Hyundai i30 Hybrid Review
The 2024 Hyundai i30 sedan range. It’s been face lifted and there’s an all new hybrid version that Hyundai Hopes will account for almost half of all of the standard ranges sales with the popular i30 hatch, not on sale at the moment as it transitions from Korea to European sourcing.
Hyundai is keen to keep foot traffic in their showrooms as far as small cars are concerned. Does the i30 hybrid cut it? Let’s find out.
Hyundai is really keen to stick it to Toyota, Honda and others with its value for money pricing for the i30 Sedan hybrid.
Pricing
This kicks off from $33,000, but keep in mind there’s also the elite and the premium models, but we don’t know quite how much they’re gonna cost yet because they’re coming later on in the year.
Anyway Here’s a full rundown on the specifications of the base i30 sedan hybrid, like the rest of the facelift range for 2024.
Features
The hybrid model gains a beefed up body structure, sleeker, and now all LED headlights, RESTYLE bumpers, improved driver assist safety, USB-C outlets and a bunch of other worthwhile upgrades.
Being the base grade There’s only some levels of driver assist safety as well as just cloth seats.
But you do get adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, a leather steering wheel, rear vents, and 16 inch alloy wheels.
And although you do pay $4,000 more for the benefits of hybrid efficiency, you also score a multilink rear suspension system over the more basic torsion beam arrangement as well as dual zone climate control and rain sensing wipers.
On the other hand, if you want good stuff like blind spot monitoring, safe exit warning, rear cross traffic alert, a larger touch screen at 10.25 inches, keyless entry/start, leather upholstery, digital radio, and 17 inch alloys.
You’ll need to spend about 5K more for the elite. Still The i30 sedan hybrid is competitive with a similarly priced but smaller Corolla hybrid sedan, despite not being quite as well specified as we’d hope it would be.
And it’s almost 20 K cheaper than the Civic hybrid, though that comes with heaps more features.
Design
So what’s changed in the 2024 i30 sedan? On Bonnet, The badge is larger. The front’s been restyled, so it’s got, different headlights and a redesigned bumper with different grill treatments to give it a more aggressive look.
Now side view, there are different alloys, but the general fast back silhouette is retained, which has two advantages.
It gives the car a distinctive look and it helps with interior space ’cause it’s quite a large-ish small sedan.
I personally have never liked the look of the i30, the origami-like creases, just landed a fussiness I think that it doesn’t need, but I guess you, you do stand out.
So that’s, that’s one thing. And around the back the bumper has been restyled. There may have been changes to the badging and possibly the taillight lenses.
But overall it’s much the same as before except maybe slightly different to get people in.
Interiors
In a sea of almost indistinguishable touchscreen heavy designs Nowadays the i30 sedans interior presentation at least tries to be a bit different.
Let’s start with space There’s plenty of it upfront due to the Hyundai’s generous length and girth afforded by the stretched wheel base and wider tracks compared to the regular i30 hatch.
And yes, while it is definitely not a Camry in terms of size, that’s what Sonata is for. There’s heaps more in this Hyundai than Corolla and Co.
There’s lots to admire as well. Like the attractive comfortable seating that aids an exemplary driving position, Storage is abundant.
The multimedia setup is fast and easy. The climate control system is a model of clarity and delivers ample ventilation and the overall bill quality is excellent.
2nd Row
On the back of the i30 sedan hybrid IT too provides lots of space, pleasant seating and useful amenities like two USB-C ports.
A folding armrest with cup holders and rear air vents. All right, so much for the sensible stuff.
Here are some of my observations The instrument cluster is a bit basic I think for a hybrid. The bar that runs along the console just into the passenger’s knee up front.
Cargo Space
Finally, further back there’s a decent 474 liters of cargo capacity that spills into the cabin thanks to a split fold back rest.
It’s thoughtfully shaped and hungry enough for most smaller families’ needs. But don’t forget that there’s only a space saver spare underneath floor.
Engine
Now under the Bonnet Hyundai has managed to cram in a 1.6 liter four cylinder petrol engine and electric motor and a whole bunch of other electrical items.
And the result is actually quite interesting. Driving the front wheels via a six speed dual clutch transmission.
The combined outputs are 104 kilowatts of power and a healthy 265 nanometers of torque.
The same as a RACI I 30 N-Line versions. Hyundai says the hybrid is designed to only use electricity when driving away from standstill and it returns to EV only mode when coasting along off throttle during deceleration or when heading downhill.
Otherwise wasted kinetic energy is captured and stored further saving fuel. And speaking of which, the i30 sedan hybrid is a series parallel hybrid vehicle.
So it does not require any external charging and doesn’t come with any cables.
Powering up that 1.32 kilowatt hour Lithium ion battery is basically the petrol engine’s job as well as to drive the front wheels.
the official combined average consumption is 3.9 liters per 100 kilometers, which equates to a carbon dioxide emissions rating of 92 grams per kilometer. Even with a modest 42 liter fuel tank capacity.
On Road Experience
I 30 sedan hybrid takes off in pure electric mode, which is what a lot of the latest hybrids do nowadays.
Rather than just help the engine, they actually help drive the car along. So it adds to the experience of this being more of an EV than the old Prius and that sort of thing.
But more importantly, it shows that Hyundai has developed a seamless and enjoyable driving machine with the i30 sedan hybrid.
It’s actually come as a bit of a surprise because I expected this car to feel a bit loose, to feel a bit mushy, but in fact it’s quite powerful and fast off the line much more so than say what I remember a Corolla hybrid to be.
And conversely, the steering is a little bit sharper and sportier than, what your expectation might be from hybrid, particularly given that this is a sedan.
So that’s another feather in this car’s cabin. they’re on larger wheels and tires. It’s not super supple or you know, sophisticated in the ways that say the civic rides, but it is comfortable enough.
Safety
There’s no NCAP score for the i30 sedan range due to it not being available in Europe.
Confident it would match the Toyota Corolla hybrid’s five star rating rather than replicate the MG five small sedan Shocking zero star result.
Hyundai says that NCAP is welcome to buy one and put it to the test with a base i30 sedan hybrid being the only grade available right now.
It gets some driver assist safety features like AEB as part of its forward collision avoidance assist system driver attention warning and adaptive cruise control with full stop go functionality. But it misses out on blind spot monitoring.
Safe exit warning and rear cross traffic alert. You’ll need to save up for the hybrid elite and up for those pity.
Warranty Period
the i30 sedan hybrid comes with a five year unlimited kilometer warranty as well as one year of roadside assistance.
The lithium ion high voltage battery is covered for eight years or 160,000 kilometers. Service intervals are pegged at 12 months or 15,000 kilometers.
With service pricing published on Hyundai’s website for now over the first five years, the standard schedule cost is $2,150 or an average of $430 annually.
Final Word
This is competitive with most other hybrids on the market. Hyundai might have Skyhigh hopes for the i30 sedan hybrid, but the car itself has its feet firmly planted on the ground with excellent economy, great space inside.