[Stuwoolf]

Had my i30 for about 1000 miles now.

I like the drive, althought its a bit noisey, and the gadgets.

I dont like the terrible visibility at the A pillar.

As a result I'm seriously considering selling.

Shame that.

[cruiserfied]

Jumping the gun there a little. A-pillar visibility is poor on most new cars. This is because of how far back the windscreens lean, strength in size and curtain airbags.

[wbm00]

I did have visibility problems with the A-pillar when I first test drove the i30 but as cruiserfied says, it's common across most vehicles. I don't even notice it now. I would suggest 1000 miles isn't necessarily long enough to get acclimatised with the vehicle.

[Stuwoolf]

My experience of the blind spots led to me not seeing pedestrians crossing and not seeing a 4x4 coming from the left. Hardly good.

Can only agree that many modern cars suffer the same problem.  For that reason, should I decide to chop my i30 in, I would be looking at very much older cars.

When looking to replace my old car I was told that the bigger pillar helped to make the body stronger and more protective in a collision. Which is fair enough. However the poor visibility/greater strength could result in a collision.

Dont see the sense in that.

[Dazzler]

My last 3 cars have had larger A pillars than I prefer /or am used to. I did have a couple of close shaves early on so now I am ultra careful (which can't be a bad thing) 

[diablo]

I caused a collision in my previous car, a Renault Laguna,  when a car coming from my right around a roundabout managed to stay in the pillar blind spot until he was directly in my path. I braked but still made contact - then felt embarrassed. 

The A pillars are big these days,  the ones on my old style i30 do get in the way a bit. I don't recall if the new style i30 ones are even bigger. Though since my collision I've adopted a habit of moving my head to the side to check if there is anything there.  Been working so far, have even spotted cyclists in black clothing without lights on rainy nights.

[crayman]

Yes visibility in all angled views is woeful, but it's the same story for most modern cars.
The combination of large pillars, the siting of the oversized rearview mirrors added to seating position results in straight ahead driving as the only clear vision.
Once in the twisty bits, (Mt Tamborine etc) in Qld and these cars are not nice to manoeuvre.
Some of us have been driving for 50+years in everything from tractors to heavy combinations, so we've been behind a lot of steering wheels.
With the vague EPS steering in Mr's i-30, it's not relaxed driving, lucky the brakes are pretty good.   
Certainly makes one wonder at the wisdom of all the safety bits tacked onto a mobile blind spot.
Designers need a kick up the a*se, but then you're getting what you pay for, they're a cheap car.

[Dazzler]

, have even spotted cyclists without lights on rainy nights.

Funny you should say that, I was lucky to spot a cyclist on a narrow dark country road last night wearing grey clothes on a bike with no rear light or reflector! 

[Surferdude]

Yes visibility in all angled views is woeful, but it's the same story for most modern cars.
The combination of large pillars, the siting of the oversized rearview mirrors added to seating position results in straight ahead driving as the only clear vision.
Once in the twisty bits, (Mt Tamborine etc) in Qld and these cars are not nice to manoeuvre.
Some of us have been driving for 50+years in everything from tractors to heavy combinations, so we've been behind a lot of steering wheels.
With the vague EPS steering in Mr's i-30, it's not relaxed driving, lucky the brakes are pretty good.   
Certainly makes one wonder at the wisdom of all the safety bits tacked onto a mobile blind spot.
Designers need a kick up the a*se, but then you're getting what you pay for, they're a cheap car.

But they're all the same, regardless of cost. I must say I don't have any issues seeing on twisty bits and I too have 50+ years behind the wheel(s).
I agree about the "A" pillar. It's a problem in everything I've driven of late. Even a Mitsubishi 4WD in Tassie.

[Phil №❶]

In almost ANY car, there is the A pillar blind spot, buying an older car won't fix this problem and you will loose the protective air bag as well. Not a big deal unless you're heading for a wall or other vehicle. Awareness is the crucial point, here. You know it's a weakness, so adjust your driving habits accordingly. Always check blind spots 

[Doggie 1]

Large A pillars are a known issue in most makes so if pedestrians want to risk their safety by walking out in front of Hyundais then they'll get what's coming to them IMO. 

[beerman]

Can't say it is an issue for me.  You should be scanning much further down the road, so you should have identified hazards well before they are hidden.

[Surferdude]

Can't say it is an issue for me.  You should be scanning much further down the road, so you should have identified hazards well before they are hidden.

Except at small roundabouts and pedestrian crossings where the footpath is narrow and people step out of buildings. In situations like that a car or even 2 people side by side can actually stay in the A pillar blind spot until they're almost right in front of you.

[rustynutz]

http://www.mccofnsw.org.au/cgi-bin/user.pl?download_file=1&file=181

Perhaps something like this might be a fix... 

Jaguar tech to stop SMIDSYs - Motorcycle news: Videos - Visordown

[crayman]

Can't say it is an issue for me.  You should be scanning much further down the road, so you should have identified hazards well before they are hidden.

Replies like this really irk me.
How the hell can you identify a potential hazard if you can't see it.
Been driving tractors since 9, semis since 12.
I ALWAYS drive for the other bloke, watching many cars ahead so I'm on brakes way before matey ahead is.
But like the OP, I'm not happy driving the i-30 because it has so many blind spots.
Got to the stage where I'll take the GTR any day in preference to Mr's Hyundai.

[Stuwoolf]

http://www.mccofnsw.org.au/cgi-bin/user.pl?download_file=1&file=181

Perhaps something like this might be a fix... 

Jaguar tech to stop SMIDSYs - Motorcycle news: Videos - Visordown

Interesting links. Thanks.

I've ridden motorbikes most of my life and am acutely aware of the need to see whats coming. Looking at the articles, I'm thankful I sold my Harley last week and have hung up my boots for good.

Still in turmoil about selling my car.

[Dazzler]

http://www.mccofnsw.org.au/cgi-bin/user.pl?download_file=1&file=181

Perhaps something like this might be a fix... 

Jaguar tech to stop SMIDSYs - Motorcycle news: Videos - Visordown

Interesting links. Thanks.

I've ridden motorbikes most of my life and am acutely aware of the need to see whats coming. Looking at the articles, I'm thankful I sold my Harley last week and have hung up my boots for good.

Still in turmoil about selling my car.

Maybe a slight adjustment of your seating position will help a bit? I do a lot of scanning now before pulling out. My B pillar makes a bad blind spot but luckily with combo of good rear mirror + good side mirrors + blind spot monitoring I can work around it. I try to do a head check as well but virtually useless! 

[rustynutz]

RACV slams forward visibility, blind spots of new cars

[Dazzler]

RACV slams forward visibility, blind spots of new cars

My last 3 cars have been some of the worst (no wonder I've got used to it!)

[bumpkin]

I don't get why the i30 has a solid A Pillar all the way to the bottom, when the sister Kia has an additional window......

[John B]

In my opinion looks better too .

Being that the small a pillar window isn't at eye level and mostly blocked by the dash then I cant see how it would make any difference to visibility anyway.

[cruiserfied]

 

[John B]

  but it looks good.

[Surferdude]

Being that the small a pillar window isn't at eye level and mostly blocked by the dash then I cant see how it would make any difference to visibility anyway.

Quite right. Corolla had it but it's gone in the latest model.

[bumpkin]

I think that it is pretty handy, whilst the view is restricted it is certainly less so than without it

[rustynutz]

As shown in the Safety Ad in that link I posted earlier, it would seem an A pillar window is too low to be of much use anyhow...

[Stuwoolf]

Some very interesting responses here.

After hawking my car around the dealerships it seems that to change now would mean a loss to me of £2,000+ which is more than I can stomach.

Looks like I'll need to employ someone to walk ahead with a red flag

[rustynutz]

While it may be not ideal, I guess you just need to lean forward/backwards/side to side at intersections to get a better view...

I'm sure in time you'll get used to it....

[Stuwoolf]

While it may be not ideal, I guess you just need to lean forward/backwards/side to side at intersections to get a better view...

I'm sure in time you'll get used to it....

Gotta be better than a guy with a red flag lol