Hyundai will give its updated i30 hatchback a first outing at the Geneva Motor Show next week. It's not an all-new model, rather a thorough facelift of the current i30, with some new styling and some upgraded tech.
New grille, sharper nose
On the styling front, the major changes have been made at the front, where the i30 copies the sharp-nosed look of the new i20 (also making a Geneva debut) with a bigger, wider, grille and pointier headlights. That grille gets a 3D-pattern, and the lights are LED units, with new V-shaped daytime running signatures. Around the back, there are also new rear lights (although you'd struggle to tell, to be honest) and reprofiled bumpers.
"By listening to our customers, we've determined there is a need for a safe, reliable car in the C-segment that also offers modern features such as state-of-the-art connectivity and efficient powertrains - and that looks good," says Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, Vice President Marketing and Product at Hyundai Motor Europe. "The new i30 covers our customers' needs while still being available at an attractive price point. It really has a universal appeal."
To increase that appeal, Hyundai is updating the sporty N-Line spec for the car, and it will now include a bigger front air intake in the bumper, a rear diffuser, new 17- or 18-inch alloy wheels, new fog lights, and slightly altered headlights.
Mild-hybrid options
On the mechanical front, there's an updated 120hp 1.0-litre T-GDI three cylinder petrol turbo engine, which can be optionally had with a new seven-speed DCT automatic gearbox. There's also the option of a new 48-volt mild=hybrid version of that engine, and anew intelligent six-speed manual gearbox that automatically declutches to allow the i30 to 'sail' at motorway speeds for brief periods. It can also turn the engine off entirely, to help save even more fuel.
There's also a 1.6-litre 136hp diesel engine, which now comes with a mild-hybrid option too, and an all-new 1.5-litre turbo petrol four-cylinder unit, which has 160hp and is, again, a mild-hybrid.
On the inside, virtually nothing has changed, bar the addition of some new part-digital instruments, and - as Hyundai is keen to point out - some new air vents. There is also an new 10.25-inch touchscreen which comes with the latest connectivity options, including wireless phone mirroring and charging, live traffic, fuel prices, parking availability, and access to the car's systems through a mobile phone app.
More safety kit
On the safety front, the i30 will be available with lane following assist steering, rear collision avoidance, and a leading vehicle warning alert which sounds when the car in front of you (at traffic lights for example) pulls away without you having noticed. There's also blind spot detection and, as with previous versions of the i30, forward collision alert with pedestrian detection, driver attention warning (DAW), high beam assist (HBA), intelligent speed limit warning (ISLW), and lane keeping assist (LKA) are also standard.
Sales of the new i30 should start by the summer, and we await Irish prices and spec details.