i30 1.6 CRDi 128PS Style Tourer
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I went to the dealers on Monday 13th May to see the new car arrive and offloaded from the transporter. There were 8 miles on the odo.
The dealer carried out the PDI on Tuesday, put 15 litres of fuel in and fitted mud flaps (the only accessory I asked for) – then carried out an 11 mile road test to give the car a thorough check.
I collected the car late evening on Wednesday 15th May and drove 7 miles home where I brimmed the car – adding 48.8 litres of standard diesel to the part filled tank at my local BP services, I then set the average fuel trip and distance trip A to zero at 26 miles on the odo.
Today – Thursday May 16th I took the car for an early morning spin around my normal test route of 29 motorway miles and 10 miles on town and rural roads to check the car over and collect some data.
I took my decibel meter with me and found that cabin noise is on average 2dB higher than my previous car. I’m sure that this is due to the Hankook eco tyres compared with the Continentals which I had specially fitted to my previous car.
Although new, the car felt much more spritely in the higher gears than my previous 2012 GD hatchback. I eventually realised (when I kept trying to change up into a non-existing gear higher than 6th ) that the gear ratios were different. I therefore checked the gearing using my sat-nav to indicate road speed in each gear at 2000 rpm as I did before with my previous car. I have updated the table I published last year to add the tourer – you can see that it is indeed lower geared – in fact the ratios seem similar to the FD 6 speed model.
I also checked the speedo against my sat nav and determined that it is 8% fast at all speeds over the range 30 to 70 mph.
At mid-day we set out for a 4 day holiday in a cottage in Dorset near Weymouth. We collected my wife’s sister on the way who is coming with us. Hence the car was loaded with 3 people and a boot full of luggage and food for our self catering holiday. We arrived at the cottage with 272 miles on the odo. and 246 miles (354 km) on Trip A and the average fuel trip showing 65.2 mpg (4.22 l/100km). From the Nuvi log I have determined that we did 177 miles on free flowing motorways. The remaining 69 miles is evenly split between B roads and town driving with a lot of stop starts.
About 10 miles before we reached the cottage I noticed that the economy trip had reached the remarkable high of 68.1 mpg (4.1 l/100km) when it suddenly started steadily falling which fell to 65.2 mpg by journey’s end. I initially thought that the falling economy was due to the Dorset hilly terrain but when I stopped at a junction the auto stop was deactivated – a sure sign that the DPF was regenerating. It was still regenerating when we reached the cottage confirmed by the heat and burning smell coming from under the car. Hence the DPF was regenerating at roughly 260 miles despite the fact that 65% of the mileage since the car was new was on motorways cruising at more than 60 mph.
There is little point in me reporting on all the features of the car – because other than the fact is is a tourer rather than a hatchback - it is the same vehicle as my previous GD model which I described in great detail in an earlier post. Hence I need only give you my initial impressions after just one day and 246 miles on the road.
Firstly – the car is definitely better at smoothing out bumps in the road but this is at the price of it feeling slightly less sure footed with spirited cornering. Whether this is due to the heavier body, the different tyres or suspension tweaking I am not sure. Perhaps a bit of all three. This is not a complaint because I doubt that sporty drivers would buy this model and I am of an age where comfort is a priority. I much prefer the suspension of this tourer to my previous hatch – so does my wife.
On the evidence of just today and assuming the trip recorder is a reasonable guide – this tourer is far more economical than my previous hatchback. The eco tyres would have an effect of course – but the lower gearing gives the car a more spritely feel which I would have expected to have a detrimental effect on economy. It seems that this is not the case which poses the question – why does the i30 hatch have such high gearing in the UK. I will of course report on the actual economy when I next brim the car and do the maths.
I am particularly pleased with the luggage capacity in the boot, the level floor with the back seats folded and the stowage bins under the boot floor for all my odds and ends. The lack of a high lip in the rear door opening makes loading and unloading much easier for us old folk. However – I realise I am preaching to the converted here.
I am disappointed that Hyundai have done nothing about the stupid instant economy indicator which remains a moving bar limited to just 50 mpg. I would happily swap the unnecessary service interval display that has been added for a proper digital numeric instant fuel economy display. When I switched the car on this morning the display told me that I had 363 days or 19900 miles to go before the next service. I can’t wait…
There is something different about the profile of the steering wheel compared with my previous car that “I can’t put my finger on”. I am not sure why. It feels thinner in parts and thicker in others with more prominent stitching which is slightly uncomfortable. The trip reset button is still at the junction of a spoke and the wheel rim – it is all too easy to inadvertently press it when turning the wheel or when allowing your hand to slip to the bottom of the wheel when cruising.
My seat feels firmer than the previous car – or is this an illusion because the seats softened with usage in the previous model. This is not a complaint – after 246 miles in the driving seat today my 76 year old body felt fine. For sure the seating is more comfortable than my previous Audis. My wife is still griping about the lack of height adjustment of the passenger seat. She is used to the i10 which is much easier to get in and out of because it is a taller car.
The rear window – because of the higher roof line of the tourer - is slightly deeper. It makes a significant difference to rear vision. I like it.
The front parking sensors on the car are still stupid – just one sensor mounted behind each fog light which leaves the whole of the front of the car lacking hazard detection. I may well have 4 sensors added to the front of the car like I did before. This time I would use a third party kit rather than the Hyundai ones which cost £300.
Some things I will be adding to the car myself :-
Rear bumper protection foil
Reversible boot map or liner
Aluminium sill guards
Things I will not have :-
Nodding dog for rear window
Baby on board sign
Go faster stripes
17” wheels
Engine remap or chip tuning box
Watch this space......................
