Hyundai i30 Turbo: Softly, softly, catchee Audi

Long-legged but thirsty

I think it’s remarkable that in such a short period of time, Hyundai has developed a house style that eclipses anything from the major Japanese manufacturers and many of the European ones. The only mass-market car makers with a stronger cross-range style are, and again this is just my opinion, Ford and Audi.

Equipment levels are high and cabin is both ergonomically sound and visually restrained. Some plastics a bit hard though

There’s little to carp about inside either. Kit level is commendably high – reversing cameras and a very nice touch screen satnav/ICE system come as standard – while the red stitching on the leather steering wheel and seats and the red top of the gear knob keep on the right side of the good taste/bad taste borderline.

Some of the plastics are a bit hard and scratchy for a twenty-two-and-a-half-grand motor, but it’s not really a state of affairs worth getting too bent out of shape over. Available in both three and five-door versions, there’s no reason to question the i30’s practicality. Even the 3-door model I tested had room in the back aplenty, even for tall passengers. All-round visibility was good, too.

Available in three and five-door versions – both have boot space aplenty and room for a couple of big lads in the back

Where the i30 falls on its face is economy. To start with, the CO₂ emissions figure of 169g/km is nothing to write home about. But worse than that is fuel economy. The official combined cycle test figure is a pretty meagre 38.7mpg. On a vigorous 70 mile gallop across the Pennines I averaged just over 28mpg.

Thanks to sixth gear being pegged at a decidedly long-legged 0.6333 you’ll claw some of that back on motorway trips. I managed 41mpg on a run along the M56 from Manchester to Chester and back. But the i30 is still one of the thirstiest cars in its class.

Smallish fuel tank and thirsty engine gives the i30 Turbo a less-than-stellar cruising range

The Reg Verdict

The absence of drama – both mechanical and visual – makes the i30 Turbo a hot hatch for the more considered, more mature driver. It lacks the outright speed of the likes of the Focus ST or Civic Type R (both of which Vulture at the Wheel will be testing in the near future) but those two motors both look very adolescent alongside the i30, as does the the i30 Turbo’s Kia brother, the c’eed GT.

Hyundai's car can't quite match the absolute depth of quality of the considerably more expensive Golf GTI, but as a compromise between Chav rockets on the one hand and the money-no-object premium hot hatches on the other it makes a pretty good case for itself. ®