[EymaTeapot]

Hi Guys,

I thought it would interesting to know what other vehciles our members might have considered before settling on a Hyundai I30.
I'll gret us all started.
I originally decided to check out just 3 cars. I did a bit of internet research but mostly just liked the style of the three, and to me , style in the number one buying motive.
The three i chose were the Ford Focus, Mazda Three and the Hyunda I30. If anything, i was edging towards the Mazda.
Because my previous car which i was trading was a Hyundai Sonata, I returned to the same dealer i had purchased this car off 3 years prior. I had been happy with the service there and i have to be honest, the salesman again bambozzled me, as i never set foot in either the Ford or Mazda dealer. I had not set out to nessesarily get a deisel, but after driving both the 2.0L and the deisel, my mind was set on the Slx CRDi. The only question than was to decide on colour. For that descision, the wife had to be consulted (its her car apparantly). We could have steel grey immediatley or wait 12 weeks for moonlight blue, our equal choice. We didnt want to wait, so steel grey it was.
I sometimes kick myself for being to impulsive. Once i make up my mind to do something, i just jump in. Maybe i should have checked out the Ford and Mazda, but most likely, i would still have chose the I30 anyway. No complaints, i love my (sorry wifes, yes dear) Hyundai I30

If i had bought one of the other two , I wouldnt have found this club and all these lovely people to chat with either.  

Cheers

[i30Dave]

It came down to 2 choices the i30 & the Mazda 3. The big thing that put me off
the 3 was the dash. It's a bit plain and i don't like the orange LCD displays. If i had
gone with the 3 i would have got the SP23 which was out of my budget.

[EymaTeapot]

It came down to 2 choices the i30 & the Mazda 3. The big thing that put me off
the 3 was the dash. It's a bit plain and i don't like the orange LCD displays. If i had
gone with the 3 i would have got the SP23 which was out of my budget.

I30 Dave,
Good choice of colour, great minds think alike!
The SR looks magic in steel grey. Love the alloy and chrome wheels. I would of got the same if it came in Deisel.

[eye30]

I looked at the Kia Cee'd but didn't like the light cluster rear end.  The Cee'd and i30 share the same platform and alot of common bits and pieces.

Kia salesperson was very uninterested when I asked my 1st question - can I have a test drive please.
Answer No I'm on my own.  
Not - I'm on my own but if you hang on a minute I'll sort it out etc etc.

So went back to Hy dealer, my 3rd car from them.  
Spot on.
No messing about.
Here are the keys. ,
Don't go too far etc etc.

[Lakes]

I was just looking for a car to drive around in. just i do a lot of driving around sometimes interstate.
So i wanted a car i would be happy with, to me happy is having a car that does almost everything i ask of it. anyone that has driven any type of long distance driving in Australia know that you get stuck behind slow car's, then when there is an overtaking lane it is mostly up a hill, and we have a  slow maximum speed limit of 110KPH except NT. anyway when i seem to get to an overtaking lane these slow cars seem to speed up, then you get back to were you can not overtake they slow down, i don't know if i'm the only one that has this happen? so i want a car with good Torque that comes in at low rev's to get past these pests quickly and safely. i wanted a car that would feel nice to drive too with Cruise Control and would have liked a trip computer . i have as i said maybe 1,000,000 times so i'm very sorry  did not like that but my friend seemed to like it.
then i go back for another test drive in the i30 i liked it the best, and i trusted Hyundai. so ordered an SX CRDi with aftermarket Cruise Control and every time i push that button to set CC in action i thank myself! i had to wait at first i think they said would be 8 weeks but think i got it in 5 weeks was a fresh build  date. have just on 4,000k now very happy, worst economy to date 5.1L/100K best 4.4L/100K furthest without fill up 1,160k i think 1,300k on one tank is possible. so i'm happy. and still have my Ute  don't drive the Sonata but it's a good car 2.4 petrol about same economy as the Ute but less gutz.

[ozsnowman]

When it came to a new car, I only looked at diesel models, as I wanted to downsize, but I still wanted a torquey motor like my VT's - not a high revver. My first choice was a Puegeot 207 Hdi Wagon, and at various other times I also fell in love with the Citroen C4 and the DSG on the VW Golf (but not the car lol). I would have gladly got one of these, until the bank intervened and told me I'd be marginal to borrow that much.
So, dropping my eyes to the next pricing level left me with the i30 and the Polo - the i30 was bigger and streets ahead of the VW in my books, and the stories of VW's horrendous servicing costs and oil use also scared me off.  I was tossing up between the SX and the SLX, but didnt feel the SLX was worth the extra seeing as the mechanicals were the same - all the rest was fluff as far as I was concerned. I did option the safety pack though.

I'm very happy with my purchase! (Except for the fact that cruise control is now available dammit!) I've even gotten used to driving a manual again  

[Hi30]

I spent weeks in choosing a car. Had driven Corolla,Focus,307,Lancer,C4. I like the handling of the Focus and nearly bought it until I found out that it has countless problems at a ford forum so I decided not to. Din't mind the Corolla for its quality and realiability but gave it a pass because it doesn't have ESP & TCS. Lancer has a terrible CVT gear box, cheap interior but still would have bought it if the wife could drive the manual. At first I didnt like the look of it but the more I look at it the more I get to like it.  307 and C4 are quite expensive compare to others, also the service cost dearer as well. So here I am,ended with the i30 auto SR,it has almost everything that I have wanted except for the TORQUE. Did a test drive on the mazda3 maxx sport the other day and I think it has the best handling compare to others.

[30L6805]

i considered the following factor before going down to showroom:

1. Small size (ease of driving)
2. Hatchback (easy parking)
3. Automatic (clutch worry free)

and the following was considered:

1. Kia Picanto (My Choice)
2. Mazda 3 (Her Choice)
3. Hyundai i30 (MC)
4. Ford Focus (HC)

So we went all the showroom and take a look and compare. After 1 week of showroom visiting & internet research, she finally willing to accept i30 is the ultimate car for her. She even infected one of our neighbor to buy one too but on style setting, not premium.

[Dazzler]

Geez 30L6805,

I was thinkin of visiting you sometime...

But not sure now... if your missus is going to infect me!  

Dazz

[OMVanders]

The Subaru Forester was coming up to the end of the lease so I bought it out and sold it with a view to getting back into a more serious 4wd (I still miss my old Ford Maverick). So for me the choice was simple, a 4wd sub 30k (almost new Kia Sorento was looking good) or else get a fuel mizer as my lease vehicle and eventually get a bush bashing 4wd that I can knock around a bit more as a replacement vehicle for the family Magna.

 It was about that time that fuel prices started to jump up a bit so that focussed my attention on Mazda 3, Ford Focus, Holden Astra and the i30 (all diesel variants).  Even before I drove the i30 I had become mightily impressed by all that I had read about them.  The test drive just confirmed all of that, and the decision was easy from there.

I must say that I'm very happy with the car.  Only problem thus far is the boot light.  I figured that the globe was faulty so today I opened up the housing, only to discover that it's not even wired up!  Off for some minor warranty work this week hey.

[Dazzler]

I like turning everything into a positive... At least you're saving wear and tear on the globe!