[julian]

Here's a picture of my new i30 which I picked up from the dealer this morning, taken in Keswick in the Lake District.

[Shambles]

Very nice Julian.

I'm starting to like white more and more these days

[eye30]

Nice one  Julian.

[julian]

Yep, pretty amazing to see blue sky in Keswick.

[Hemmi]

Very nice Julian.

I'm starting to like white more and more these days

Yes, white is nice

[Dazzler]

Hi Julian, looks great (are you happy with it so far) 

[L30N]

Hi Julian nice car, I was in Keswick last Monday and there was certainly no sign of any blue sky then

[Diva]

Car looks nice.... you will be very happy with it im sure.

Must agree the white in the i30 is fantastic. Not a biased comment at all

[buringot]

nice pic jul, i was thinking of taking mine to the lakes tomorrow and take some pics (weather permitting). hope to see that blue sky.

[julian]

Hi Julian, looks great (are you happy with it so far) 

I am delighted with it, Darryl. The i30 is exceeding all my expectations.

It's a fabulous car to drive. It sticks to the road like it's on rails. Years ago I owned a couple of Saab 900 Turbos and that's what I am reminded of. (The Saabs were a lot quicker of course, but my boy racer days are long behind me!)

The engine runs smooth as a sewing machine and is so quiet when idling you have to look at the tacho to make sure it is running. It really is a very quiet car. Some road surfaces make a lot of tyre roar that perhaps a bigger heavier car would damp out more but on a good surface the engine sounds like a whisper.

The doors shut with Germanic precision. There are no creaks or rattles from the interior whatever. I am reminded of the BMW 316i or going back a long way a 1972 Volvo 144 that I inherited from my father for similar build quality. About 10 years ago I had one of the newer Volvos, a 440, and the Hyundai is far superior in build quality.

If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago if I would ever buy a Hyundai I would have replied never. When my previous car was in for service with the same dealer and they loaned me a car it was some 2004 model Hyundai off the forecourt that they were selling for about £4,500. It was absolutely awful.

But I am very happy indeed with the Hyundai i30.

[bumpkin]

Nice car Julian

[Dazzler]

Hi Julian, looks great (are you happy with it so far) 

I am delighted with it, Darryl. The i30 is exceeding all my expectations.

It's a fabulous car to drive. It sticks to the road like it's on rails. Years ago I owned a couple of Saab 900 Turbos and that's what I am reminded of. (The Saabs were a lot quicker of course, but my boy racer days are long behind me!)

The engine runs smooth as a sewing machine and is so quiet when idling you have to look at the tacho to make sure it is running. It really is a very quiet car. Some road surfaces make a lot of tyre roar that perhaps a bigger heavier car would damp out more but on a good surface the engine sounds like a whisper.

The doors shut with Germanic precision. There are no creaks or rattles from the interior whatever. I am reminded of the BMW 316i or going back a long way a 1972 Volvo 144 that I inherited from my father for similar build quality. About 10 years ago I had one of the newer Volvos, a 440, and the Hyundai is far superior in build quality.

If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago if I would ever buy a Hyundai I would have replied never. When my previous car was in for service with the same dealer and they loaned me a car it was some 2004 model Hyundai off the forecourt that they were selling for about £4,500. It was absolutely awful.

But I am very happy indeed with the Hyundai i30.

Interesting comments Julian ...

I inherited a 1987 Saab 900 Aero in 2007 (from my late Mum and Stepdad) it was only the 2.0Ltr injected Turbo and you are right .. the i30 does sit nice and firmly on the road like the Saab and infact the CRDi model of i30 we have has similar performance at highway speeds...

I have also had a fair bit of experience with early Volvos as my Stepdad used to be a Volvo dealer in the 70's (they were ahead of their time in those days... fuel injection and 4 wheel discs, etc..)

[Rubix]

I have also had a fair bit of experience with early Volvos as my Stepdad used to be a Volvo dealer in the 70's (they were ahead of their time in those days... fuel injection and 4 wheel discs, etc..)

Thus the reason my dad is part of the Volvo club of Australia and proudly drives his 1970-something Volvo (with original alloy wheels!) that he somewhat rebuilt from scratch.

Back on topic, makes me wonder what changed your mind about Hyundais, Jules. Well, sort of. Most of us already drive one and know! Haha. What was it that sold you on the i30?

[julian]

Well, I liked the look of it for starters. That's what made me take notice of it. I believe that the new i models are designed in Germany somewhere.

Then when I looked closer, tried closing the doors and so on, it just gave a good feeling of quality. The doors shut with a solid clunk, not like you're putting the lid on a biscuit tin. The interior looks like it was actually created by a designer, and it has a quality feel as well, instead of seeing acres of cheap plastic.

Then there was the price. I expected it to cost more than it did. I gather that Hyundai had just cut the prices quite substantially. Alright, this credit crunch! And the 5 year warranty was a good selling point as well.

I wouldn't have bought it just because it was cheap and had a good warranty. But if it had still been the original price I would probably have thought "yeah, nice, but I can't afford it."

[Shambles]

Funnily enough, Julian, if you check back a few thousand of my posts, the "Germanic precision" of the door geometry was a major selling point for me too. I posted in half-jest at the time, but the quality was there to see and feel.

Glad you continue to enjoy the i30

[eye30]

tried closing the doors and so on, it just gave a good feeling of quality. The doors shut with a solid clunk, not like you're putting the lid on a biscuit tin. The interior looks like it was actually created by a designer, and it has a quality feel as well, instead of seeing acres of cheap plastic.

Especially when you come to the likes of Ford, Vauxhaull etc you only get this quality on top of the range models and the likes of Audi and BMW?, except the doors which seem to be naff on any manufacturer/model range.

PS
ESP as standard on the Comfort, base model for overseas members, swung it for me as I wanted this safety feature given the volume of traffic and the nerds we get on UK roads.

[julian]

ESP as standard on the Comfort, base model for overseas members, swung it for me as I wanted this safety feature given the volume of traffic and the nerds we get on UK roads.

Yes, I like a car that can work out what the other drivers are going to do.