Hyundai has added wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto to the 2021 Hyundai i30 range. There's a new design for the entry-level and sedan, while upper specification models get a larger 10.25-inch display (although, strangely, without wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto). Paul Maric reviews the entry-level 2021 Hyundai i30 hatch to see if it's any good.
Hardness tester results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior: 00:53
Interior: 02:45
Infotainment: 04:10
Safety Tech: 06:20
Practicality: 06:56
On the road: 09:28
Verdict: 13:30
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#hyundai #review #i30
Hardness tester results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior: 00:53
Interior: 02:45
Infotainment: 04:10
Safety Tech: 06:20
Practicality: 06:56
On the road: 09:28
Verdict: 13:30
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
Paul Maric:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#hyundai #review #i30
Category
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MotorTranscript
00:00 G'day, I'm Paul. So if you see me fly off screen, it is because it is extremely windy here today.
00:05 So behind me is the Hyundai i30. It was first launched in 2016.
00:09 That means it's about halfway through its lifecycle and that means it's time for a refresh,
00:13 which is exactly what Hyundai has done with a little bit of a different design and some new features as well.
00:18 Today we're reviewing the base model Hyundai i30. The only option on this is an automatic gearbox.
00:24 It's priced at a little over $25,000.
00:27 It competes with things like the Mazda 3, Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla.
00:32 There's a stack of small hatches in this segment.
00:35 Today we're going to do a detailed review of the Hyundai i30.
00:38 If you do want to skip ahead to other parts of this review, you can use the time codes up on the screen there,
00:42 or if you're on YouTube, there's just chapters below that you can click on.
00:45 And if you haven't done so already, make sure you hit subscribe and press the bell icon,
00:49 so you can find out every single time we drive a nice new red car.
00:52 Let's talk exterior.
00:54 You've got six outside colors to choose from and all but white at just under $500 extra.
01:00 So what exactly has changed here?
01:03 Well, you'll notice the grille. It looks different and so do these massive LED lights.
01:07 I'll get to those in a second, but I like what they've done here with the grille.
01:10 Instead of that sort of cascading effect, they've got this, I don't know, you guys are pretty good at this.
01:15 I'm not. What is this material?
01:16 I mean, it's kind of like a reflective material, but it's got that shadowy hue to it.
01:21 So I'm not exactly sure what that is. Big proud Hyundai logo there.
01:24 This now comes with radar cruise control, so I suspect this has a radar sensor built into it.
01:30 Let me know what you think about the refresh of this design.
01:32 Have they done enough to keep this fresh in comparison to the competitors?
01:35 Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
01:38 In terms of headlights, the base model gets these halogen projector lights and then this cool LED cluster.
01:44 I love what they've done here.
01:45 This looks really high-end and premium and then you see a little air vent that runs through to the side there.
01:50 We'll jump around to the side where you'll find 16-inch alloy wheels.
01:54 This is another design I'm a fan of. You've got that black inset and the chromey,
01:58 sort of brushed chrome look on the outside.
02:00 A lot of manufacturers are now doing this to give you a bit of contrast and a bit of,
02:05 I don't know, a bit of dynamic appeal to the wheel.
02:07 It actually looks nice and complex and I think it suits the car, especially considering this is a base model.
02:12 You'd kind of expect it to have hubcaps or something. So that looks pretty cool.
02:15 And then a decent profile. It's a 55 profile on that tyre.
02:18 So should mean that in addition to the ride and handling tune that's done in Australia, that this actually rides pretty well.
02:23 Over here you've got an indicator built into that wing mirror and then come around the rear of the car.
02:28 So, taillights down the bottom here. These aren't LED, so still an incandescent globe in there.
02:34 You've got this boot lip spoiler type thing and then a shark fin antenna at the back.
02:39 I think it's still quite a handsome looking car. It doesn't look too big, doesn't look too small.
02:42 It actually suits its proportions perfectly.
02:45 So we are inside the Hyundai i30.
02:48 Let's start off with the key. This is what it looks like.
02:50 You've got lock, unlock, boot and then on the back you have the Hyundai symbol.
02:55 But it's an old-school key being the base model. This is what you have to live with.
03:00 So that just goes into the slot there and then everything switches on after that.
03:04 Now, what about the design? So look, I'm actually not too phased by this.
03:09 I still think this looks good despite its age.
03:11 So you can see here that they've integrated this screen, which is a carryover from, I guess, the original i30.
03:17 But now there's a 10.25-inch screen that sits here for higher-end models.
03:21 This, on the other hand, though, you may look at it and go, "Oh, it's old."
03:25 But they've actually added a whole stack of new technology to it.
03:27 So I'll run you through that shortly. But for the most part, this looks okay.
03:30 It is a little bit dreary there with all just dark colors.
03:33 It would have been nice to see a little bit of color highlights.
03:35 Perhaps something like you can get on the Corolla where you can sort of pick different colors for your interior.
03:40 But for the most part, this looks okay.
03:42 Now, what about the materials and the touch points? Well, this is all nice and soft.
03:46 The touch points are fine as well. This is soft and then soft on the doors, too.
03:50 So everything you're in contact with while you're driving is good.
03:53 How soft is it? Well, we have our durometer.
03:55 We've tested the surfaces across this car.
03:58 If you want to see how this compares to other vehicles we've tested, just go to the link in the description below.
04:03 And then what about build quality?
04:04 It's actually not too bad. Everything feels nice and solid here. So a big tick for build quality.
04:10 Okay, let's talk infotainment.
04:13 This is an 8-inch infotainment display and then there's a 7-inch unit ahead of the driver.
04:18 If you do want to see a detailed review of this, you can click up here to watch one we've recorded previously.
04:23 But today I will give you a brief overview plus a look at some of the new features that it comes with.
04:27 So it's a touchscreen, but you've also got shortcut buttons on the side.
04:32 In terms of radio, it has AM and FM radio. There's no DAB+ digital radio.
04:36 There's also no satellite navigation built into it. That's all done through your telephone.
04:40 It's also got Bluetooth and voice recognition, but keep in mind the voice recognition doesn't do anything
04:45 unless you have your smartphone paired, which is a little bit counterintuitive,
04:48 but that's how all Hyundais and Kias are for some reason in Australia.
04:52 Now, what about smartphone mirroring? You have both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but this is pretty cool.
04:57 It's wireless Apple CarPlay. So right now there's no cables connected. I'll show you what that looks like.
05:02 Full screen integration, really fast, nice and smooth and sharp as well.
05:07 It also has Android Auto, but the exciting thing here is that it's wireless Android Auto.
05:11 It's the first car that we've tested that actually works wirelessly with Android Auto. I'll show you what that looks like.
05:16 So another full screen integration, nice and quick there, and then you can also scroll through the different menus.
05:22 So it's really cool to see that even as a base model,
05:26 this is loaded to the hilt with all of this brand new technology that you don't even find on some cars,
05:31 you know, double, three times the price of this. So really cool.
05:35 Moving on from our centre display, ahead of the driver you have a seven inch unit.
05:39 There's analogue gauges either side for engine revolutions, temperature and fuel.
05:44 And then the centre display has a digital speedo, the gear that you're in, all of your semi-autonomous driving controls.
05:50 And then you have the ability to flick through different menus for fuel economy, driver assistance, tyre pressure,
05:57 and then also the vehicle settings as well. So really nice to see this integration.
06:02 Just like all the wireless smartphone mirroring, this isn't something that you're used to seeing on an entry-level hatchback.
06:07 Moving on from there, you have a six speaker sound system and on the connectivity front,
06:11 a USB port for charging devices and also smartphone mirroring if you don't want to use wireless,
06:16 and then two 12 volt outlets, one in here and then one in here.
06:20 Okay, what about safety technology? You get autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection.
06:25 You get a lane departure warning, a lane departure assistant with a semi-autonomous steering function,
06:30 which we'll go into a little bit more detail when we go for a drive.
06:33 You have automatic high beam headlights and radar cruise control.
06:38 Now what about the reverse view camera? There's rear parking sensors, no front parking sensors,
06:42 but let's see what that looks like.
06:43 Look, the quality is not too bad. You've got guidelines there as well and then some settings.
06:50 We'll see what they do. Like as you can adjust the brightness and all that kind of thing as well.
06:54 So yeah, look, it's not a bad integration.
06:55 Moving on to practicality and we'll start with storage. Where are you going to put your phone?
06:59 Well, it can easily live down there. There's no wireless phone charging on this particular spec
07:04 or you've got a little cubby hole in here that you can easily fit your phone or
07:07 this little slot right here. So lots of convenience and then bottle storage easily fits in there.
07:12 This comes out as well. So if you don't want the divider in there, you can get rid of that.
07:16 Bottle will fit in the door as well. And then in terms of other storage,
07:20 you have a decent size center console there that gives you an idea of how deep it is.
07:25 And then the glove box over here, which is plenty big as well. And finally, whoops,
07:29 not big enough for the bottle going in that direction. Finally, a sunglasses holder up the
07:34 top. Moving on to comfort, you have single zone manual air conditioning, so no automatic stuff
07:41 and no dual zone here. In terms of the seats themselves, they are cloth, but kind of a cool
07:46 design. They don't look really too cheap and chintzy. They're both manually adjustable.
07:50 Then in terms of reach, everything is fairly easy to reach. The only stuff you'll have to
07:54 lean forward for are the buttons on this side, but for the most part, it's not that big of a deal.
07:59 Okay, second row. So it's not the most cavernous space in the world. My knees are right up against
08:05 that seat, but keep in mind this seat is fairly far back and it's not quite as tight as a Mazda 3
08:11 or a Toyota Corolla. There's no toe room at all. That's really wedged up against there.
08:15 Headroom is okay. You do get air vents back here though, which is good. No USB charging. You get
08:21 these two mat pockets and armrest here with two cup holders. We'll see how that works. No dramas
08:27 there. And then you've got room for bottle storage in the doors as well. ISOFIX points on the two
08:33 outboard seats. And look, for the most part, it's pretty comfortable. It's just a little bit tight
08:37 for an adult. Okay, what about cargo space? So you have a little under 400 litres available just
08:44 here. You can see here that it's quite a high boot lip, so it means when you are loading things in,
08:49 you kind of got to throw them over. Underneath the cargo floor, you have a full-size spare tyre,
08:53 which is excellent news, especially if you do a lot of country driving. You also have tie-down
08:57 hooks on the side. Let's see how it goes with our luggage in there. I wonder if this will fit in
09:03 long ways. Nope. So we're going to go that way to fit that in. And then I'll show you what it
09:09 looks like when this is removed as well. Pull this out of the way. Now, when you drop this out of the
09:17 way, you actually get just over 1,300 litres of cargo space, although it's not too flat because
09:24 you've got this section here that protects the second row of seats. We've just hit the road in
09:30 the i30. The entry-level models are powered by a 2-litre naturally aspirated petrol four-cylinder
09:37 engine. It makes 120 kilowatts of power, 203 newton-metres of torque, and that's all mated to
09:43 a six-speed automatic transmission. Now, that doesn't sound like a great deal, but if you
09:49 sink the slipper into it, once it gets above that 3,000 rpm mark, it really has a bit of urge to it,
09:55 and a lot of that torque is at the top end of the rev band, being a naturally aspirated engine.
09:59 Yeah, it doesn't feel as sort of peppy as the turbocharged versions, but it's not inadequate.
10:05 It doesn't feel like you're going to need to stand on the throttle for 20 seconds to actually get
10:09 anywhere, so you don't feel unsafe in this, which is not something you can say about some of the
10:14 older hatchbacks at the entry-level, where they just put whichever engine they could find in it.
10:19 And same story with the gearbox, it's fairly responsive, like it's not lightning fast,
10:23 but I've found with a lot of the modern dual-clutch gearboxes, they're not actually that
10:27 quick anyway. If I sink the foot in just there, it sort of responds quick enough, and then it gets up
10:32 in the rev band to give me the push in the back that I need. Now, in terms of fuel economy,
10:36 Hyundai claims a combined average of 7.4 litres per 100 kilometres. We're seeing 8.7 litres per
10:43 100 km, so higher than that combined average, but it's about where it should be given we've spent a
10:49 fair bit of time driving in and around the city with little highway driving in between.
10:53 Let's talk drive mode. So you've got three to pick from. There's Eco, which, as far as I can tell,
10:58 maybe reduces the air conditioning a little bit. It dulls the throttle response. You have Normal,
11:02 which is just your regular driving mode, and then you have Sport. When you put it into Sport,
11:06 you can feel the steering become a little heavier. That's one of the advantages of an
11:10 e-pass system. They can adjust the weighting depending on the drive mode. The gearbox also
11:14 is a little bit more responsive as well, and it's more eager to shift down gears. The throttle's
11:19 sharper too, so that's the mode you want to go into if you've got some sporty driving ahead of
11:23 you. Now, speaking of which, the 0-100 time, they don't publish a figure, but we thought we'd check
11:27 to see how it goes against our stopwatch. Let's talk about ride quickly. This is where Hyundai
11:43 has really nailed the brief with this. The ride and handling tune is done here in Australia,
11:47 and if you've seen our other videos, I've explained why that's an important aspect of
11:52 cars that we do drive here in Australia, just because of the diversity of road surfaces you
11:56 can encounter just minutes from the city. And that means that it's really nice and compliant.
12:01 It deals well with bumps. It's not overly sharp. It's not overly brittle, and everything is nice
12:06 and softly dampened without feeling wallowy and without feeling like it's sort of lingering as
12:11 you hit undulations on the road. And that translates to corners as well. Yes, this isn't
12:16 the i30 N, but they've kind of trickled that suspension tune down, so it means that if you
12:21 do find yourself a corner, you can lean into it. The body stays nice and flat, and you get really
12:27 good feel through the steering as well. The electrically-assisted steering rack just gives
12:30 you all the feedback and confidence you need. Let's talk road noise. Look, it's not terrible.
12:35 We're out on a country road at the moment. It's coarse chip. You do get a bit of tyre noise coming
12:39 into the cabin, but it's nothing overly drastic. One thing I did notice just while we've been
12:43 driving here, there is a lane-keeping assistant, and for the most part, it works well, but when
12:48 you're out on country roads, it can be a little bit aggressive, and it kind of sends you just to
12:53 the edge of the road, and it doesn't really fill you with confidence. I'm just finding myself
12:56 switching it off, but when you do have the radar cruise set and running, it actually does a really
13:00 good job of guiding you through the lanes and sort of suggesting exactly where your car needs to be
13:04 placed. Let's talk visibility. So visibility out the front is good. I can't see the front of the
13:09 car, but you can kind of get an impression for where it ends down there. The wing mirrors are
13:14 decent sized as well. There is no blind spot monitoring, so you just need to keep an eye on
13:17 that yourself. Visibility out the back is good. Being a front-wheel drive, it has a pretty decent
13:22 turning circle, 10.6 metres, which means when you go for a tight U-turn, it pretty much just turns
13:29 on a dime. Okay, so Hyundai i30. Yes, some of the competitors in this segment have diversified.
13:35 So, for example, they're a little bit more premium in the case of the Mazda 3, and with Corolla,
13:40 you can get it in a hybrid. Same with the Mazda 3 now as well. But Hyundai sticks to the same
13:44 formula. You still get really good value for money. Comes with all the latest bells and whistles.
13:48 There's plenty of room inside. Plus, it is tuned right here in Australia. So that gives you a good
13:54 incentive to actually buy it, because you know that it's built for Australian conditions. So,
13:58 let me know in the comments section below, do you own an i30? What's it like as a long-term
14:02 proposition? Or did you buy something else instead? So, if you did enjoy this video,
14:06 please make sure you like it and share it. And if you haven't done so already, hit subscribe,
14:10 and press the bell icon, so you can find out every single time we drive something new.
14:13 But until next time, take it easy.