[AlanHo]

Some more news about Hyundai in Europe

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/road-tests/first-drive-hyundai-i30-7295101.html

http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/motors/2012/02/22/bonfire-of-the-warranties/


http://www.nitrobahn.com/news/hyundai-plans-to-increase-its-production-at-czech-plant-in-2012/

[Dazzler]

Thanks Alan.. The Warranty article was interesting and the Increased production article makes Toyota/Peugeot look a bit ordinary .. The first link was being a bit recalcitrant 

[Shambles]

Cheers Alan

The original model was launched in the UK just four-and-a-half years ago, giving the i30 one of the shortest replacement cycles in the industry. That Hyundai has the resources to renew its cars so frequently must surely terrify the competition...

Scares the shit out of me. I wish they'd kept the new "fluidic style" for another time, say, 5 years hence.

[eye30]

Think the fuel consumption of 74.3 mpg in combined cycle seems way over the top

[asathorny]

Think the fuel consumption of 74.3 mpg in combined cycle seems way over the top

yeah I thought that too

[Asterix]

Interesting articles, thanks Alan. 

[2i30s]

Cheers Alan

The original model was launched in the UK just four-and-a-half years ago, giving the i30 one of the shortest replacement cycles in the industry. That Hyundai has the resources to renew its cars so frequently must surely terrify the competition...

Scares the shit out of me. I wish they'd kept the new "fluidic style" for another time, say, 5 years hence.

yeah,the new shape makes our current i30's look almost like they were made in the 80's. 

[AlanHo]

Here is a review from the Irish Independent paper.

It is well written and generally complimentary about the new i30.

What I find interesting is that the models names are different from the UK cars and the features for each model differ. It seems strange that they would do this  - our countries are neighbours after all.

http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/motoring/hyundai-i30-bang-for-your-buck-and-stylish-good-looks-3031889.html

[Phil №❶]

Have I missed something somewhere, what does this mean 

"Still, where it counts, economy, it's hard to beat. Blue Drive technology helps it achieve its impressive fuel-economy figure, with stop-start shutting down the engine when idle."

[Dazzler]

Have I missed something somewhere, what does this mean 

"Still, where it counts, economy, it's hard to beat. Blue Drive technology helps it achieve its impressive fuel-economy figure, with stop-start shutting down the engine when idle."

Apparently the i30 CRDi has stop start technology like my hybrid. The engine cuts out when you pull up at the lights and starts again when you need to take off again. I think someone on here (or in a posted review) said it was triggered by the clutch?

[Phil №❶]

Sorry, don't like that idea at all. I used to drive about 40 k's each way to work through the Adelaide suburbs. At peak hour, max of about 1k between lights. Imagine all the stop starts and wear and tear on the battery / starter. Yuk. 

[Dazzler]

Sorry, don't like that idea at all. I used to drive about 40 k's each way to work through the Adelaide suburbs. At peak hour, max of about 1k between lights. Imagine all the stop starts and wear and tear on the battery / starter. Yuk. 

Yes but think of all the fuel you are wasting at all those light stops.. The stop start technology is generally very reliable now. The Hybrid Camry (for example) has proven to be one of the more reliable cars on the road. There are ways to engineer this set up that doesn't cause extra wear, apparently.

[Phil №❶]

I don't think you can engineer away extra wear on the starter / battery, it either gets used or it doesn't. If it's used, it wears.

A diesel engine at idle uses much less fuel than a petrol engine. What about A/C at idle etc.

[Phil №❶]

Pity Hy wasted their money creating 3 mode steering. Alan and this reviewer basically agree to leave the setting in normal. The money could have been better spent further improving the sound insulation issue, even though some improvement has been made.

IMO If you're going to fiddle with steering then you have to change the suspension as well, like exotic cars do & that's out of the question for a family car. 

[bumpkin]

Calm down guys, let me explain the BlueDrive/ISG/StopStart whatever you want to call it to you.

It is indeed operated by the clutch, when you pull up at a set of lights and put the car into neutral, the engine cuts when the clutch pedal is released.  Similarly when you push the clutch in to engage gear, the engine auto-starts.  Whilst there will undoubtedly be an element of wear associated with this, the technology does not use full battery/starter when ISG is active, ie if you switched the car off with the key, then restarted it, all the power goes to the starter, resetting your Bluetooth connections for example or certain USB music drives.  This does not happen with ISG, it is seamless.

ISG only operates if certain conditions are met, ie outside temperature, distance travelled since last switch off and speed achieved in that time, current level etc, so if you hit traffic and are moving very slowly the engine does not cut out / in every time you come to halt.

If you have a heavy electrical load running when the ISG is operating, then sit at a long set of traffic lights etc, the engine will restart without any human input when the electrical "reserve" drops too far.

Of course if you are in the Adelaide suburbs and don't want it switching off the engine every 1k or so, then simply hit the ISG OFF button in the dash and be happy you have the choice

[Dazzler]

See.. I told you Phil (did you take your cranky pills twice today?) 

[Phil №❶]

Thanks Bumpkin, I didn't know there was a choice. Problem solved, I don't drive manual's anyhow. The "soft start" must be the engineering Dazz was referring to. 

[AlanHo]

Pity Hy wasted their money creating 3 mode steering. Alan and this reviewer basically agree to leave the setting in normal. The money could have been better spent further improving the sound insulation issue, even though some improvement has been made.

IMO If you're going to fiddle with steering then you have to change the suspension as well, like exotic cars do & that's out of the question for a family car. 

I didn't intend to give the impression that leaving the steering in the normal postion is necessarily the best thing to do. What I said was :-

I was very happy with the stability of the car and the merits of the flex steer system. I am at a loss to understand why some magazine reviews have been critical of the steering – saying it lacks feel - especially at the straight ahead position. I found it much better than my current i30 but will concede that less adventurous motorists will probably leave it in the “normal” setting, rather than "sport" or "comfort" regardless of circumstances.

I think the flex steer system is excellent and I expect to be using it. The car computer controls the torque of the electric motor which drives the power steering system in parallel with the rack and steering linkage. The degree of assistance is varied according to the setting selected by the driver, the steering wheel displacement and the driving conditions.

The soft setting is excellent when driving on slow side roads with you having to make many turns - because the power steering provides the highest level of assistance and the steering is therefore very light. The sports setting provides less power assistance and gives you a more direct feel of the wheels thus requires more steering effort from the driver. The normal setting lies between these two.

Regarding sound insulation - a subject near and dear to me - I was satisfied that the new i30 is quieter than the Golf and Focus - both of which I have recently driven. I suppose you can always throw more money at a problem but you can be assured that noise levels in the new car are a significant improvement over my current i30. I have also recently driven the new Citroen C4 - now that is a really quiet car, but let down by other factors, so the i30 stays at the top of my desirability list.

[Dazzler]

Gee you are getting good at this stuff Alan..