[edagrade]

My almost 1 year old i30 SR Premium impressed me very nicely on a recent solo return trip to Brisbane from Sydney - in excess of 2000km.
I'm used to an old (1996) Falcon SW for long trips in Western Australia & always felt quite spoilt over many years by its 'long legs' & relative comfort & ease at doing in excess of 800kms per day. The i30SR Premium certainly matches my expectations, considering its not a large car!

The i30 easily conveyed me the more than 1000kms to & from our respective suburbs in Sydney & Brisbane to visit relatives, stopping only once each way for fuel. I was always kept fresh & comfortable with the many features of the i30 all coming together to help 'get the job done' in comfort, with confidence & ease. Power to overtake or maintain momentum up hills was totally adequate.
The return journey was made via the inland New England Hwy. This road was new to me & was more challenging with rough surfaces, some delightful twisty sections & only a 100km speed limit mostly making the trip time a little longer. The i30 made this route a breeze & enjoyable. An IRS might improve suppleness of ride on the choppy surfaces however - I wonder if IRS on the new Elantra SR Turbo works better in this respect.

Fuel economy was very acceptable, easily getting 700kms per tank - however, in some ways I wouldn't mind the tank holding 50Lt, just to easily get to the 800km per tank like I knew my old Falcon would do. The trip meter reading was sitting on around 6.5l/100km throughout both journeys - the old Falcon never did that good!!

The only disappointment with the i30 is the headlight performance on high beam - it is shocking, even with correct beam adjustment. The SR Premium has HID on low beam & that is excellent (a reason for choosing the Premium), so I knew that the halogen high beam would seem dull comparatively. High beam is so inadequate I loath to drive the car in the country at night. In fact, I recently hired a base model i30 in Tasmania for work & its lighting was very poor - that said, the beam alignment was set way to low.
Comparatively speaking, my company car (2016 Holden Commodore) has halogen lighting on high beam on it is awesome compared with the i30. That is an area where Hyundai needs to lift it's game I thinks.
One day I might try 60+ H7 globes in the high beam - but I think fundamentally, the high beam lamps are not engineered for respectable performance (unlike Oz engineered Holden & Fords), so globe upgrades may not be much help. Has anyone got comment on globe upgrades for high beam on i30?

Being so satisfied with my i30's overall capability, I'm planning to stretch its legs further early in January (in daylight only)...
an inland route from Sydney to Cairns over 3 days - with a 3 day return trip down the coast. That will put just over 5,000km on the clock - Can't wait 

[Dazzler]

Excellent,  we love hearing stories like that about our beloved i30's.

[rustynutz]

If you think the petrol i30 is great on long trips, I reckon you'd really love a diesel... 

I have a diesel FD and even though it has the 5 speed gearbox, it just loves long trips, even more so if they involve hilly country... 

I've got Philips White Vision bulbs (60+) in my high beams and they're great

[edagrade]

If you think the petrol i30 is great on long trips, I reckon you'd really love a diesel... 

I have a diesel FD and even though it has the 5 speed gearbox, it just loves long trips, even more so if they involve hilly country... 

Yes the Diesel has the torque for hills - they flatten them!

[edagrade]

I've got Philips White Vision bulbs (60+) in my high beams and they're great

Yes I might go shopping for a pair of them or Osram equivalents. I'm not real fussed about the high kelvin colour lighting for high beam however. I in some ways long for the old days when cars could easily have a nudge bar or brackets fitted to accommodate a decent set of driving lights!

[AlanHo]

I saw an i30 here in the UK a few months ago with 2 large floodlights mounted on a roof rack. I guess they were about 350mm dia. It was during the daytime so I have no idea how effective they were - or even if they are legal here.

I think one of our Aussie members (rick) has front mounted spotlights on his car to illuminate the kangaroos before he hits them...

[Dazzler]

I think one of our Aussie members (rick) has front mounted spotlights on his car to illuminate the kangaroos before he hits them...

 

[beerman]

I was going to say stopping for fuel is over rated, get the diesel. But Rusty beat me to it.

Having done Bne-Syd-Mel then the return Mel-Bne I can vouch for the fact you can do it easily.

In the i40 you can do Brisbane-Canberra and still have a good part of the tank left (though it is a 75l tank).

[edagrade]

I was going to say stopping for fuel is over rated, get the diesel. But Rusty beat me to it.

Having done Bne-Syd-Mel then the return Mel-Bne I can vouch for the fact you can do it easily.

In the i40 you can do Brisbane-Canberra and still have a good part of the tank left (though it is a 75l tank).

Actually, I didn't have in mind the outstanding fuel range of Diesels. Your point is valid for sure - thanks for saying.
Range & torque are features I really like about the Diesel cars of today - but those features are not enough to sway me away from petrol cars.
If Australia used better spec petrol (lower sulphur content) that would allow GDI engines to run Stratified Charge mode for vastly improved fuel economy.

My point about a 50Lt tank is mute - they already have a 50Lt tank lol.

[Heady]

... I in some ways long for the old days when cars could easily have a nudge bar or brackets fitted to accommodate a decent set of driving lights!

I'm trying to undertake a project to put a decent set of driving lights on the front of my i30: Changing the grille on a 2013 GD Tourer
Its a slow project so will take some time... might be ready for next winter!

[Just Rick]

I saw an i30 here in the UK a few months ago with 2 large floodlights mounted on a roof rack. I guess they were about 350mm dia. It was during the daytime so I have no idea how effective they were - or even if they are legal here.

I think one of our Aussie members (rick) has front mounted spotlights on his car to illuminate the kangaroos before he hits them...

Very Funny Alan  come over and stand in from of Alvin for me,That could be quite illuminating 

[Just Rick]

... I in some ways long for the old days when cars could easily have a nudge bar or brackets fitted to accommodate a decent set of driving lights!

I'm trying to undertake a project to put a decent set of driving lights on the front of my i30: Changing the grille on a 2013 GD Tourer
Its a slow project so will take some time... might be ready for next winter!

Heady
Just looked at your picture  their not driving lights  their candle holders 

[xiziz]

The diesel is even nicer on long runs, I do 1200km to a tank!

I can only concur with the hi-beam preformance. I think they have streetlights on every road in Korea, because even with Philips X-tremeVision +130% bulbs I think its a little to dark, but a whole lot better than standard H7.

The Lo-beams are okay with +130% bulbs though, I'm not lucky enough to have HIDs.

2-3 big Hellas or a HID conversion might be needed, if I can be botherd, its dark up here!

[Dazzler]

The diesel is even nicer on long runs, I do 1200km to a tank!

I can only concur with the hi-beam preformance. I think they have streetlights on every road in Korea, because even with Philips X-tremeVision +130% bulbs I think its a little to dark, but a whole lot better than standard H7.

The Lo-beams are okay with +130% bulbs though, I'm not lucky enough to have HIDs.

2-3 big Hellas or a HID conversion might be needed, if I can be botherd, its dark up here!

An LED light bar mounted on a nudgebar, is a neat compromise....

Like this ..

Number Plate Frame Bull Bar Mount Bracket For Led Light Bar Driving Lamps Silver | eBay

with this... (just sabdom examples...)

23inch 336W Osram 5D Lens LED Light Bar Flood Spot Combo Work Lamp SUV ATV 4WD | eBay

[xiziz]

An LED light bar mounted on a nudgebar, is a neat compromise....

Like this ..

Number Plate Frame Bull Bar Mount Bracket For Led Light Bar Driving Lamps Silver | eBay

with this... (just sabdom examples...)

23inch 336W Osram 5D Lens LED Light Bar Flood Spot Combo Work Lamp SUV ATV 4WD | eBay

I'm thinking I need to atleast beat my fellow countrymen:

[Just Rick]

An LED light bar mounted on a nudgebar, is a neat compromise....

Like this ..

Number Plate Frame Bull Bar Mount Bracket For Led Light Bar Driving Lamps Silver | eBay

with this... (just sabdom examples...)

23inch 336W Osram 5D Lens LED Light Bar Flood Spot Combo Work Lamp SUV ATV 4WD | eBay

I'm thinking I need to atleast beat my fellow countrymen:

If that car was Blue I would call it either Alvin or Bruce 

[Heady]

Just looked at your picture  their not driving lights  their candle holders 

I'd rather have two of those candle holders!!! than the stock high-beams!

[Just Rick]

Anything is better than standard high beams Heady 

[edagrade]

I've got Philips White Vision bulbs (60+) in my high beams and they're great

Just ordered a pair of Philips X-treme Vision +130% H7 globes from PowerBulbs in the UK.
When they arrive I'll update with my findings.

[edagrade]

An LED light bar mounted on a nudgebar, is a neat compromise....
[/quote]

Irvin Bull Bars in Perth Western Australia does a custom made nudge bar to suit GD i30. Not too cheap, but makes a great place to mount driving lights & afford a little protection to the front of the car.
I had an Irvin Bull Bars Roo Bar fitted to my old Falcon for many years when living in Perth - good quality & I highly recommend them.

[xiziz]

Irvin Bull Bars in Perth Western Australia does a custom made nudge bar to suit GD i30. Not too cheap, but makes a great place to mount driving lights & afford a little protection to the front of the car.
I had an Irvin Bull Bars Roo Bar fitted to my old Falcon for many years when living in Perth - good quality & I highly recommend them.

That looks good! Wish we had a company that sold good looking bars here too. Unfortunatley they don't help much if you hit a moose, they come right over and make you company in the cabin. But would be good for deer/caribou etc.

[edagrade]

That looks good! Wish we had a company that sold good looking bars here too. Unfortunatley they don't help much if you hit a moose, they come right over and make you company in the cabin. But would be good for deer/caribou etc.
[/quote]


Hi xiziz,
Very true about striking high centre of gravity animals - this also happens in Australia with wild horses, camels, goats, cows etc & kangaroos on the hop. Some frontal protection is better than none - high performance lighting certainly helps the driver see such things before an incident occurs!

Google their website - they do some heavy duty products for vehicles that have something substantial to mount bar work onto.

Perth Bullbars, Truckbars and Nudgebars | Irvin Bullbars

[Just Rick]

Only good thing about a Nudge bar is you have somewhere to stick your Spotties,believe me I speak from experience,hit a even a bird,fox whatever,they DO bend,hit anything larger Roo,sheep,yes and deer and caribou xiziz they will fold right over the front of your car