If the outside fails to convince, one look at the cabin of the i30 is all you need to know that the era of the mediocre Korean car interior has well and truly passed. Here you’ll find a world of soft-touch materials, smart dials and thoughtful ergonomics that are as good as the best European offerings.
It has space, too. One of the longest wheelbases in the category and some clever packaging mean that four average-sized adults should be able to travel unlimited distances in considerable comfort. It’s particularly impressive in the back, where legroom – usually the first casualty of small family car design – exists in something of an abundance.
There is a flaw in this cabin, however, and it’s taller drivers that’ll feel it most. The driving position is hampered by the seat’s restricted range of height adjustment. You cannot get the squab as low as you would like, leading to a feeling of being perched on the car, rather than snugly settled in it.
You cannot argue with the facts: for a great deal less money than the class average, the i30 offers a huge range of standard equipment. Spend over £12,000 on a Focus 1.4 Studio 5dr and you’ll find no alloy air-con, electric rear windows or electric mirrors. The i30 has them all as standard, plus six airbags, active headrests and the air conditioned glovebox. To match our test 1.6 Style i30’s equipment, you’re looking at a Focus 1.6 Zetec at £15,122 and even then ESP is a £250 option. Consider then the all-inclusive five-year warranty and it’s difficult not to conclude that the i30 is outstanding value.
Substantially less outstanding is the i30’s residual value. The low purchase price is offset partly by the fact that three years/36,000 miles on from new, it’s estimated it will have retained only 33 per cent of its list price.
Similarly underwhelming is the fuel consumption, which, at 30.2mpg on test is something of a disappointment. Hyundai claims a combined figure of 45.6mpg.
