Hyundai i30 2021 review: Hatch 2.0 auto

It’s got a nifty, cute shape with a short tapered nose and curved back end. It looks like a friendly, easy car to drive and while it’s not going to wow anyone with a fantastically new shape, it still does the job of being a good looking car, especially for this price.

The i30 has a cute shape to it.

The interior is fairly standard being the base model, but it’s all cleanly designed and set out. There are fabric seats that feel smooth to sit on and are comfortable enough for a car in this category, and the steering wheel and gear knob are leather. There’s not a huge amount of buttons to confuse you while driving and it’s a nice car to sit in on the road. 

Being the base model the interior is fairly standard.

The i30 drives smoothly and easily, and feels nimble in traffic. It doesn’t have a huge amount of power from the 2.0L engine - I felt like I needed to press down hard on the accelerator to speed past other cars on highways. 

Under the bonnet is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder making 120kW/23Nm.

It handles well in dry weather, but this week it was very wet and there is a safety feature on the car - the lane change assist, where the car is assisting you to stay in the lane - that, to me, didn't feel like the car had things under control (even though it did). I found this system disconcerting at times, and I think it's something that you would have to get used to driving the car for a while. 

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2021 Hyundai i30 range - Virtual tour

The i30 parks beautifully because it’s a small car and fits neatly into most parking spaces. There is a good reverse parking camera to help you out. 

This model of the i30 has a full size spare tyre, which is almost unheard of for a small hatch, so that's a great selling point. It means you can travel long distances without worrying about a blown tyre on a road trip. 

The front seats are manually adjustable and there is not much generally in the way of automation with a regular key for starting the car (no push button start). Although, at this price you wouldn’t expect much else. 

Up front are two cup holders in the centre console.

It has two cupholders in the front, with a small spot for keys and a phone and a centre storage bin. There are bottle holders in each door. Rear passengers also get two cupholders in the centre armrest which is a fantastic point of difference from competitors and directional air vents which is very rare in this category at this price point. The boot is a good height off the ground to load things in and out.    

There are front and side airbags for driver and front passenger, plus side curtain airbags that extend to the back row, as well as advanced safety features that come as standard - even in this base model. These include lane departure warnings and lane keep assist, auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection and adaptive cruise control. For things like blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert you’ll have to go up a few models. 

The i30 comes with three top tether points.

The i30 comes with two ISOFIX points and three top tether points to fix kids car seats in. It scored a maximum five ANCAP stars when it was tested in 2017.

The Hyundai i30 2.0 auto base model costs $25,420 before on-road costs. Fuel consumption is a claimed 7.4L/100km and I did an average of 8.5L/100km with mostly suburban driving this week. 

It’s covered by Hyundai’s five year/unlimited km warranty and requires servicing every 12 months/15,000km.