Hyundai i30 CW 1.4i CVVT Blue i-Drive (2011)

autoreview

Gebruikersreview

5 augustus 2011 om 12:23

Uitvoering	i30 CW 1.4i CVVT Blue i-Drive
Versnellingen	5, Handgeschakeld
Bouwjaar	2011
Jaar van aanschaf	2011
KM-stand bij aanschaf	204 km
KM-stand laatst	4.500 km

First real impressions

560 km
5 augustus 2011

Firstly I would like to apologize for writing this review in English. Although I write and speak very good Dutch it can happen that I write some "lomp zinnen" which I am aware can be really annoying for some people. Thus I shall write in my own language.

This car is a lease and replaces our 10 year old 2.0HDi Picasso. After much searching around the 14% bijtelling range of family cars and having discarded most of them as being too small for our family of five, my good lady wife and I decided to check out the 20% bijtelling finally deciding upon the Hyundai.

Our criteria: within leasebudget, large boot (does the pram fit?), wide rear seat (3 kids in a row with babychair), sufficient "opbergvakjes" for all the kids things, maps, waterproofs etc when we go on holiday. We had discarded the only other real contenders the kia cee'd and the skoda fabia. One was too expensive and the other was just plain ugly (guess which one that was?).

My first impressions were both positive and negative. The tyre noise and lack of dimmer switch for dashboard lighting (standard in iMotion) don't seem like much but when you are driving at night in the rain on the motorway the bright lights and noise can make your trip somewhat less relaxing.

On a positive note the engine pulls well in low revs making it possible to take roundabouts in third and accelerate quickly on the motorway in fifth for overtaking.

The cabin is reasonably well fitted (better than my 10 year old picasso) with everything you need in hand reach. Little touches like the seatbelt indicators for the back seats are particularly useful when you have kids. The menu on the stereo can be a little fiddly and distracting. The large radio display provides a lot of info and when you are driving at night can be switched to dark to reduce glare in the cabin.

There are cup holders by the handbrake and plenty of places to stick sunglasses, ipod (when connected to standard usb/aux inputs).

The car doesn't feel small even though it is officially not a full size estate (combi-wagon - hence the cw name).

It is early days yet but my general feeling is positive and my wife certainly seems satisfied. Which lets face it when you've picked out a car and the wife starts to take a shine to it (she called it a gebruiksvoorwerp - who knows maybe she'll give it a real name soon) then you know as a man you've hunted well.

Oh, one other thing, the is car stills comes standard with a real spare wheel. A definite thumbs-up in this age of spuitbussen - you know you can drive when you have a blow-out.

I will update this review after I've driven some more kilometers (holiday coming up so plenty of autobahn experiences to follow).

een paar opmerkingen

640 km
8 augustus 2011

I have not driven many more kilometers but felt I had to add a few more comments and explain a little more about why we chose the Hyundai.

The cars we looked at and test drove included:
- Seat Ibiza-st and Skoda Fabia combi (too small in the width and too little legroom for 3 children and not enough space between rear seat and front seat for a childseat) - I liked the little diesel engine;
- Toyota Prius (even with its 14% bijtelling the lease price came out at over 500 euros per month - which was too expensive) - it is a super car though very high tech;
- Honda Jazz (great car but with very little boot space);
- Honda Insight (lacked enough space);
- Ford C-max, Seat Altea XL (both too expensive in the lease);
- Kia C'eed (this would have been our car of choice if the start price had been 1500 euros lower. This car shares the same chassis setup and engines but has a few alterations such as: the tailgate is set further back allowing easier access to the boot, the rear bench seat is split and folds forwards giving a much flatter load area than the i30cw, and airco and cruise control come as standard on the lower model).

Back to the car of our choice. I think I had already mentioned the cabin being a comfortable place to be. As we have the iDrive model it does however miss a few extras which come as standard with the iMotion.

Airco / Climate Control
The iDrive Cool comes with airco and being used to having climate control in our old Picasso this has taken some getting used to. We have finally found the combination of settings which seem comfortable but we do miss being able to set the inside temperature.

The Looks
The Hyundai is a nice looking car. It has shaken off the cheap car looks and (i hope) build quality issues which have followed it around since the days of the Pony. The cabin does have a modern (even slightly refined) feel to it (especially compared to the Honda Jazz's chintzy cabin!).

Safety
The i30 has 8 airbags, a five star crash rating. The iDrive misses parking sensors (another reason to go for the iMotion) and I do need them. The design of the pillars means the car has several blindspots. The rear view mirror seems to be curved to fit the entire rear window in view, this is good but it does make the back of the car seem a long way off - if you know what I mean. There are however no blindspots with the wing mirrors.

All things considered we still feel we made the best choice for our money. The i30cw offers quality, safety and space (I'll talk more about comfort after our holiday). For a little more money the iMotion is the best starting model.

Eind review

4.500 km
6 september 2011

Having travelled to Austria and back with children, roofbox and bike on board I think I can give my final verdict on this car.

Good points:
Car pulls well even when fully loaded. It has a keen little engine which even with a roofbox and bike on top just keeps on going. In fifth gear at 120km/h the engine is revving at 4000rpm so all 109 horses are available to pull you over each long hill climb. There seem s to be just about adequate space for a family of five. The car steers positively and handles well (if a little stiff in comparison to our former french mistress).

Bad points:
The drivers and front passenger seats are uncomfortable on long stretches. After 2.5 hours my buttocks were painfully numb and the kids travel cushion spent the remaining 2 weeks on my seat.
The gear ratios are not quite right in a hilly terrain. Between 2nd and 3rd gear the difference is too great which meant many hill climbs were completed in 2nd at 3000rpm and 40km/h. Descents were painful as 3rd gear gave little resistance while 2nd gear forced the engine into a noisy 3000-3500rpm descent while still requiring ample use of the brakes (Note: which performed admirable).
The auto cancel on the indicators does not always seem to work.
The autostop function is a strange beast. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. Sometimes it switches the engine off but then doesnt switch the engine back on. The ISG-off button (switches autostop on/off) has the default setting off. This means you have to remember to switch it on (off - all very confusing) everytime you start the car.
Fuel economy is nothing to write home about. During our holiday we achieved 8.0 l/100km. I have a normal driving style, do not rev the engine excessively but to achieve economy figures under the 7.0 l/100km you have to have feathers for feet and not be in a hurry.
There were no major complaints about the car in general. The choice of model solves the earlier made comments concerning airco, dimmer switches etc.

End Conclusion:
All in all a super car. If you can go that financial step further then buy the iMotion as this come complete with all those little extras which we so often take for granted. The few little niggles with the car can be lived with when you consider the good performance and relatively sound build quality you get for your money.

8,5