Specifications
Model:
Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi.
Price:
£12 995 - £16 595 (R186 000 - R238 000). Due in South Africa in 2008 - prices merely a guide.
Engine:
1582cc, four cylinders, 16 valves, turbodiesel, 86kW at 4000rpm, 255Nm at 1900-2750rpm.
Transmission:
Five-speed gearbox, front-wheel drive.
Performance:
187km/h, 0-100 in 11.6sec, 4.7 litres/100km.
Apple has played a smart game. Conventional wisdom has it that it should have trademarked that lower-case "i", since hijacked by all sorts of companies eager for their products to reflect a little of Apple's cool image.
What has actually happened is that all these iThings make people more aware of Apple. It's free advertising.
The iPod is now almost as generic a term as a Hoover once was. So, what will Steve Jobs and his friends think of the new Hyundai i30?
Hyundai says the "i" stands for "inspiring". It then adds "intelligence" and "integrity", as well as " innovative". There's nothing about inconsistency, though.
These are all worthy aims but we're talking about a Hyundai here and, although the company has produced some good cars in the past few years that have lifted it out of the cheap 'n nasty category, some people may still have doubts.
Well, if a company is to reinvent itself, it has to start somewhere. The i30 is the first in a series of Hyundai iCars; the letter will also prefix the numbers 10, 20, 40 and 60 according to the cars' sizes and market segments.
This type of alphanumeric name suggests confidence and concentrated technology, perhaps why Mercedes, BMW and Audi have always used it.
It's also a European approach, which is why Hyundai is doing it specifically for Europe. The names will have suffixes for derivative models such as i30 CW for the imminent station wagon.
You're guessing by now that Hyundai would like to be considered a "premium" brand. Don't laugh; everything's relative. And there's a very specific relativity here, in the form of Kia and its C'eed.
The two brands, both Hyundai-owned, have become more different from each other in the eyes of the buying public and Hyundai hasn't made things easier for itself by basing the i30 very closely on the C'eed.
The two cars are even closer than a Golf is to an Audi A3, or a Ford Focus to a Mazda 3. The structures and mechanicals are the same, but - uniquely in this market segment - so are the doors. What, then, is the difference?
A lesson in perception
The answer is a lesson in the perception of cars and what makes them quality objects. The i30 is more expensive and looks and feels it. Where the C'eed has fake aluminium detailing, the i30 might have chrome plating.
The lights are more extravagant (complex reflectors around the headlights, tall, pointy tail-lights) and inside there are soft-touch surfaces, restful blue instrument lighting and an air of solid quality that might lead you to think you're sitting in the next-generation VW Golf.
This Hyundai, which will soon be made in Europe (in the Czech Republic and not, surprisingly, in the C'eed factory in Slovakia) looks and feels European. Infiltration, integration, assimilation - call it what you like - but this is Korea taking on Europe on Europe's terms, just as the Japanese have done.
I sat in the i30 at the Geneva show, then sat in the new Mondeo. Guess which one was the more convincingly "premium" aspirant? It's the car you're looking at now.
On the road
Yes, yes, you're saying - but is it any good to drive? The ingredients are promising; after all, the C'eed has had praise showered upon it for its driving qualities. But the two Koreans do feel different to drive. It's that brand differentiation again.
A C'eed feels quite firm on the road, almost sporty. The i30 is more supple, with softer responses and less road noise, and I prefer its calmer, more fluid way of moving.
It steers with enough accuracy and weighting to feel confident and satisfying and it still corners tidily with good grip and enough interactivity to engage the driver. It feels, not surprisingly, rather like a Golf.
How does it go? There's a choice of four engines, two petrol units of 1.4 litres/81kW and 1.6 litres/90kW and a pair of diesels with 1.6 litres/86kW and - the speed king of the range - two litres and 104kW.
This last engine has a six-speed gearbox and a four-speed automatic will be optional on both 1.6's. Later there will be a two-litre, turbocharged petrol engine for a souped-up i30 and a hot C'eed equivalent.
Short-legged gearing
I tried the two 1.6s, and found the petrol one to be adequately lively but a touch noisy when revving over 4000, which happens often because its gearing is quite short-legged.
The diesel, smooth with its vibration-quelling balancer shafts and responsive with its variable-geometry turbocharger, is a much better bet: its 255Nm of torque gives it a relaxed pulling and overtaking ability.
It's also a viable family car, with more rear leg room than its rivals thanks to a long wheelbase, and a remarkable amount of standard kit. All i30s, even the base Comfort model, have an iPod/MP3 interface with USB and auxiliary ports.
They also have alloy wheels, an electronic stability programme, heatable mirrors, a CD player, very efficient air-conditioning, stereo controls on the steering wheel, front foglights and four power windows.
So those who think £10 995 (R157 500) is too much to pay for an entry-level Hyundai hatchback should do some close comparisons of equipment and options lists.
The Comfort has all you reasonably need but if you go for a Style version you get leather on the steering wheel, seat edges and front centre armrest, plus 16" rather than 15" alloys - and a tyre-pressure monitor.
Premium version
Worth the extra? It's debatable. The top Premium version is more understandable, though: you get 17" wheels (at what cost to the ride I can't report), reverse-parking sensors, automatic air-conditioning, electrically-folding door mirrors, an electrochromatic interior mirror, full leather trim, heatable front seats and automatic wipers. And you even get an electric wiper de-icing element in the windscreen.
The most expensive i30, the two-litre diesel in Premium trim, costs £16 595 (R238 000). A top-spec diesel Focus is more than £18 000 (R256 000) and it feels no grander.
Hyundai sets the tone for its future with the i30. Samsung and LG electronics, both Korean, are now accepted as equals to the established Japanese and European brands.
If there's any justice in the brand world the i30 should do the same for Hyundai. Will it happen? Depends on whether or not you view a car as a consumer durable.
The rivals
Citroën C4 1.6 HDi VTR Plus:
£16 915 (R242 000): You need this top-spec version of the innovative, likeable and curiously unpopular C4 to get the powerful 82kW engine. Comfortable and engagingly futuristic.
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi:
from £15 340 (R220 000): With 82kW engine. As with the C4, you can pay less but you'll get less power. The Focus still sets the standard for handling and ride, but the cabin is dull and it's expensive.
Kia C'eed 1.6D LS:
£14 245 (R204 000): This top-spec C'eed has the same engine as the i30; lower specs have 67kW, like cheaper C4s and Focuses. On the face of it, the upmarket i30 seems better value than its cousin.