LIKE

Admirable practicality Courteous ride comfort Typically competitive equipment levels

WE DON’T LIKE

Lacklustre new petrol engine Handling compromise is still second division Styling is only passably appealing

MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM

As disagreeable as the i30’s 8.0in touchscreen is to behold, there’s precious little that’s fundamentally wrong with what appears on it. The shortcut keys are well chosen — splitting Map and Nav is a wise choice — and the system sensibly retains old-fashioned knobs for the volume and zoom functions.

Doubtless, a Volkswagen Group engineer would point out that Hyundai has preserved such outmoded features because the technology behind the system isn’t fast or glossy enough to make everything happen on screen — and compared with the lustrous sheen coming from the new Golf’s infotainment, the accusation wouldn’t be entirely unfounded.

However, most i30 buyers are likely to think that the upgraded system is entirely adequate, not least because it comes as standard with Apple Carpay and Android Auto on board. The stereo is the only glaring weak point: four speakers and two tweeters is probably insufficient given our test car’s range-topping spec.

customers will likely settle for the idea that the model is marginally more appealing than the car it replaces. Underneath, it is very much like its predecessor. Although marginally larger, the i30 essentially has the same architecture – albeit in a notably lightened, stiffened format. The car’s gain, particularly as far as torsional rigidity is concerned, is a direct consequence of a doubling of the proportion of high-strength steel used in its construction. The lowerriding chassis – still a conglomerate of front Macpherson struts and rear multi-link – has inevitably been retuned for the enhanced setting, with Hyundai claiming a 10% improvement in steering response.

The new engine line-up is considerably more sturdy, too. The previous generation, certainly by the end of its lifecycle, was handicapped by a number of powerplants well past their sell-by date. Only the 109bhp 1.6-litre CRDI diesel four-pot makes the transition and, in line with the rest of the segment’s revised attitude to oil-burners, expect that unit to be soft-pedalled in retail terms. Instead, the real choice is between the threecylinder 118bhp 1.0-litre T-GDI motor, which has made its debut elsewhere, and the new four-cylinder 138bhp 1.4-litre T-GDI engine of our test car.

This 1.4 is important because it finally provides the i30 with a forced-induction, petrol-burning engine that promises a very European compromise of power and parsimoniousness. Better still, despite the additional single-scroll turbocharger, Hyundai insists that the four-pot is 14kg lighter than the venerable naturally aspirated Gamma unit it replaces. We drove it with the standard six-speed manual gearbox, although a sevenspeed dual-clutch transmission is available as an option.

INTERIOR

Perhaps even more so than the exterior, the i30’s interior has been comprehensively rethought. The changes are wholesale, although the most notable alteration is also the most contentious: Hyundai has opted to extract the infotainment screen from its integrated position in the centre stack and plonk it on top. The advantage of doing so is that it permits a liberal shrinking of the dashboard, thereby enhancing the perception of light and space, yet Hyundai also remains wedded to the use of physical shortcut keys, which are functionally useful but make the new stand-alone display a little unsightly to behold.

It’s a regrettable state of affairs

because elsewhere the overhaul is well thought out. The layout is now far more horizontal in its design theme than the previous iteration, and although no one would accuse it of over-indulging on imagination, it is a generally satisfying place to pass the time. All of the switchgear has been thoughtfully reconsidered – the new three-spoke steering wheel is a vast improvement on its button addled forebear – and although the material choice leans heavily towards dour, cloudburst-coloured plastics, they all fit together well enough, save perhaps for the lid of the centre console cubby, which feels as flimsy as a pound-shopbought biscuit tin.

In the back, the Tourer’s added value practicality comes predictably to the fore. The i30’s leg room isn’t peerless in a segment that includes the Octavia estate but it’s easily worthy of adult-rated knees and the head room – obliged by the longer roof line – is plentiful. The boot doubles down on the theme: its pleasingly rectangular, very well appointed load space easily equals the appeal of anything made by direct rivals. The 60/40 seat backs are on the heavy side, but they flop forward to turn a very generous 602 litres of capacity into 1650 litres. Throw in the underrated presence of additional cubbyholes under the boot floor and the Tourer nails its USP with tick-box aplomb. With regard to the i30’s turbocharged petrol engine, Hyundai’s main objective is obviously twofold: more peak torque of the low-down, accessible kind, along with a commensurate improvement in the four-pot’s efficiency. In both respects, the unit represents a middling achievement.

Its basic manners, certainly of the audible sort, are generally creditable. Via a thickset gearchange and clutch pedal, normal progress is dispatched with a dependable, innocuous air. The engine’s function is palpable in the cabin but muffled into the kind of nondescript hum that makes it difficult to immediately identify whether it runs on petrol or diesel.

The performance being meted out is barely any more effective a guide: the 178lb ft of torque, available from 1500rpm, is unequivocally the unit’s primary source of propulsion, with all the hard work done before 4000rpm. Any subsequent industry feels like an afterthought in the modern oil-burner mould, the motor feeling sufficiently stifled by the appearance of peak power at 6000rpm that one wonders if Hyundai expects its buyers to remain almost permanent strangers to the power output they’ve paid for.

There’s enough obliging energy low down to paper over this subsequent crack, but the idea of a claimed 9.2sec to 62mph being dispensed spiritedly is given short shrift. The 9.5sec the Tourer on test took to reach 60mph from rest is just spry enough to parry any accusation of real lethargy yet simultaneously too pedestrian to rebuff the thought that you’d be whisked forward plenty more consistently in, say, a Leon ST equipped with the equivalent 1.4-litre ECOTSI. Deeper consideration of the competition does the T-GDI no favours at all: the downsized petrol engines of most mainstream rivals – all similarly encumbered with turbochargers – do a better, keener, freer job of working at higher crank speeds. Even allowing for the likely modest requirements of a Tourer driver – which the petrol motor ought to adequately indulge – the absence of any real dynamism is detrimental nevertheless.

PERFORMANCE RIDE AND HANDLING

It is possible – tempting even – to be reductively unkind about the way the i30 drives. It strives so belligerently for a benign and nondescript sort of inoffensiveness that journeys are frequently terminated without a single salient detail having been marked for praise or admonishment. Nonetheless, while that makes it the mortal enemy of any jobbing reviewer, it is not necessarily to the detriment of the buying public. For anyone seeking to flitter away a commute with the blithe detachment of an airline

passenger, it is potentially ideal.

After all, the i30 steers, rides and handles with steady, heavy-set competence. The onus, very overtly and familiarly, is on refinement and comfort – not an unwelcome set of virtues. The problem is that the aspiration settles on the car like a sedimentary layer of insulation, depriving it of anything that might be construed as verve or even chirpiness. Certainly, the well-oiled dynamic sparkle made palpable by the responsiveness and control service elan of a Golf or Focus or even the latest Astra is made conspicuous by its continued absence. Instead, the i30 focuses on evincing dependability and meekness and geniality.

As a result, the car ambles just about as peaceably as anything else you might reasonably consider in the C-segment. Unlike the aforementioned models, where the running gear tends to harmonise in the outside lane of a motorway, the i30 feels tuned to best complement the kind of progress made at 45mph on an archetypical A-road. It is here where the coagulated steering, staid engine and permissive dampers collude most proficiently, fading impressively into a background of muffled and very assured moderation. It is here where the Hyundai, very firmly and consistently, does what it says on the tin. Measure out your expectations accordingly, and the Tourer barely puts a foot wrong.

BUYING AND OWNING

The days of Hyundai furiously undercutting the competition are long gone but the firm is not above appealing to bargain hunters. The entry-level S-trim Tourer, furnished with the 1.0-litre three-pot exclusively and Bluetooth and DAB (although no touchscreen), feels almost like an homage to the i30’s budget-pleasing origins at £17,495. For everyone else, the SE starts at £19,355, which is where the car acquires the 16in alloy wheels, front foglights, rear park assist and downsized infotainment screen that it’ll need come resale.

Above it, SE Nav earns the same 8.0in display as featured on our test car and can be had with the full range of engines (the 1.4-litre T-GDI being unavailable with lowlier-spec cars). Premium trim ditches the three-pot altogether and throws in desirable items such as 17in wheels and dual-zone climate control. Topspec Premium SE adds a panoramic sunroof, leather seat facings and a heated steering wheel.

Expect running costs to be respectable rather than infinitesimal. Our test car’s 129g/km CO2 emissions are nothing to write home about (Seat’s 1.4-litre ECOTSI is 15g/km cleaner), although its 39.2mpg average is basically on a par with the 40.3mpg recorded by the Golf 1.5-litre TSI we road tested last month. Expect the 1.0-litre T-GDI to do a little better, but not by much.

It steers, rides and handles with steady, heavy-set competence

Width 1040mm Height 470-700mm Length 1000-1870mm This is how to do a wagon’s boot: exceptionally well trimmed, littered with anchor points, a semi-fixed floor with storage underneath and a lightweight parcel shelf.

Typical leg room 740mm A mostly flat rear bench makes the Tourer a genuine (if obviously temporary) five-seater when needed. The seat backs are easy to operate but weighty.

No, there isn’t much colour gradient going on in the i30, but the space is plentiful and, for all their contouring, the front seats are pleasingly comfortable.

The revised heating, ventilation and air-con switchgear is indicative of Hyundai’s efforts to spread the i30’s interior design out along horizontal lines.

For an example of just how closely Hyundai studies the Golf, look at the buttons now adorning the i30’s gearbox. Different function; exactly the same theme.

The wireless phone-charging pad is standard on the Premium SE’S impressive kit list; ditto the highly accessible (and starkly unadorned) array of sockets.

Expect to see a lot more of the i30’s new grille because it’s due to begin ‘cascading’ its way through the rest of the Hyundai line-up. Ditto the chromeplated dots, we’d bet.

You’ll need to climb the Tourer’s trim ladder all the way to Premium to get 17in wheels as standard. The entry-level S model gets 15in alloys and the SE 16in.

Long, slim headlights featured on the previous i30 and they provide the launching point for the car’s shoulder line here. Our test car featured high and low-beam LEDS.

The hatch gets its rear spoiler in black. For the Tourer, it’s body coloured but no less critical to an aerodynamic effort that starts with air curtains either side of the front bumper.

Cheapest Tourer is denied projectorstyle foglights but they feature across the rest of the range. The vertical daytime running lights also feature an indicator function.

The deployment of high-mounted reflectors — in conjunction with the signature LED graphic above — is meant to help distinguish the i30 on the road. We’d probably have settled for the badge.

Premium SE makes liberal use of brightwork, including on the door handles, on the belt line moulding and for the roof rails.

That stretched rear window and longer overhang make the wagon much better proportioned than the hatch.

Original i30 estate was unveiled in 2007

MODEL TESTED 1.4 T-GDI PREMIUM SE Price £24,155 Power 138bhp Torque 178lb ft 0-60mph 9.5sec 30-70mph in fourth 12.8sec Fuel economy 39.2mpg CO2 emissions 129g/km 70-0mph 46.1m

Much like its appearance, the i30 Tourer’s handling is purposefully safe and inoffensive; the dynamic balance is tuned more for comfort and refinement.