Hyundai i30 2024 Review

The five-door, five-seat 2024 Hyundai i30 is priced at $24,000 plus on-road costs.

It is powered by a 120kW/203Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine allied with a six-speed manual gearbox to drive the front wheels. Most buyers opt to spend an extra $2000 and upgrade to the six-speed automatic transmission, which is the model tested here.

This pricing isn’t likely to remain the same with production of the refreshed upcoming model to be sourced from the Czech Republic. If you want the current base model, then look out for dealer stock.

The i30 comes with a facelift introduced in 2020 and is led by Hyundai’s distinctive ‘parametric’ grille and 16-inch alloy wheels. In the base model you have to press the remote to unlock the door and ignition requires inserting a key (yes, no start button here).

Inside there’s single-zone air-conditioning, cloth seats with manual adjustment up front, leather trim for the steering wheel and gear knob, wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, an 8.0-inch infotainment touch-screen, AM/FM radio bands and six-speaker audio.

There’s no sat-nav, no digital radio and no wireless smartphone charging – but there is a full-size spare tyre.

The Hyundai i30 comes with an ancient five-star ANCAP rating from 2017, which is the year this generation first turned up in Australia and has now since expired.

Key active safety features include autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control and lane keeping. However, there’s no blind spot monitoring or rear cross traffic warning/collision avoidance.

The 2024 Hyundai i30 includes front, front-side, side curtain and driver’s knee airbags, but no front-centre airbag. It also has a reversing camera, but only rear parking sensors. Headlights are LED and tyre pressure monitoring is included. There are three child seat top tether strap points and two ISOFIX points.

Hyundai offers a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, a minimum 12 months of roadside assistance (more if you service your car at a Hyundai dealer) and 12-month/15,000km service intervals.

Capped-price servicing is available and prepaid plans can lock in pricing at $1005, $1404 and $1759 for three, four and five years respectively.

The most unexpected and impressive thing about the 2024 Hyundai i30 hatchback is the way it drives.

This generation i30 was the subject of one of the most extensive localisation programs ever conducted by Hyundai Australia and it really shows.

It rolls on a simple suspension combination of MacPherson struts (front) and a torsion beam (rear) yet exhibits a forgiving ride quality combined with confident handling and steering.

Okay, so there are other sportier models within the i30 line-up – namely the i30 N – but this positive behaviour is important because it makes the car easier and less fatiguing to drive. It’s also more likely to respond the way you want it to in an emergency.

Beyond that the i30 offers a comfortable, if basic, cabin with plenty of storage options and soft surfaces covering the key touchpoints. The 395-litre boot is capacious enough to fit a reasonable amount of gear.

The 2024 Hyundai i30’s driver assist systems also combine into a reliable hands-free cruise control on freeways. It’s better tuned than most cars from Korea’s larger neighbour across the East China Sea.

Rear-seat space in the 2024 Hyundai i30 hatchback limits its appeal for families. If you’re transporting a teenage ruckman or goal attack then you’ll need to shop elsewhere for leg space.

While the engine is responsive and teams well with the automatic gearbox, its 7.4L/100km claimed average fuel consumption (we got 7.0L/100km on test) is acceptable rather than great. The Toyota Corolla Hybrid sets the class standard.

The wireless Apple and Android phone mirroring also proved less than 100 per cent reliable, so always carry a cable.

Apart from that, what you’re really missing out on is some of the latest technology and equipment we’re seeing in new cars, like digital infotainment and instrument screens that stretch across much of the dashboard.

However, given the need to drill into those screens to make simple changes and the amount of warning chimes and intrusions that accompany them, some people will see that omission as a positive rather than a negative.

Otherwise, we’ve already covered the missing equipment such as wireless phone charging and digital radio. The lack of front parking sensors in a car that will spend a lot of time in tight spaces is more annoying.

If you are after simple, effective and well-backed transport, then the 2024 Hyundai i30 hatchback is worth considering.

Given it’s deep into run-out and won’t be replaced, you might miss out on a new 2.0-litre version. The good news is there are plenty of them kicking around in the used-car market.

Happy shopping.

2024 Hyundai i30 2.0 hatchback at a glance:
Price: $26,000 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 120kW/203Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.4L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 173g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Unrated