About the Hyundai i30
Brad M purchased this Hyundai i30 new for $24,400 (including all on-road costs). Brad M would buy this car again because: “Yes I would buy again. It has managed to tick every box required of it, even from a car enthusiast’s point of view. It’s solidly built, economical, practical, well equipped, reliable, after sales has been good, and we just like it. “
How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
The car has just hit the three year mark and 53,000km. In that time it has never let us down once , to be expected for a new car.
It has had one warranty claim. This was for a tiny, barely noticeable paint imperfection on the driver’s door. I am into my car detailing and to be honest, no one else would ever notice it. This was fixed no questions asked at the 15,000km mark.
Drivers and rear passenger door resprayed, loan car provided, and serviced in a week. Very easy, simple process.
In the first 2000-odd kilometres the infotainment glitched, this has not happened since however.
On the odd occasion the tire pressure monitoring decides the tyre is flat, but in saying that it happens maybe once a year.
All things considered I’m very happy with the car’s reliability.
What do you think of the ownership experience with your car?
Very positive. The car has gone from a twice a day commute vehicle, to now a trip to the station car. It gets serviced once a year. I turn the key and we are off. It has been fully fit for purpose.
In terms of the build, the doors close with confidence, the interior has no rattles (apart from my partner’s bloody cheap sunnies in the sunglasses holder, drives me nuts!) and all the switch gear feels solid. The car just feels solid.
How has the purchase and aftercare experience been with your car?
We were lucky enough to find a sales person who didn’t dribble on when looking at the car and gave us time we requested to think it through and look at the car on our own. Being sent off alone for the test drive was great too, allowed us to drive our local roads and get a real feel for the car.
When it came to negotiating (something I do not enjoy), I knew the price I was going to pay whether it was that dealership or not. The sales person did put me through some BS with the “give me your debit card so I can show my manager you’re serious about purchasing the car”. I played along, but geez talk about cringeworthy stuff.
Once the deposit was down we were sent to the after sales lady, who was completely shocked that I could get window tiny for $400 less, and blew her mind that I did not want ceramic coating as I do the detailing work myself. Must be a weird hobby for some?
As mentioned the one warranty claim we had with the car was a faultless experience. Loan car provided , the dealership was very accommodating and easy to deal with. I also like the no BS approach to the service advisor we use.
On a side note it’s really cool to see how active Hyundai are for the enthusiast. Their N department really put on a lot for the owners.
Are you happy with the price and features of your car?
Very happy, base models these days do come with a lot. Satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay, a decent stereo, leather steering wheel, tyre pressure monitoring, digital speedo, auto headlights, plus more.
Given the comfort and practicality on offer, I feel it was very reasonably priced.
What do you think of the performance and economy of your car?
The 2.0L does get bagged a lot in the comments section (well, Hyundai and Kia do in general). Slow, thirsty, noisy. Even from my perspective as a car enthusiast, I don’t find these claims to be true.
It doesn’t set the world on fire (my Focus ST satisfies that), but is is absolutely zippy, torquey, the gearbox makes snappy gear changes. The only time I find it a little bit lacking is on the freeway with hills, it wants revs but that’s fine, it can have those revs, its not like we are going backwards on the speedo.
Economy has been good. I can’t really provide a constant reading as it’s use has changed in our ownership. Right now going from home to the train station and back everyday is gets 7.5L/100km. It’s a 10 min trip through the suburbs, about 15km round trip.
On the highway it consistently gets 5.8L/100km. All this while being fed 91 RON fuel. I find it hard to argue with these figures.
I will note however, on 98 RON there is a noticeable bump in power and smoothness. Economy stays about the same.
What do you think of the technology in your car?
Apple CarPlay, built-in satellite navigation, digital radio, Bluetooth, tyre pressure monitoring, digital speedo, even some driving modes.
Like I mentioned, it’s hard to argue with a base model these days, they really are not lacking.
At the time the safety pack was an option, which included electric handbrake, AEB, smart cruise, lane guidance, blind-spot monitoring etc. I do sometimes wish I picked this option, however at the time I was on a budget, and of the mindset that this is a long term car for us, and went with the logic, less to go wrong.
I am not as fussed with that idea now.
What do you think of the ride comfort and handling of your car?
Day-to-day for me, I drive a Hyundai iLoad. It’s harsh in the comfort department. My Focus ST is better but still harsh, so the i30 kind of feels like a cloud to me.
I believe this model came with the Aussie tuning for the suspension and find it soaks up the crappy roads we live around really well. On the freeway it feels planted and solid.
In corners though, it does feel heavy and bit rolly polly, but we aren’t trying to be sporty here.
By comparison, we have an older i30 at work. It handles corners better, but is far less planted on bad roads. From a fit for purpose perspective, I prefer the planted feel.
Do you have any additional comments about your car?
When we needed to replace my partners ageing and hugely unreliable Lexus IS200, Hyundai was one of the first places we went. The i30 impressed us the most in comparison to the Kia Cerato (less powerful) and the outgoing Mazda 3 (too noisy).
We were also shown a Holden Astra (felt too GM) and one of the last Mitsubishi Lancers (too old). It also helped I had work place experience with Hyundai making the decision fairly easy.
Outside of our requirements in a car, I needed to like it and enjoy it. I do not want to own a car that I can’t enjoy to some extent. The car is a nice place to be, its relaxing to drive with enough grunt, comfortable and feels well built.
While yes, my Focus ST gives more smiles and more hair on fire type of fun, it is sometimes nice to sit back and relax in the i30. It also allows me to indulge in my hobby.
Some will say its white goods, boring, bland, Korean. But I park it (as far away as possible from others) and look back happy that it ticks all the boxes.
It looks really good too, I’m all loved up.