With the European C-segment hatchback market getting lots of new entries such as the award-winning new Peugeot 308, the Volkswagen Golf Mk7, and the recently facelifted Ford Focus, Hyundai has to play catch up with an update to its own C-segment hatchback entry – the Hyundai i30. Since the i30 is also sold in Malaysia, this update will eventually come to our shores as well.
The facelifted i30’s face gets an updated grille that adds lot of horizontal bars. While that treatment reminds us of how Audis look like, but it also brings it in line with the new Sonata’s face as well as what we’ve seen on the yet to be launched Hyundai i40’s facelift so far.
Bigger changes could be under the hood. Hyundai’s 1.6 litre and 1.8 litre normally aspirated engines mated to 6-speed automatic gearboxes could be replaced with downsized turbocharged engines which are now commonplace in the segment that the i30 is competing in. Since the new Sonata features a variant that uses a 1.6 litre turbo engine mated to a dual clutch gearbox, we could see it introduced in the facelifted i30.
Hyundai also announced 1.0 litre and 1.2 litre turbocharged engines back in 2012 but have yet to introduce them in a production car – these engines would make sense in an i30. The 1.0 litre engine does 106 PS and 137 Nm of torque – no details on the 1.2 litre engine yet.
But then again, these engines could skip the i30 facelift and only be introduced in a full model change such as the new ix35 compact SUV as well as the next generation i20.
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That’s a rather Toyota Auris like rear end…
Nothing as hideous as Suprima S and Preve fugly butt design.
That might be one of the most off topic comments on PT ever. I never mentioned anything about these cars being ugly, in fact I think the Auris has a pretty good looking rear end (it’s a good looking car all around).
But apparently that doesn’t matter to Proton bashers… they’ll take anything as a reason to bash.
Time to delivery must be fast enough to keep competency in the market, sorry to those slow and steady one..
However, the price for i30 in Malaysia is too high! People consider it as elantra hatch back version and the price should be around the same.
Well I am expecting someone here to say;….
Korean cars are junk. No resale value!! Toyota 14 yr old 1AZFE and 16 year old 4AT can beat the shit outta any Korean 6-8 speed AT or DSG gearboxes…
LOL
some ladies like their man short, some like them fat and pot belly. if all the women in the world choose the tall dark and handsome, you being fat, short, pot belly driving a 14 yrs old T will be jinxed to bachelorhood for life.
right?
The i30 is a very adorable car inside and out, aside from its brand. The Malaysian version is CBUed from Korea, which explained why the price is RM120K+. Too bad the brand image is so poor over here; people thought that Altis and Civic provides sportier & solid drive when the real fact that this car is actually in the same league as the Golf and Focus.
THis is an adorable car indeed (1 year later).
I will accept trade in at no more than RM25k a year later