Price as tested: €24,295
+ Spacious, practical, comfy, well made, economical, handsome
– Cabin could do with a touch more flair
= As sensible as it gets
Sensible gets a bit of a bad rap. It’s never the sensible guy who gets the girl in the movies. It’s always the maverick hero, swinging in on a bullwhip, with his hard-drinking, hard-living ways who walks off with the heroine at the end. The sensible guy is left behind, with nothing but his nice suit and steady job to keep him happy. C’mon Hollywood, can’t we do a movie where, just once, sensible comes out on top?
Certainly when it comes to buying a car, sensible is what should (and largely does) take priority. We Irish tend to buy our cars on the basis of longevity and practicality, not style and sex appeal. It’s why Toyota was a top-selling brand in Ireland long before it was a big hit in the rest of Europe.
And it explains, partly anwyay, the meteoric rise of Hyundai. Solid, Korean-built reliability, backed up by a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty and usually with a sensible, practical body shape. What’s not to love? OK, not love, perhaps, but certainly sensibly appreciate.
The good thing is that, on top of that solid layer of sensible engineering and reliability, Hyundai has of late been adding just a touch more visual and tactile appeal to its cars and the i30 Tourer we’re testing here is a good example of that.
For a start, it’s better looking than the hatchback on which it’s based, with those flowing, sharply defined lines given a little more real estate on which to strut their stuff. And yes, I know, many of you still think of estates as commercial traveller’s cars, but come on; it’s time to wake up to the appeal of an estate, and this i30 is more appealing than most.
Out back, where it counts, there’s a 528-litre boot, which is more than big enough for most growing families’ needs, and easily the equal or better of most of the more fashionable compact SUVs on the market. We’d avoid the option aluminium boot divider though. It has its uses, but it eats us a crucial inch or two of loading space, which could cause some fraught scenes in the IKEA car park...
Up front, the cabin is identical to that of the i30 hatchback, so you get cleanly designed, clear instruments, comfy seats and plenty of space. Rear seat space is good too, certainly enough for any lanky teenage offspring and, as ever with Hyundai, the build quality is exceptionally good. Just one criticism; the layout and style could do with a touch more visual flair, if it’s to match the appeal of the exterior.
No arguing with the engine though, which is the latest version of Hyundai’s 1.6 diesel. With 110bhp, it’s right on the money for the class, and a combination of 109 g/km of Co2 and claimed average fuel economy of 4.1-litres per 100km (we managed around 5.5 overall) means that it’s suitably efficient for 2013 Ireland. A little more torque would be nice, as it never feels quite so fleet of foot as, say, a Focus or a Golf, but you’ll pay just €180 a year to tax it, which isn’t bad for a car this versatile.
Versatile? In a world of MPVs and SUVs? Yes, really. The trouble with SUVs and MPVs is that they’re all great ideas and very little substance. The great thing about estates is that what they lack in whizz-bang concepts, they make up for in genuine usefulness. Fold down the back seats in the i30 and you have yourself a well-upholstered van, complete with 500kg payload. Get it up on the motorway and set the cruise control and you have as refined and comfortable a car as you could wish for. Head out on a favourite back road and you have a chassis that’s both capable and entertaining, but also one which is sadly held back by Hyundai’s three-mode steering set-up. Being able to choose between Sport, Comfort and Normal steering settings looks good in the showroom, but we’d have preferred it if Hyundai just went for one setting that satisfies, rather than three that don’t.
Still, when the €24,295 price tag for our Deluxe model test car includes air conditioning, cruise control, Bluetooth phone connection, iPod connection and every safety system you could think of, it might be rather churlish to complain about the steering setup.
What the i30 is, in the final reckoning, is a really solid and fine family car. Spacious, comfortable, reliable and useful, it pushes all the right buttons for an all-rounder that can please both kids and parents. Sensible? Yup, and this time, sensible wins.
Facts & Figures
Hyundai i30 Tourer 1.6 Diesel Deluxe
Price as tested: €24,295
Range price: €21,995 to €27,745
Capacity: 1,582cc
Power: 110bhp
Torque: 260Nm
Top speed: 185kmh
0-100kmh: 11.8sec
Economy: 4.1l-100km (68.8mpg)
CO2 emissions: 100g/km
VRT Band: A2. €180 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 90% adult, 90% child, 67% pedestrian, 86% safety assist
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