Paris show: Next Hyundai i30 partly revealed

HYUNDAI has provided the first glimpse at its all-important third-generation i30 small hatchback ahead of its full reveal in Europe next month.

The all-new i30 will make its public debut late next month at the Paris motor show and is expected to roll into Australian showrooms in about the middle of next year.

The South Korean car-maker says the “more refined and timeless” i30 was designed, developed and tested in Europe, adding that it is the “car in the heart of the Hyundai range representing the core of the brand”.

Hyundai Motor Group president and chief design officer Peter Schreyer said the design will be an evolution of the company’s existing corporate look, but it will usher in a new-look grille.

“It’s a car for everybody – for the design of the new-generation Hyundai i30, we didn’t just look at one customer, we focused on a wide range of different people,” he said.

“The design is an evolution of Hyundai Motor’s design language with natural flowing lines, refined surfaces and a sculpted body to create a timeless appearance. With the new-generation i30, we are introducing our further developed grille: the Cascading grille.”

Hyundai has released just three darkened images of the i30 hatch, revealing a new headlight design that is in keeping with recent Hyundai models such as the Tucson and Elantra. A front three-quarter image reveals a resemblance to Infiniti’s forthcoming Q30 hatch.

The images also show a more sculpted bonnet than the current four-year-old model, while the grille and larger Hyundai badge are also more prominent than before.

The tail-lights are an evolution of the second-gen hatch but also take cues from the Tucson and the European-market i20 hatch that is not sold in Australia.

It is expected that the new i30 will have roughly the same dimensions as the outgoing model.

Underpinning the i30 will be a version of the new Elantra platform, although Hyundai and its sister company Kia typically use elements from various platforms rather than sharing the exact version as is the case with other car-makers, including Volkswagen.

Hyundai Motor Company Australia public relations general manager Bill Thomas told GoAuto that i30 Australian damper tuning development will start in the next month and will take three weeks.

Mr Thomas said the i30 tuning would be slightly more extensive than the program that was undertaken for the recently launched sixth-generation Elantra.

Further details including powertrain choices, dimensions and basic specification will be revealed on September 7 in Europe, but Hyundai says the next i30 “offers highest value, an efficient and dynamic powertrain line-up, state-of-the-art safety and connectivity to meet European and global customers’ needs”.

A performance-focused hot hatch version of the i30 will be launched under Hyundai’s newly formed N performance-car division, but that is not expected to be uncovered until next year.

It is unclear whether the next i30 will mark a shift away from the sub-$20,000 small car set that includes also the Toyota Corolla and Kia Cerato.

Sales of the i30 have lifted in the final year of its model life-cycle, thanks in part to an appealing $19,990 driveaway with free automatic transmission retail offer for several months of the year.

In June, Hyundai sold a record 6432 i30s in Australia and it is the best selling small car in the country to the end of July with 25,073 units shifted compared with 23,971 Toyota Corollas and 21,589 Mazda3s.