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In the red

Friday, 20 June 2008

I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up a red Hyundai i30 test car. Two weeks previously the Subaru Justy had been black and the Ssangyong Rexton II from the previous week was also black. While black will never go out of fashion, it lifted my spirits to sit in a red car for a change.
The i30, which is the first of Hyundai’s new designs, looked very well externally with very attractive headlamps and the interior didn’t disappoint either. It replaces the Elantra and is a five-door hatchback, with an estate version promised later.
Hyundai’s i30 has naturally been compared to the Kia Cee’d. They both come from the same parent company in Korea, although both were designed and built in Europe. While the Cee’d has a seven-year guaranteed, the slightly more attractive i30 offers you a three-year unlimited mileage warranty and three-year AA membership.
Hyundai and indeed Kia are hoping to attract buyers from the very competitive C segment, where the opposition includes the best-selling Ford Focus. It won’t be easy, but Sarah Hayes from Hyundai says they are very happy with the reaction they have been getting to-date for the i30.
The boot is a decent size and of course you can leave down the back seats to get extra space if carrying awkward items. Internally there is plenty of leg room for the front seat passenger and also adequate leg and head room for three adult back-seat passengers.
From the driver’s point of view everything on the dash is clearly laid out and easy to use. Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of radios and I was very happy with the one supplied in the i30. There is a decent-sized button to scroll up and down the wavelengths. And when the radio is not switched on you get time and temperature information in the neat display unit. The car is also USB and I-pod compatible.
Often a simple thing in a car catches your eye, in this case I liked the trip counter button on the dash and found myself frequently checking the distance of journeys made.
It’s a fine, comfortable car and the 1.6 diesel engine certainly gives you plenty of power. I couldn't find any fault and the i30 should help Hyundai establish itself in this very competitive sector. I recommend a test drive.
From July 1 the price for the 1.4 petrol engine starts at e18,995, while the price of the 1.6 diesel will drop from e21,495 to e19,250. In a the recent World Solar Challenge race in Australia the i30 diesel topped the fuel efficiency test and came in with a better performance than some hybrid cars.
Everybody is talking about diesel right now. There will be reductions in many models when the new C02 emission changes come into force on July 1, but I’m sure you will have noticed that the price of diesel at the pumps has risen steeply in recent months. I paid over e1.40 per litre and that was not on Dublin’s South Quays, where the price has now dropped down to the same as those in most other forecourts.

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