Hyundai i30 Turbo bows

The wraps have come off the updated Hyundai i30 small car during the company's "Product Momentum" show, that also introduced an updated i40 medium car and compact i20 coupe.

Streamed live to the world, the unveiling of the updated European-market models revealed that Hyundai is finally joining the forced-induction hot hatch mould, with the 1.6-litre turbo-petrol i30 Turbo.

It's not clear whether the i30 Turbo will join the Australian i30 range.
Hyundai Australia's public relations general manager, Bill Thomas, told
motoring.com.au "We're interested in it but that's all we can say at
the moment."

Effecting a fresh new look, the 2015 Hyundai i30 is offered in three- and five-door hatch, and a wagon body style, showing off a more mature frontal design via restyled grille work, new headlight detailing and a sporty new look for the i30 Turbo model. Some models also get a new seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission – but not the i30 Turbo. It will remain exclusively manual in Europe.

Pumping out 137kW and 265Nm, the range-topping i30 is the most powerful version of the strong-selling Korean small car to date, eclipsing the Australian-engineered i30 SR, a 129kW/209Nm proposition.

Available exclusively as a five-door model, the i30 Turbo's direct-injection 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine sees the hatch accelerate from 0-100km/h in 8.0 seconds – slower than the i30 SR's 7.7 second split. It's not established that Hyundai will offer the i30 with the high-output version of the 1.6-litre turbo, which in the Veloster SR Turbo bangs out 150kW and 265Nm of torque, but the option appears to be on the table for power-mad performance buyers.

Hyundai Europe says the i30 Turbo gets a sports suspension tune, 18-inch alloy wheels, more direct steering and an interior fit-out to match, not to mention a top speed of 219km/h. Sports front seats are in evidence, as is a flashy instrument panel, red detailing throughout and metal accented pedals.

Although the new i30 Turbo's 137kW output cannot match the benchmark hot hatch, Volkswagen's Golf GTI, it's likely to be positioned differently and accordingly priced lower. Hyundai's first hard core hot hatch is tipped to be the i20 N, producing around 186kW and trumping the VW Polo GTI in the process.

There are two other petrol engines in the European i30 range: 1.4-litre 74kW and 1.6-litre 88kW units. The latter is the only petrol engine in the range offered with Hyundai's new seven-speed dual clutch automatic, which together with low rolling-resisting tyres, engine stop-start, and active front aero flaps will help reduce fuel consumption on some models.

Turbo-diesel engine types comprise 81 and 100kW iterations of Hyundai's 'U' engine, and the two 1.6-litre units can be paired with the new seven-speed auto tranny. 

The Hyundai i30 is currently the third best-selling small car in Australia, with 13.4 per cent market share, or 28,677 sales for 11 months of 2014. The second spot on the sales podium is occupied by the Mazda3 with 18.5 per cent market share or 39,510 sales. As the top-selling small car in Australia, the Toyota Corolla holds 18.8 per cent market share (for 40,189 units sold).