Photo: Guido ten Brink / SB-Medien
Nobody likes the infotainment screens that are perched on top of the dashboard, like a glued-on cheap tablet. Nobody, that is, except the Germans. And it seems the all-new Hyundai i30 is as German as Peter Schreyer, as it features the worst screen of them all.
We didn't notice this in the press photos when the i30 came out at the beginning of the month. But in person, the dash is striking, and not in a good way. Not only is there a huge screen on top of the dash, but all the buttons have migrated there as well.
You've got a couple of knobs plus dedicated physical buttons for the radio, navigation, settings and connectivity functions. We always thought that car interior design was trying to copy that of the latest iPhones. However, Hyundai went the complete other way and instead of deleting the headphone jack, it made a Nintendo DS copy.
By contrast, rivals like the Peugeot 308 have tried to get rid of almost every button possible. That can't be good either, right?
Looking past this flaw, the i30 is an interesting contender for the compact segment. It seems a tad small compared to the 2017 Honda Civic, but at least it's got a classy design.
There are a lot more engines being offered than the Honda too. The range kicks off with the 1.4-liter MPI four-cylinder. But you don't want that because it's only got 100 PS and people will think you're slow.
What you do want is one of the new turbo models. There's a 1-liter version with 120 PS and 171 Nm, competing with the Golf 1.0 TSI. Just like the Golf, it will do 100 km/h in about 11 seconds. Next, Hyundai offers a 140 PS 1.4-liter turbo, which is available with a seven-speed dual-clutch. How German is that!
We also know there's a 1.6-liter turbo with 204 PS, but right now, it's only available in Korea. And finally, all the diesels are 1.6-liter ones, and they can produce as much as 136 PS.
You've got a couple of knobs plus dedicated physical buttons for the radio, navigation, settings and connectivity functions. We always thought that car interior design was trying to copy that of the latest iPhones. However, Hyundai went the complete other way and instead of deleting the headphone jack, it made a Nintendo DS copy.
By contrast, rivals like the Peugeot 308 have tried to get rid of almost every button possible. That can't be good either, right?
Looking past this flaw, the i30 is an interesting contender for the compact segment. It seems a tad small compared to the 2017 Honda Civic, but at least it's got a classy design.
There are a lot more engines being offered than the Honda too. The range kicks off with the 1.4-liter MPI four-cylinder. But you don't want that because it's only got 100 PS and people will think you're slow.
What you do want is one of the new turbo models. There's a 1-liter version with 120 PS and 171 Nm, competing with the Golf 1.0 TSI. Just like the Golf, it will do 100 km/h in about 11 seconds. Next, Hyundai offers a 140 PS 1.4-liter turbo, which is available with a seven-speed dual-clutch. How German is that!
We also know there's a 1.6-liter turbo with 204 PS, but right now, it's only available in Korea. And finally, all the diesels are 1.6-liter ones, and they can produce as much as 136 PS.
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