Hyundai i30 2021 review: Elite hatch

The i30’s range has expanded significantly in the last few years, now spanning from the base grade (simply called the i30) at $23,420, to the flagship GTI-rattling N Performance ($41,400, soon to receive its own facelift).

Our mid-grade automatic-only Elite falls about the middle of the pack with an MSRP of $30,220. 

It’s tough company indeed at this price point, though, with Toyota offering its Corolla in mid-spec SX Hybrid form at $30,795, Mazda’s notoriously expensive 3 hatch coming in at Touring grade with an MSRP of $30,590, and Subaru’s Impreza, which offers all-wheel drive across the range, wearing an MSRP for its mid-grade 2.0i-L of $29,960.

Lots of options there, but we will say the i30 offers some compelling things which others may not at this price. Our Elite comes packed with standard features, including faux-leather seat trim, a new-for-this-update 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen with built-in navigation dominating the dash, a semi-digital instrument cluster, 17-inch alloy wheels, a wireless phone charger, premium audio system, dual-zone climate control, and LED puddle lights.

Featuring 17-inch alloy wheels.

All i30s now get the brand’s 'SmartSense' active safety suite, too, but the Elite grade adds blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, and safe exit warning over lesser cars in the range. For more on this, check out the safety section of this review.

Some notable omissions on the Elite grade include LED headlights, a power adjustable driver’s seat, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, and a holographic head-up display, which some rivals get at this price.

The i30 also misses out on alternate drivetrain options at the Elite level, with no Hybrid (Corolla) or all-wheel drive (Impreza). Regardless, some will be more than willing to choose the i30’s six-speed automatic in order to avoid common CVT alternatives.

A 10.25-inch multimedia touchscreen with built-in navigation dominates the dash.

Despite its more outlandish design, it still has one of the more spacious and airy cabins in this class. Up front there is excellent adjustability for front passengers, with large window apertures granting great visibility. 

Unlike the Corolla, there is also an abundance of cabin storage areas for front passengers, with large bottle holders and binnacles in the doors, large bottle holders in the centre console, a large cubby with retractable cover under the climate controls (which also houses the wireless phone charger), USB port and 12V power outlet, a soft-topped centre console box which houses a second 12V outlet, as well as a roof-mounted sunglass holder and standard glove box.

Rear passengers get healthy legroom for the class, with my own 182cm (6'0") tall frame allowing airspace for my knees behind my own seating position and decent headroom, too. 

Rear passengers get healthy legroom for the class.

The large windows help keep the rear seats feeling spacious, and there are small bottle holders in the doors, and medium-sized ones in the (also leather-clad) drop-down armrest. 

Rear passengers benefit from adjustable rear air vents, but there are no power outlets for the second row. Extra storage comes only from a set of flimsy nets on the backs of the front seats.

Rear passengers benefit from adjustable rear air vents.

The i30 has an excellent-for-the-class 395 litre (VDA) boot, which consumed our test luggage set with ease, and easily rivals some SUVs. 

The i30 has a 395 litre (VDA) boot.

For reference, the boot of the Corolla, Mazda3, and Subaru Impreza are all smaller, with the i30 being out done by its sister car, the Kia Cerato (428L). 

This update also brings a full-size alloy spare to all variants aside from N-Line versions, in a win for long-distance drivers.
The boot space easily rivals some SUVs. 

Powering our i30 Elite is a decidedly traditional non-turbo 2.0-litre petrol four-cylinder engine producing 120kW/203Nm. 

It is perhaps the least advanced part of an otherwise modern package, making us wish for a hybrid or the more expensive 1.6-litre turbo available in the N-Line.

The i30 Elite has a traditional non-turbo 2.0-litre petrol four-cylinder engine.

The 2.0-litre engine is mated to a rather good six-speed (torque converter) automatic, which will be preferable for those looking to avoid the rubbery, dull drone of a CVT. 

The i30 Elite is front-wheel drive only, and unlike its N-Line alternative, misses out on multi-link rear suspension, making do with a cheaper but adequate torsion beam.

The i30 Elite has a hardly impressive claimed/combined fuel consumption figure of 7.4L/100km but is it honest given this car’s somewhat dated drivetrain? 

Over my week of what I would consider reasonably ‘combined’ driving, the car returned a dash-reported figure of 10.1L/100km, which doesn’t sound great, but is, in fact, exactly on Hyundai’s own (surprisingly honest) ‘urban’ figure of 10.1L/100km for this car. 

Hyundai’s fuel ‘urban’ figure is 10.1L/100km for this car. 

For reference I produced a real-world figure of just 4.8L/100km over the course of a long-term loan of a Toyota Corolla hybrid. Half the fuel this car might use if you were to drive it around town every day.

Mercifully, the i30 drinks base-grade 91RON unleaded fuel, and all variants have a 50-litre fuel tank.

Hyundai’s SmartSense safety kit is now standard across the i30 range. Active items include auto emergency braking (radar-based, works from city to freeway speeds, detects pedestrians and cyclists), adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist with lane departure warning.

The Elite level, as tested here, also features blind spot monitoring, and rear cross traffic alert with safe exit warning (lets you know not to open the door if there are vehicles approaching in the next lane).

The only notable omission on the Elite’s active safety suite is traffic sign recognition (although it reports speed limits sourced from its nav system in the dash cluster). 

It also scores seven airbags, tyre pressure monitoring, as well as a reversing camera and sensors. There’s no top-down camera suite and front parking sensors are only available on the top-spec N-Line Premium.

Hyundai’s SmartSense safety kit is now standard across the i30 range.

In terms of child seats, there are two ISOFIX mounting points on the outer rear seats, and three top-tethers across the whole rear row.

The i30 hatch maintains a five-star ANCAP safety rating, although this was awarded to its pre-facelift model back in 2017. So it hasn't been assessed against the current, far stricter standards, and it does not have a score breakdown based on its collision protection or active systems.

Hyundai i30s for our market are sourced from the Korean giant’s Ulsan plant in its home country of South Korea.