Meet the new generation of the Hyundai i30

David Lopez @espacionblanco 10 November 2016 4 min.

Meet the new generation of the Hyundai i30

The leap in quality that Hyundai has made over the past few years has been increasingly significant. The greatest expression of this change is seen in the new generation of the Hyundai i30, a model that has gone through every process from design, development, testing and production on European soil. A true statement of intent from the Korean giant.

The new Hyundai i30 does not aim to belong to any particular age group; it intends to be the pride and joy of a young person or of someone older, regardless of whether they are single or have a family. In my opinion, it can achieve this perfectly thanks to its attractive design. If we look at the front, the changes are more than evident compared with the still-current generation, with a much more aggressive LED light cluster and a hexagonal grille with a cascading effect and chrome accents that now takes on far greater prominence. The fog lights have been integrated into the front air intakes.

The horizontal lines that start at the front flow smoothly and harmoniously with the rest of the body, giving it a sporty look, and finish at a rear end that stands out for its new light cluster with a more aggressive look than the previous one, the reflectors set in an elevated position, and a slightly sloping roofline that culminates in a spoiler in a different colour from the rest of the bodywork. This new, sportier and more dynamic design translates into improved aerodynamics, with features such as the active front air flap that improves cooling and the aerodynamics themselves, achieving a drag coefficient of 0.30.

The entire exterior is finished with two-tone alloy wheels that can be 16 or 17 inches, although a 15-inch steel wheel option is also offered. There will also be the option to choose a bodywork colour from 12 different shades, of which seven will be metallic, three pearl and two solid.

Inside, you will also notice substantial design changes. As with the exterior, the dashboard lines are now horizontal, which is much more attractive and gives a sense of greater spaciousness and cleanliness. The three-spoke steering wheel also receives a design in keeping with the rest of the interior, and it is of course still multifunction, housing numerous buttons for different options.

The interior upholstery colour options will be three: if you choose Oceanids Black you can opt for cloth or leather seats; if that feels too monotonous, you can combine it with the other shade, Slate Grey, also with cloth or leather seats; and finally, you can combine the Oceanids Black finish with Indigo Blue, although here the seats will only be available in leather. As for space, the Hyundai i30 boasts class-leading comfort and roominess for its occupants, with a boot of 395 litres and 1,301 litres with the rear seats folded.

It comes with numerous safety systems, including seven airbags, one of which protects the driver’s knees, and the main novelty is the introduction of the driver attention alert system (DAA), something that until now was absent from the Hyundai range. Other systems include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) for emergency situations, operating from 10 km/h, smart cruise control (SCC), blind-spot detection (BSD), rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), lane keeping assist (LKAS) for dangerous drifting from 60 km/h, speed limit information (SLIF) for the road you are travelling on, and high beam assist (HBA).

Mechanically, the new Hyundai i30 will be powered by three petrol engines or one diesel. The big news is the new 1.4-litre T-GDI turbo four-cylinder engine, delivering 140 CV and 242 Nm of torque, available with a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic. There will be another 1.0-litre turbocharged T-GDI three-cylinder engine delivering 120 CV and 170 Nm of torque, and finally, among the petrol options, the 1.4-litre MPI engine four-cylinder delivering 100 CV. For those who prefer diesel, there will only be the 1.6-litre turbo engine with four cylinders, with power outputs of 90 CV, 110 CV or 136 CV.