2013 Hyundai i30 Tourer Elite Diesel Automatic Review
2013 HYUNDAI I30 REVIEW
Vehicle Style: Small wagon
Price: $31,390 (plus on-roads)
Engine/trans: 94kW/260Nm 1.6 litre 4cyl diesel | 6spd auto
Fuel Economy listed: 5.8 l/100km | tested: 7.6 l/100km
OVERVIEW
What do you do when the small car market becomes saturated? You try a niche, of course. Which is exactly what Hyundai has done with the i30 Tourer.
Hyundai has added a cubit of space to the back of its affable i30, but unlike the rather bland Golf Wagon, it hasn’t sacrificed the i30 hatch’s handsome lines.
The Elite spec, as tested here, is only available as a diesel, so firstly, is it worth the extra over the petrol Active and, secondly, is it worth buying a small wagon?
INTERIOR | RATING: 3.5/5
Quality: Hyundai’s current interiors hold up fairly well against competitive cabins, most notably in fabric trim and build quality.
While all materials have certainly improved from the last i30 wagon, there’s still plenty of plastic surfacing around, and the metallic accents need to mimic metal rather than looking like painted silver.
That aside, everything has been fitted well – it was given the obligatory going-over by the kids, with nothing coming apart - while the piano-black treatment to the centre-stack is of a high grade.
Volkswagen still leads the way in interior presentation (the Golf Wagon is miles ahead), but Hyundai is getting there.
Comfort: Thankfully, being a small car doesn’t necessarily mean small space. Up front there’s good-sized footwells and plenty of elbow room.
Rear passengers have a welcome amount of legroom, especially knee space, though the under-seat foot space is a bit tight.
Though getting three abreast will be squeezy, but the wagon’s higher roof-line means headroom is plentiful, making the i30 Tourer quite bright and airy.
The seat padding is excellent, and the textured material is quite grippy and easy to clean from kid-spills.