[AlanHo]

Fabulous reports - thanks Alanho.  You certainly have rather missed a vocation.
I saw 2 new i30's unloaded from a tramsporter when I was at the dealer in Durham last week - sadly I wasnt quick enough to go and sniff round them before they were removed to the compound.
I am relieved that we will not get the electronic park brake (I would be very reluctant to buy a car fitted with that).
Note that the new i30's in UK are specced with 15 or at most 16" wheels - no 17" wheels as on the old top of range model, maybe after the ride criticisms.
Any feedback on the new 6 speed auto gearbox?  Is it more "active" than the old 4 speed torque converter?  Sadly I do note that the new auto still suffers a large fuel consumption & CO2 penalty (unlike Ford or VAG equivalents?), and therefore presumably also a performance penalty when compared to the manual.  I also think I noted that only a lesser tuned 110ho version of the 1.6CRDi is listed for the auto - and sadly no 128hp version and no sniff of the 1.7CRDi that finds its way into the ix35?
Looking forward to trying out a new i30, but wont be upgrading for a year or so.
On a parallel note Alan - if you are considering upgrading - are you happy /pleased with the residual value of your existing car? 
Ed

I am not able to comment on the auto box - they had them there for test driving but I am not interested - too thirsty.  I imagine It won't be long before they drop the new Hyundai dual clutch box (available on the Veloster) into the car which will give them a paddle manual/auto with better than manual economy.  I note however, looking at the Veloster price list, that the dual clutch box is £1250 more than the manual. Whereas on the i30 - the conventional auto box costs £800 more than the manual.

I have yet to look at the residual value for my car - I keep putting it off because I am fully aware it will be very low.  With the dealers still selling off the old model at up to £4500 off list - what can you expect?  I am therefore resigned to a large outlay - and it won't get any better if I defer the change for a few months or even a year - the more miles I pile on and the more I eat into the warranty period - the less I will get for the present car...

I will see what deals I can get for both a part exchange and alternatively a straight cash deal with me selling my car privately. Then I will bite the bullet. But first I have to decide whether I go Petrol or Diesel....sigh...

[eye30]

I am relieved that we will not get the electronic park brake (I would be very reluctant to buy a car fitted with that).

Brother has just bought a 8 month old VW Passat and this has it.

Seems strange to press a button and the brakes come on. Another electronic thing to go wrong.

[Doggie 1]

Alan is that avatar a glimpse into the future by any chance & is it diesel or petrol 

My avatar is indeed a glimpse into the near future - however the car displayed has the base model front grill and is blue. Neither of which I like.

It is interesting that most of the early photos of the new car - and most magazines - show a blue car which I thought looked most attractive. However - when I saw the car in the flesh I took an instant dislike to the blue colour (as opposed to my wife who liked it). I should point out that I believe there are two shades of blue available - Aqua Blue and Ice Blue. I am not certain which of these colours we were looking at, but suspect it was the darker one of the two - aqua.

I much preferred the sleek silver or steel grey.....decisions,, decisions.

I am nervous about the choice of colour because a few years back I bought a newly launched Audi A3 Sportback and chose - in the showroom - a dark metallic grey which looked very classy. I had seen other Audi models in the same colour and assumed it would suit the new car. Two months later I went to collect the car and there it was all sparkling, shiny and new parked outside the showroom. My heart sank - I hated the colour - and continued to do so for the 3 years I owned it.  Although regular detailing using Meguiar's clays and polishes produced a phenominal gloss - no amount of polishing ever brought me around to liking the colour.

When I bought my (white) i30 in '09, I did briefly consider getting a Shine Red one because I like nice reds ( in cars and in wines).
However, I decided to be ultra conservative and buy white.
Having looked at photos of the new i30 though, I really do like the red (hence my avatar).
But if & when the time comes I may chicken out again and go for white.
Red in Australia can fade if you don't keep the polish/protection up to it, but I just really like the look of them in my middle-age years. 

[Phil №❶]

My wife's car is red and I'm a bit nervous about it's longevity too.

So you don't like blue & your wife does. That could be a problem. You may need to revisit some of your "jokes" to get some guidance. Good luck. 

[Doggie 1]

My wife's car is red and I'm a bit nervous about it's longevity too.

If you use protection she'll be fine.
And red looks great (IMHO). 

[Talking Hoarse]

When I bought my (white) i30 in '09, I did briefly consider getting a Shine Red one because I like nice reds ( in cars and in wines).
However, I decided to be ultra conservative and buy white.
Having looked at photos of the new i30 though, I really do like the red (hence my avatar).
But if & when the time comes I may chicken out again and go for white.
Red in Australia can fade if you don't keep the polish/protection up to it, but I just really like the look of them in my middle-age years. 

Red can even be a problem in UK - but worth it (I think) if prepared to wax it a couple of times each year.  In UK we have to pay about £500 more for metallic paint - so red & white are therefore cheaper too.  However I think HUK restrict the market of their cars in "solid" colours in UK - when I bought my car I could get Shine Red (my favourite), not white, but now I think the only solid colour is white.  Perversely, HUK's sister company Kia are the reverse - they didnt sell red in UK 2 years ago, now do.
Maybe there is only so much red paint to go round.......
Red is by far my favourite colour for many cars - and Shine Red is pretty good - but even this looks brown /dull compared to my sons "Power Red" Vauxhall Astra (maybe a Holden or Opel in other markets).
Ed

[AlanHo]

This is my first attempt at making a comparison between the 5 year ownership costs of the new 2012 i30 Style 1.4 petrol versus 1.6 diesel

I have ignored items that would be the same for both cars - such as replacement tyres.

The Hyundai technical staff told me that the new diesel car is 12% more frugal than my model - so I have inflated my car's economy by 12% to achieve the estimate of 55 mpg (5.1 L/100Km).

I have used the average economy figures for the 1.4 petrol off the Honest John and Fuelly sites. 38 mpg (7.4 L/100Km) falls a little short of Bumpkin's ix20 performance so is possibly about right.

Fuel prices over 5 years are anyones guess - I have taken my local prices today and assumed an increase of 5% per year on average. My guess is that in the UK the difference between diesel and petrol will widen which will work against the diesel car.

I have obtained insurance quotes on a comparison site (meerkats) for the petrol and diesel cars and inflated these at an average of 5% per year.





Comments would be welcomed - the comparison has produced a virtual tie.

[eye30]

I can follow the logic behind the figures and they look like the way I would use to compare.

An area which would be the only variable and can make you decide on either the petrol or diesel would be the final purchase price of either car. i.e will they be willing to discounted or offer a higher P/X on one model but not the other.

[Shambles]

This is my first attempt at making a comparison between the 5 year ownership costs of the new 2012 i30 Style 1.4 petrol versus 1.6 diesel...

Did you really mean to post your comparison in this thread ??

The whole thread does seem to have wandered wildy off topic I have to say, which is a shame for such a masterclass in editorial brilliance

[Lakes]

Exerlent Allan.
Alan the compartion in cost between the 1.4 & the 1.6 CRDi is good, just i would not be happy with a normally asperated small petrol motor as they don't have enough Torque at lower revs to thrust you up hill's to overtake trucks or slower cars quickly.

[AlanHo]

This is my first attempt at making a comparison between the 5 year ownership costs of the new 2012 i30 Style 1.4 petrol versus 1.6 diesel...

Did you really mean to post your comparison in this thread ??

The whole thread does seem to have wandered wildy off topic I have to say, which is a shame for such a masterclass in editorial brilliance

That's fair comment Steve - can you split it off please.

[Surferdude]

^^^
Personally I think it's all relevant and useful in this thread.

[Surferdude]

This is my first attempt at making a comparison between the 5 year ownership costs of the new 2012 i30 Style 1.4 petrol versus 1.6 diesel

I have ignored items that would be the same for both cars - such as replacement tyres.

The Hyundai technical staff told me that the new diesel car is 12% more frugal than my model - so I have inflated my car's economy by 12% to achieve the estimate of 55 mpg (5.1 L/100Km).

I have used the average economy figures for the 1.4 petrol off the Honest John and Fuelly sites. 38 mpg (7.4 L/100Km) falls a little short of Bumpkin's ix20 performance so is possibly about right.

Fuel prices over 5 years are anyones guess - I have taken my local prices today and assumed an increase of 5% per year on average. My guess is that in the UK the difference between diesel and petrol will widen which will work against the diesel car.

I have obtained insurance quotes on a comparison site (meerkats) for the petrol and diesel cars and inflated these at an average of 5% per year.





Comments would be welcomed - the comparison has produced a virtual tie.

What those figures are telling me is to take both for a long test drive.
Then you can feel confident that whichever one drives best is the one for you.

[Doggie 1]

When I bought my (white) i30 in '09, I did briefly consider getting a Shine Red one because I like nice reds ( in cars and in wines).
However, I decided to be ultra conservative and buy white.
Having looked at photos of the new i30 though, I really do like the red (hence my avatar).
But if & when the time comes I may chicken out again and go for white.
Red in Australia can fade if you don't keep the polish/protection up to it, but I just really like the look of them in my middle-age years. 

Red can even be a problem in UK - but worth it (I think) if prepared to wax it a couple of times each year.  In UK we have to pay about £500 more for metallic paint - so red & white are therefore cheaper too.  However I think HUK restrict the market of their cars in "solid" colours in UK - when I bought my car I could get Shine Red (my favourite), not white, but now I think the only solid colour is white.  Perversely, HUK's sister company Kia are the reverse - they didnt sell red in UK 2 years ago, now do.
Maybe there is only so much red paint to go round.......
Red is by far my favourite colour for many cars - and Shine Red is pretty good - but even this looks brown /dull compared to my sons "Power Red" Vauxhall Astra (maybe a Holden or Opel in other markets).
Ed

Apolgies for off-topic.
Same here in Oz. White & Shine Red were the only solid colours which is why I only considered those.
I changed my avatar to the new red i30 because of its looks but it's a personal/subjective thing. No doubt some people hate red, and I guess also, it depends on the car.
Ferrari reds are red.

[AlanHo]

I asked some questions of Hyundai at Silverstone which they were not able to answer on the spot. They answered them today via Email. here is a copy and paste :-

Does the New Generation i30 have a dual mass flywheel?
We expect this to be the same as the current model. The petrol version will not be fitted with a dual mass flywheel but the Diesel model will be.

What is the procedure for regenerating the DPF?
If whilst driving the engine management lamp was to start flashing, this would indicate the DPF requires a regeneration phase. The vehicle should be driven on the open road with a constant engine speed of around 2500 rpm, for up to 30 minutes. This will allow the DPF temperature to rise far enough for the DPF regeneration to be completed. If for any reason this procedure was to fail then, the vehicle should be referred to a Hyundai dealer for a forced regeneration using the GDS.

Camshaft Chain drive or belt?
All engines on the New Generation i30, whether petrol or diesel, will be chain driven.

Is it possible to import waypoints or POIs to the sat-nav using USB or any other source?
Navteq have confirmed that this is not possible

My reaction to this information is :-

We can only hope that Hyundai have made a better job of engineering the dual mass flywheel than Ford, Volkswagen and some others who have experienced reliability problems. A search of the web will reveal many tales of diesel engine dual mass flywheel failures outside the warranty period that have cost owners wads of money. A dual mass flywheel would make me nervous if I should keep the car beyond the warranty period.

A quick flick through the index and maintenance section of the car owners manual left in one of the cars at Silverstone revealed no mention of the DPF. My car has done 13,000 miles and I have never seen any sign of the DPF being regenerated despite lots of town driving from time to time. My experience possibly indicates that i30 regeneration is a rare event - but it is a regular mention in the KIA Ceed forum. Puzzled!!

I did know that the diesel had a chain driven camshaft but was not certain it applied to the petrol engine too. Good news in my opinion - I hate belts having had one fail many moons ago.

I am disappointed that it is not possible to enter waypoints, POI's and routes into the sat-nav via USB or an aux port. I like to plan long trips and create waypoints remotely on a computer and download them to the sat-nav. This is a deal breaker for me - I will not be spending an extra £1000 on such a limited sat-nav system - especially one that will not accept full post codes, and will stick with my trusty Garmin Nuvi which does all I want.  Fortunately on the new car - the top of the dash board is flat where I would want to position the nuvi so I will not have to make a special adaptor to fit the self-adhesive mount base.

[asathorny]

So as well as integrated Sat Nav you'd need  to invest in a 'Road Angel' or some other similar product ????   !!!!

[diablo]

Dual mass flywheels? Regenerating DPF?

I'm glad I have an oh-so-simple petrol with none of this malarkey. 

[AlanHo]

So as well as integrated Sat Nav you'd need  to invest in a 'Road Angel' or some other similar product ????   !!!!

Good point asa - from a proud owner of 3 points on my licence (SP50 - 92 mph on a motorway)

[Phil №❶]

Good point asa - from a proud owner of 3 points on my licence (SP50 - 92 mph on a motorway)

Wow, did you think you were still at Silverstone.....  That's way past the economy range 

[Talking Hoarse]

Dual mass flywheels? Regenerating DPF?
I'm glad I have an oh-so-simple petrol with none of this malarkey.

That is a good point - and something that may well affect the residual values of diesel cars when they are 4 or 5 years old, ie with new owners fearing expensive repairs.  Depreciation is probably the biggest (or 2nd biggest?) cost of running any new or newish car, so residulal value is key to this.
Love the comparison figures Alanho - thanks.
And full marks to HUK for resisting the electronic park brake on the new i30 - that I think may be specc'd for other markets.  I would resist buying any car without a trad handbrake.

[AlanHo]

Wow, did you think you were still at Silverstone.....  That's way past the economy range 

I was driving my previous Audi A4 Avant 2.0 petrol 3.5 years ago - the points actually expired last September so my licence is clean from the DVLA point of view but insurers take account of the last 5 years..

[asathorny]

So as well as integrated Sat Nav you'd need  to invest in a 'Road Angel' or some other similar product ????   !!!!

Good point asa - from a proud owner of 3 points on my licence (SP50 - 92 mph on a motorway)

Yeah, got rid of mine bout 18mths ago... thank heavans...........................   !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AlanHo]

I have arranged a test drive of the new VW Golf Match 1.4 petrol and the 1.6 diesel next Tuesday afternoon - I am promised an hour in each car over a good sample of roads including the M42 motorway nearby which has a horrible section of concrete surface, a stretch of the old rough tarmac and a long stretch of the new quiet tarmac. The decibel meter will be used again.

I have also requested a test drive in a Focus Platinum 1.6 diesel and the 3 cylinder 1.0 turbo petrol car - but the dealers have sold their demo cars and are awaiting the new March 1st registration before they replace them.

I am doing this as a check on how the i30 compares. The Golf and Focus were at Silverstone for the dealers to compare - and those I have spoken to were surprised at how superior the i30 was. Out of curiosity I would like to check it for myself more thoroughly than some test drives I had of them a few months back. I will report my findings here of course.

The following on-the-road price comparison for cars specced as equally as possible is revealing. All cars priced with metallic paint - the VW and Ford prices include the various packs necessary to equal the standard Hyundai i30 features - such as parking sensors, elec folding mirrors, climate control etc.

Petrol Models
Hyundai i30 1.4 petrol Style 100 PS engine.......................£17,040   Base price for comparison
Ford Focus 1.0 Platinum 3 cylinder turbo 125 PS engine... ..£20,070  + £3,030
VW Golf 1.4 Match Twin Turbo petrol 122 PS engine..... .. ..£20,175  + £3,135

Diesel Models
Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi Style 110 PS engine........................£19,440   Base price for comparison
Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi Style 128 PS engine........................£19,740   + £300
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi Platinum  115 PS engine....................£20,920  + £1,480
VW Golf 1.6 TDi Match 105 PS engine.......................... . ..£20,995  + £1,555

[asathorny]

your report will make interesting reading Alan, especially since the cost of these vehicles is getting closer.   

[Phil №❶]

It seems they fail in the pricing area already, they'd want to be exceptionally better than the I30 to fork out that extra money. I'm sure your report will be comprehensive, objective & very interesting reading. 

[AlanHo]

This is why I fancy a road test of the Focus with the new 3 cylinder engine

http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/Ford-Focus-1.0-125-Ecoboost-Zetec/261245/

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Ford-Focus-10-Ecoboost-review/

[Talking Hoarse]

Petrol Models
Hyundai i30 1.4 petrol Style 100 PS engine.......................£17,040   Base price for comparison
Ford Focus 1.0 Platinum 3 cylinder turbo 125 PS engine... ..£20,070  + £3,030
VW Golf 1.4 Match Twin Turbo petrol 122 PS engine..... .. ..£20,175  + £3,135

Diesel Models
Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi Style 110 PS engine........................£19,440   Base price for comparison
Hyundai i30 1.6 CRDi Style 128 PS engine........................£19,740   + £300
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi Platinum  115 PS engine....................£20,920  + £1,480
VW Golf 1.6 TDi Match 105 PS engine.......................... . ..£20,995  + £1,555

Alanho - for all of these detailed articles you produce, you are fast becoming our hero - and I for one would vote you replace Jeremy Clarkson ......
There may be other significant factors to include when comparing ..... eg the cost of extending warranties?  I think that may be  important to some of us.  Unless you include an Astra with 10 year warranty - I am a bit of a fan of the Astra -  especially with ergo seats.
Ed

[AlanHo]

You are right to point out the difference in warranties between Hyundai and other brands – but it is not true for all markets – neither are the price differences of course.

I believe that Hyundai offer a 10 year warranty in the USA but only a 3 year warranty in the Republic of Ireland and other European countries. There are not many countries that enjoy the 5 year warranty that we get in the UK and Australia.

It seems strange to me that Hyundai have a policy to vary so significantly the model features, model names and warranties for each market. I have been fortunate enough to travel widely in my career and have visited every continent. I fail to see enough difference in general driving conditions in the developed countries to warrant the changes in the model line-up and the features included. They obviously have their reasons – but I would have thought that it would be more cost effective to standardise on the models,  features and warranties worldwide – except perhaps for some special emerging markets.

For example, the differences in the warranty between Northern Ireland (part of the UK) and Southern Ireland seem strange. I read in the press some time ago that people in Southern Ireland are popping across the border to buy cars because of the warranty and significant price differences they can benefit from. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the models ranges differ too.

Why is it, that you guys in Australia are given cars so different in spec than we do in the UK. I realise that we don’t have the outback driving conditions – but how many Aussies ever venture from the cities and paved roads anyway?  I never found driving in Australia much different from driving elsewhere – including the USA, UK, Far East, Japan and many countries in Europe. OK – some of them drive on the wrong side of the road and some have busier roads – but that doesn’t account for why the cars and warranties are so different.

[Dazzler]

This is why I fancy a road test of the Focus with the new 3 cylinder engine

http://www.autocar.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/Ford-Focus-1.0-125-Ecoboost-Zetec/261245/

http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/Drives/Search-Results/First-drives/Ford-Focus-10-Ecoboost-review/

I wonder if we will get that (1000cc and smaller motors are not usually well received here) 

[AlanHo]

Today I test drove two VW Golf cars to compare them with similar i30 models.

The Golf Match 1.4 TSi 6 speed manual. Turbo petrol developing 122 PS (Hyundai equivalent 1.4 non turbo petrol 6 speed 100 PS)

The Golf Match 1.6 TDi 5 speed manual. Turbo diesel developing 105 PS (Hyundai equivalent 1.6 CRDi 6 speed 110 PS)

Both these cars are the equivalent of the new i30 Style model except that the i30 1.4 petrol lacks a turbo and the i30 diesel has a 6 speed box.

I drove each car in turn around a 22 mile circuit comprising roughly 35% town roads – the other 65% was on fast dual carriageways and the M42 motorway which has a long section of noisy tarmac surface. It was a busy afternoon and there were 5 sets of traffic lights and other stop starts on the route.  Before I set off I zeroed the fuel economy trip recorder. The VW salesman who accompanied me was shown how to use my decibel meter and he took readings along the route for me. (He was fascinated by me bringing along the instrument and was as keen as I to see the noise levels experienced).

I have to say that both models were well finished and had all the bells and whistles – hence there is no need for me to explain them in detail – read the i30 brochure for the new style model and they are listed there.  The difference between the VW and Hyundai would be marginal and come down to nit picking detail and personal tastes. I would be happy with either car on this evidence.

I drove the petrol car first and was immediately struck by its refinement. Engine and road noise was very suppressed – even on the rough tarmac and noisy motorway concrete. The decibel meter rarely went above 74 dB. The gear change was silky smooth, the clutch took some getting used to because it had a much longer stroke than my current i30, all the controls fell nicely into place and the instruments were well placed and very legible.  The steering was nicely weighted but a little heavier than my present car. The only point of real criticism was the steering wheel, which has height and reach adjustment, but was too high for my liking even though I had the seat at maximum height and steering wheel fully down.  The most surprising thing about the car was how lively it felt – it had lots of low down grunt and felt the equal of my current car.
The catalogue says it accelerates from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 9.5 seconds. The new i30 1.4 petrol takes 13.6 seconds and the new 1.6 CRDi 110 PS takes 12.3 seconds.

At the conclusion of the test drive the trip recorder showed a fuel economy for the 22 miles of 41.2 mpg (6.85 L/100km) which I consider to be very good – especially considering that I had not been driving especially frugally.

I then drove the 1.6 diesel which was similarly equipped. Yet again the gear change was silky smooth and all the controls nice to use – however the steering felt quite heavy compared with the petrol car – caused I would guess, by the heavier engine. Refinement was very good, the engine noise was very muted – even when revved hard and road noise was about the same as the petrol car. At one point on the route I had to stop at a pedestrian crossing behind a couple of cars. Just before moving away I tried to move the steering wheel and it was solid – it was only then that I realised the engine had stopped and the car had ISG.  The decibel meter at one stage hit 76 dB – so was fractionally more noisy than the petrol car. In reality, my ears could not tell any difference.  Performance was nowhere near as lively as either the petrol model or my current car. It almost felt sluggish in comparison and was slow to take off when pushed. The brochure claims it accelerates from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/hr) in 11.3 seconds. This compares with 11.5 seconds for my present i30 and 10.9 seconds for the new 128 PS i30.     

At the conclusion of the test drive the trip recorder showed a fuel economy for the 22 miles of 49.7 mpg (5.80 L/100km) which is roughly what I am getting from my present i30.

Before returning home I drove my current i30 car over the same route, I zeroed the trip recorder before setting off to compare fuel economy like-for-like. I used my trusty decibel meter of course. The result was that the trip recorder registered a fuel economy of 47.3 mpg (5.97 L/100km) and the highest reading on the decibel meter was 82 dB – both being worse than the VW golf.

So my conclusion is that I can now understand why the motoring magazines always put the Golf at the top of the podium. It really is a very quiet and refined car – backed up with the formidable VW marketing and sale machine. Any comparison I could make with the new i30’s I tried at Silverstone would be highly subjective. There is little to choose between the cars – other than the better Hyundai warranty and the lower Hyundai prices.  I keenly await taking a road test of the new i30 on the same route in order to make a proper comparison – my gut feeling is that the diesel economy of the new Hyundai will equal the similar Golf, the petrol economy for the 1.4 car will be worse and the cabin noise will be higher.

This is a worry for me because of my hearing loss and the need for the quietest car possible.

More anon………..