Hyundai's chic Euro model denied entry to Australia - again! Kona and Venue SUVs and i30 hatch and sedan are the focus instead

Hyundai has said no to the return of the i30 wagon for Australia, citing consumer disinterest in an ever-contracting passenger-car market.

With the company’s decision to source all i30 hatchback production globally out of the Czech Republic for 2024, there had been some conjecture that the stylish Tourer/estate model might have made a return to the local line-up.

“There isn’t enough appetite (for the wagon) for Australia,” according to Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) Product Development Manager, Tim Rodgers.

“When you start looking at that size of car for a family, people look into SUVs. We see that in the previous cars that Tucson and Kona customers had.

“For us it would have to be a very positive business case to be able to bring that in, I don’t think it’s going to happen and I personally would love for that to happen… it’s a classic product-planner/motoring journalist car… where the ideal car for us is not the ideal car for the market and therefore it seeks something else.”

The decision effectively puts paid to any chance of resuscitating the affordable small-car wagon as Australians once knew it, leaving the Peugeot 308 GT Premium and Subaru WRX Sport Sportwagon from around $50,000 as the least-expensive options right now. A one-size-larger Skoda Octavia is available from $43,000.

Compare this to just five years ago, when consumers seeking a wagon up to about $30,000 could choose a Ford Focus, Holden Astra, Skoda Fabia or Volkswagen Golf version.

Of course, buyers can pick over a dozen small and medium-sized SUVs up to the low-$30,000 mark, including two Hyundai models (Venue and Kona), but these largely lack the cargo-capacity capability of the more-traditional small wagon.

It’s not as if Hyundai hasn’t tried to make the small-car wagon work in the past – and with some degree of success to boot, so to speak.

In 1996, the second-generation Lantra/Elantra (the J2 series) arrived with a very rounded wagon body boasting a big load area. Taking on the Mitsubishi Lancer, Subaru Impreza and Suzuki Baleno, it gained a niche following in the days when SUVs were more of a novelty.

Far-less popular was the J2’s follow-up, the FC Elantra LaVita – an upright mini-MPV in the mould of the then-modish Renault Scenic. Although designed by Italy’s famed Pininfarina, its strange styling ensured Australians consumers stayed away.

On the other hand, the German-engineered and handsomely proportioned FD i30 CW (for crossover wagon) from 2008 and its pretty GD i30 Tourer replacement released four years later, both achieved decent volumes for HMCA, finding the sweet spot between versatility and desirability.

The latter, by the way, was the first to switch from South Korean to Czech sourcing in Australia.

However, by 2017, with the far-more-mainstream Kona small SUV swooping in at a lower price than its European stablemate, HMCA decided to put the third-gen (PD-series) wagon on ice.

To refresh, the MY25 PDe (‘e’ as in Europe) i30 hatch series is due in Australia later this year, with an as-yet undisclosed number of expected visual as well as engineering changes compared to the South Korean-made version of the third-gen (PD) i30 launched here all the way back in 2017, and discontinued late last year.

These include the deletion of the torsion beam rear suspension set-up for a more-sophisticated multi-link arrangement, mild-hybrid engine technology to help cut emissions, and possibly in three- as well as four-cylinder turbo powertrain choices, driving the front wheels via a dual-clutch transmission.

The PDe i30 will sell alongside the recently revised CN7 i30 Sedan series out since 2020, which is actually the seventh-gen Elantra created primarily for the North American market.