I CAN HEAR the comments for this review being tapped out right now: “You lot have already reviewed the Hyundai i30 CRDi auto, why on earth are you revisiting it?”

Easy answer. It’s been over a year since the slushbox-equipped i30 diesel was released to the Australian market and we wanted to see if it was still travelling as well, one year on.

We’ve also seen some additions to the segment since its release and figured it was time to see how the little oiler was faring in a market that is getting tougher by the day.

We were also more than a little interested to review one with a few more clicks on the odometer. (If a car can cope with the unique brand of abuse that automotive journalists regularly dish out to press fleet vehicles, it can cope with anything.)

And lastly, this time round, we planned to give the i30 more time on urban pavement (our last tester saw mostly highway duty). City streets and suburban roads are arguably where the majority of i30s will spend much of their lives.

We already know it’s ok out dodging wombats, but how good is it if you have to spend a week in the saddle in the rough-and-tumble of urban driving?

So then, let’s introduce our candidate for this roadtest, eh?

Our loaner was a 2009 MY i30 CRDi SLX auto in Moonlight Blue and, as we said back in June 2008, the i30 is a pretty handsome unit. Not retina-searingly hot, mind you, but neatly if a little conservatively styled, and - yes - more attractive than some of its competitors.

Two years on from when the i30 first went on sale, it’s still one of the better shapes in the small car segment. We get the feeling this is a bod that’ll age well.

Our tester had just under 3500km on the odometer, which, by press car standards, puts it close to halfway through its term of duty. Judging by the gravel rash along the rocker panels, the worn shoulders on the tyres and some shallow scoring on the brake discs, those were 3500 hard, punishing kilometres.

Inner, As Well As Outer, Beauty

But by gosh, you wouldn’t be able to tell from the driver’s seat. The i30, despite the obvious signs of vehicular abuse, felt rock solid.

Cruising down Melbourne’s occasionally pockmarked suburban roads, the cabin is pleasingly quiet. There was the occasional rattle from the rear plastics, however it wasn’t a constant thing (unlike the dash ‘creak’ that has featured in every Volkswagen Golf V we’ve driven).

The passenger space is well-insulated from the noise of the i30’s turbodiesel donk, and even at highway speeds it’s a surprisingly serene environment. There is some wind noise from the wing mirrors above 100km/h, but it’s not enough to be intrusive.

Off the highway and back into the suburban grind, the i30 shines. For a small car, it feels surprisingly roomy. The seats are comfortable and supportive and unless the front seat passengers are basketball players, rear legroom is more than adequate.

Ergonomics is another strong suit for the i30. The steering wheel adjusts for reach and rake, the front seat squab is manually adjustable and boasts extra lumbar support, the centre stack is angled ever-so-slightly towards the driver and there’s storage bins aplenty. Power windows are standard across the i30 range too.

Being the SLX model, our tester also came with steering wheel-mounted controls for the audio and cruise control, climate control, alloy-look trim on the dash and steering wheel, cupholders in the rear armrest and a trip computer.

One complaint we had was with the stitching on the leather-wrapped steering wheel, which felt lumpy around the spokes and made holding the rim at nine-and-three almost painful during long drives. Solution? Grab the wheel elsewhere.

Another potential pitfall of the i30’s cabin is the sizable blind spot generated by those thick C-pillars. There’s a small window just aft of the rear doors, however they’re placed too high to be of any practical use to the driver. The big wing mirrors offset this disadvantage a little, but i30 owners will need to pay a little more attention to their surroundings.

The quality of finish on the i30 is worlds apart from its spiritual forebear, the humble Excel. Most cabin plastics have an upmarket feel (we totally dig the rubbery-finish trim on the door panels), the chrome door handles and vertically-slatted air vents look classy and the dash itself is soft to the touch - thus winning big points from Mike, our resident dashboard-fetishist.

This is probably one of the most functional interiors we’ve recently had the pleasure of experiencing.

There are four cup holders, storage bins in every door (the front ones able to accommodate large drink bottles), a chilled glovebox, iPod integration, auxillary inputs for the stereo, a sunglasses pocket, double-decker centre console box, a cargo net and luggage tie-downs in the boot, flat-folding 60/40 split rear seats and two under-floor storage bins next to the spare wheel.