Top 5 things you need to know about the Hyundai i30

By Stuart Johnston

Hyundai’s i30 was designed and built to take on the C-segment hatchback category, dominated by the likes of Volkswagen’s Golf. This article gives a brief summary of the model history  here and lists the Top 5 things you should know about the Hyundai i30.

Hyundai’s i30 was launched globally in 2007 and was built to take on the Volkswagen Golf in Europe and other parts of world, including South Africa. The first generation i30, however, only made its debut here in 2010.The second generation arrived  just two  years later in South Africa, in mid-2012. The third generation car made its debut at the Paris Motor Show in 2016, but has yet to be released here.

If you are keen on a used Hyundai  i30, AutoTrader has over 70 pre-owned listings for the first and second-generation  models, which you can browse if you click here.

Here are our Top 5 things you need to know about the Hyundai i30

1. European  levels of sophistication: The first-generation i30 was only launched here in March 2010, three years after its international debut and had a relatively short model life here of just over two years. A notable feature of this first-gen i30 was that it came with six airbags, and was  designed and configured at Hyundai’s R&D Centre in Russelsheim , Germany to give it a premium European look and feel.

2. Two engine variants in 2010: The first-generation car came to South Africa with just two engine specs. The first of these was the 1,6-litre engine with 89 kW, 153 Nm of torque, a top speed of 188 kW and a claimed 8,6 litres/100 km consumption. The top-line model had a 2,0-litre engine with 105 kW, 186 Nm and its claimed consumption of 7,5 ltres/100 km was significantly lower than the 1,6-litre version! The gearbox in both cases was a five-speed manual.

3. Next-gen i30 more cutting edge: The styling of the second-generation i30 featured much sharper lines and modern slim-line headlight clusters. Engines were revised, with the 1,6-litre model’s power rising to 95 kW. A 110 kW 1,8-litre engine replaced the earlier (less powerful)  2,0 litre engine in the top model. Both cars now featured six-speed manual transmissions, while the entry-level 1,6-litre car was also available with a six-speed automatic.

4. The i30 is off the price lists for now: The third-generation i30 was announced in 2016 at the Paris Show and it was designed under the direction of the acclaimed Peter Schreyer. After it was again shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2017, it was announced that this car was heading to South Africa, but this has yet to happen. Instead, slight styling revisions were introduced to the second-generation model i30, notably a new grille. In mid-2018 the i30 model disappeared from Hyundai price lists in South Africa.

5. The latest  i30 N may make its debut here sometime in 2019: There is  nothing official yet from Hyundai South Africa, but it is known that the i30 N, the much-lauded 202 kW turbocharged performance version of the third-generation i30, may still make an appearance here, later in 2019 or early in 2020. This would be a great performance halo model for Hyundai here.