2nd Hyundai i30 Fastback

Despite its looks, latest car is a five-door, and it’s the roomier choice, but it’s not much fun

HAVING established itself as a mainstream brand, Hyundai took a big step by designing, developing and testing its new i30 in Europe, for European buyers. That includes the Fastback version, even if it’s not quite as popular as its regular hatchback sibling.

The current i30 range hints at Hyundai’s mainstream sales ambitions with its restrained look, and it’s a similar story inside, where the i30 clearly takes cues from the likes of the Volkswagen Golf. It doesn’t quite pull that off, though, and while quality is good, the design is plain; the Mazda’s interior is more interesting.

This conservative feel continues under the skin, because the i30 Fastback is quiet and calm on the move. At idle the thrum from the 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine is noisier than the smooth 2.0-litre four-cylinder in the Mazda, but once you get above 30mph the Hyundai is mostly on par with its rival in terms of refinement.

With 118bhp and 171Nm of torque, the unit serves up decent performance, and although the car was a little slower than the Mazda from 0-60mph at the track, in our in-gear tests that better represent real-world use it had the edge.

From 50-70mph in sixth it was over four and a half seconds faster than the 3, which helps out a lot on the motorway; you’ll need to maintain momentum more carefully in the Mazda, or change down to accelerate.

The Hyundai was faster in all of our in-gear assessments, but it did trail its rival by nearly a second covering 30-70mph through the gears.

What’s more important with these models is ride quality, though, and while the i30 deals well with rough roads up to a point, the suspension starts to struggle on uneven surfaces and there’s a more noticeable amount of body movement than in its rival here. The i30 Fastback is a comfortable motorway cruiser, however.

Despite ride comfort being slightly worse than the Mazda’s, the i30 is also quite dull to drive. There’s plenty of grip, but the numb steering takes away from your enjoyment as a driver and body roll in corners is more intrusive than in the Mazda.

The six-speed gearbox and thrummy three-cylinder engine go some way to adding a bit of driver appeal, but it can’t match the sweet-handling Mazda 3 Fastback here. It’s much more suited to a relaxed driving style, but its rival can accommodate that just as well, while also being more fun and engaging.

Which trim level suits you?

STICK with the 1.0-litre T-GDI petrol engine and there are three specs: SE Nav, Premium and Premium SE.

The entry model gets sat-nav as standard using the same seven-inch touchscreen display as every other model in the i30 Fastback range. It includes smartphone connectivity, wireless phone charging and DAB radio, so it’s the best value.

Put down a £2,000 deposit on a 36-month, 10,000-mile PCP contract, and you’ll pay £333 a month for this version.

Move up to the Premium car we’ve tested here and you also get a 4.2-inch LCD display in between the dials showing driving info, plus larger 18-inch alloys, heated front seats and climate control. This version will cost £371 a month.

The top-spec Premium SE adds leather seat facings and a panoramic sunroof, so at £400 a month on the same terms it’s not great value.