Hyundai i30 Series II 2015 Review

The Hyundai i30 is a popular car. It's regularly in the monthly top 10 best-sellers list in Australia and was even the top-selling car nationally in the month of June 2015. And it's not hard to see why.

The Hyundai i30 is pleasant to drive, has an appealing, stylish design inside and outside, a solid five-year warranty, capped-price servicing, Hyundai's brand value is strong and a recent mid-life update that adds a sophisticated new look – and the latter is mainly why we're here.

It was never an ugly car the i30 – a bit like Beyonce in some ways – and the arrival of the Series II brings a more cultured exterior design into play, dominated by a new-look front-end. The grille is bigger and bolder now, inspired by the Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan.

Despite its Korean origins the car has a distinctly European aesthetic.

Stepping into the cabin it's clear that Hyundai hasn't changed much (unlike Nicki Minaj!) but that's no bad thing as the interior décor is still more visually and tactilely appealing than some much newer vehicles in the class.

There's been some tweaks to the infotainment system that improve usability and add functionality for the Pandora music streaming app and it took about 10 seconds to pair my iPhone with the car via Bluetooth. The touchscreen setup works well when fiddling with audio and car options too.

I really like the way the cars instruments and information is laid out too – it's easy to see how much fuel you're using or what song you're listening to at a quick glance, as well as what speed you're doing.

Vision out of the car is good too. The big windscreen provides a wide view of the road ahead, although I did find the A-pillars can sometimes obscure your vision at certain angles, especially at roundabouts.

Comfort levels are impressive – the seats are cushy, well-sized and there's plenty of head and leg room, even in the back seats. Ride quality via the revised suspension is compliant and forgiving, but you can still have some fun with this car in corners, provided you don't ask too much of it.

The Hyundai i30 is not the most dynamically gifted corner carver you'll ever find, nor the most involving – like talking quantum mechanics with Britney Spears – but it's not meant to be, and considering its place in the world holds the road well, and is very predictable (read: safe).

The steering is light and makes turning the vehicle absolutely effortless, and its small size means it's easy to position on the road. The fitment of reversing cameras – now standard on all models in the range – makes parking effortless.

It's a practical car too. There's loads of incidental storage in the form of bottle and cup holders and a large central bin up front, but my favourite storage solution is the push button glovebox; it requires less reaching from the driver's seat to open than standard latches.

The back seat is surprisingly roomy and my daughter loved the fact the windows wound all the way down. And I liked that I could lock the power windows when needed.

Loading the boot is easy and it's sizable enough to swallow a plenty of goods, 378 litres of space which is above average in this class. A 60:40 split-fold function for the rear seats is standard, and the seat base folds out of the way to get the seats backs completely flat.

One of the major mechanical changes for the i30 Series II model is the addition of dual-clutch automatic gearboxes, with seven-speeds in this instance. I wasn't too impressed with the pairing of the 1.6-litre turbo-petrol and this same cog-swapper in the Veloster Turbo (link when that review is live), a bit like Rhianna and Pitbull. But with the 1.6-litre turbo-diesel engine, it's a winner.

The pairing works well and has a cultured, almost European feel to it. The engine is quiet and efficient; I managed an average of 6.7L/100km over the course of a week, which included the usual kindergarten drops, short work commutes every day and a Sunday cruise to the beach.

For an extra $2500 over the petrol models, the diesel is well-worth looking into. Drivability is greatly improved thanks to a boost in torque from 260 to 300Nm which means there's loads of go at low revs.

Peak power of 100kW isn't bad either, making this a diligent and, if you feel like it, rapid hatchback. The gearbox doesn't suffer quite so acutely from the Volkswagen Group's 'rollback' effect in its dual-clutch auto, which can hamper slow speed manoeuvres – like trying to hastily reverse into a parallel car park.

The only quibble I could find with the powertrain was a touch of turbo lag that sees rapid throttle adjustments resulting in delayed response. It's fine from standstill but isn't too fond of going from pootle mode to full throttle, such as a low-speed overtake.

If a car like this becomes your first diesel you may not go back to petrol – unless you get sick of dirty, oily diesel pumps, which appear to be reducing in number. Indeed, fuelling up just a couple of times per month is a nice feeling.

Solid safety features and a five-star ANCAP rating, a five-year warranty with capped-price servicing and impressive efficiency mean the i30 can be affordable to own and run if you're prudent.

That it looks good, feels good and is practical enough for a wide range of lifestyles, the updated i30 is certainly worth putting on you're shopping list. And if you're too young to appreciate Celine Dion and are just sick (or jealous) of Taytay's success, then maybe Katy Perry really is the best option?