Hyundai's Corolla rival unmasked

Premature leaks seem to be the flavour of the month at the moment. A few days ago we showed you the Audi A5/S5, prematurely exposed by the early airing of a sales brochure.

Now Hyunda's all-new Toyota Corolla rival has been caught with its pants down as an Italian website has exposed the newcomer two weeks ahead of its Geneva show debut.

In addition to revealing what the new-age hatchback (which replaces the Elantra) will look like, the website has also made the name -- which had been a closely guarded secret -- public.

Taking a leaf out of the textbooks of BMW, Audi, Volvo and Mercedes (all of whom favour alphanumeric model designations), it appears Hyundai will dub its compact hatchback i30, no doubt in a nod to Apple's ubiquitous iPod.

Whether this creates any licensing issues is another story. BMW may also feel that the name is a little close for comfort to its 130i, although there's no risk of the two cars being confused for each other.

Be that as it may, there's no doubt the name will appeal to the youthful buyer demographic that the car will be pitched primarily at.

The i30 shares its architecture with the Kia Cee'd (as Hyundai owns Kia), but one could argue that the Hyundai is the better looking car, with funkier, sharper lines.

In keeping with recent trends that have seen Korean carmakers -- particularly Hyundai and Kia -- make stellar progress in the areas of build quality and dynamics, expect a well-resolved package that will take the fight to the current segment leaders in the C-segment.

The i30 will be a timely arrival for Hyundai as the Elantra (which launched internationally in 2000) is now feeling its age against far newer, more capable opposition.