The Hyundai i30, the Korean car maker’s new, European-designed answer to the VW Golf and Ford Focus, goes on sale on 1 September. And despite having a much more generous equipment tally, the entry-level 1.4-litre petrol model will cost no more than the equivalent Kia Cee’d, its budget-brand sibling.The i30 will be priced from £10,995. That buys you a 107bhp, 1.4-litre petrol model with enough equipment to put a medium-sized saloon in the shade. Even the cheapest i30 comes with air conditioning, alloy wheels, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, an air-conditioned glove box, electric windows, front fog lights, tinted windows and both traction and stability control as standard. It also gets Hyundai's five-year, unlimited mileage warranty and three years' roadside assistance cover.Like its Cee’d sister car, the i30 will also be offered with both 1.6-litre, petrol and diesel engines; unlike the Kia, though, there will be a 2.0-litre CRDi diesel.This range-topper gets 138bhp, 224lb ft of torque, parking sensors, heated leather seats and a £16,595 price tag. The new Hyundai is being launched to the press this week in Vienna, and we’ll be bringing you our second review of the car later this week. Hyundai has also confirmed that it’ll roll out a new naming strategy, starting with the i30. The new Picanto-based city car will be called the i10, the next Getz supermini the i20 and the next Sonata the i40. Within a few years, there’s even the possibility for an all-new, big, rear-driven, V8-powered Hyundai saloon, inspired by the Genesis concept that appeared at New York, and called the i50.
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