Hi All,
Late last year with my current i30 at 300,000km I decided that I had better consider a replacement for when my current car is uneconomic to fix. It is running perfectly at the moment and hopefully will do so for a while longer. Is a 2008 1.6 turbo diesel manual Elite i30. Leather is nice, auto wipers are nice in a country that sees a bit of rain and the turbo diesel has proved it's worth travelling up and down the country towing a couple of motorcycles on a trailer (with the car loaded up also ... my travelling buddy is a bike dealer and takes many parts etc to all events!). If the car dies completely today it will have cost me just on $50 a week excluding routine maintenance. Have done all maintenance myself outside warrantly. Oil changes have been done between 7,500-10,000 km even when in the warranty period (the dealer did the 15,000 oil changes and I gave it one in between).
Occasionally over the years I have looked at the GD series i30s but sitting in them they didn't feel special to me, unlike my FD did when I bought it and still does actually. Is a personal thing.
So when the PD arrived, I went to have a look. The base model in NZ is a 2.0 petrol auto, leather steering wheel, blind spot monitoring but no other safety extras. Basically the PD2 Active in Australia (edit ... there is now a 1.6 petrol here - doesn't seem too common). Next model is the Elite. Add leather, auto wipers, dual zone climate air and auto mirror to the base model. Then the top model is the Limited, 1.6 petrol turbo, DCT transmission, leather etc, all electronic safety aids and a sunroof. Think Australian SR Premium. No diesels, no manuals.
I looked at the base model. I liked it! But not manual. Liked the Elite. Did not like the Limited. Because of the red added to the interior. And the steering wheel having perforated leather rather than the smooth leather of the other two. Again, a personal thing.
That was last year.
I also drive my partners car a bit. We bought that last year to replace a little Mazda Demio. A 2007 Hyundai Elantra 2.0 petrol Elite. Automatic. Same 2.0 engine and transmission as the 2.0 FD i30. Engine down on power compared to the get up and go of the 1.6 diesel. Automatic ok. Well, seemed so to me not having driven many automatics. Although every time I drive it I change down manually to engine brake. Hard habit to get out of I guess. So I figured I should actually drive the new i30 to see what I thought. My local friendly dealer let me jhave a 12,000 km workshop loan car for a couple of hours. Very interesting and one thing it highlighted was how good my FD is. On to the details though ...
The car was in ECO mode when I drove away. It shifted early and pulled away smoothly. It has probably been in ECO mode all it's life - do people who get given a loaner play around with all the buttons? Actually they probably do as it had 40 radio statiions saved. Anyway, the readout stated an average of 6.9 litre/100km. Not too bad. I scrolled through some trips it had done. A 6.3 litre/100km over a 385km trip. Not too bad I thought. Back to the drive. Pulled it into manual mode and went through the gears. Not bad at all. Went into the gear asked unless revs too high or low. Normal mode on the auto drove well. Didn't like sport mode at all. Would rather use the manual mode.
Down the motorway for a while and tried out the cruise control. Was fine. Power. Fine. Not the punch of the diesel off idle but revved fairly well and I thought it was really quiet. I'm used to a now 325,000 km diesel thouguh although seems more civilised than the 2.0 petrol Elite. Bit of rain and missed the auto wipers. Yes, I know, could step up to the Elite to compare like to like.
Steering lighter than my FD. Both OK. I have never had an issue with my steering on the FD but do note I changed to a 20mm rear anti-roll bar fairly soon after getting it and that transformed the handling and steering. The handling of the standard PD i30 on 16 inch wheels pumped up to 37psi (? why) was very similar to my FD i30 on 17 inch wheels at 32psi. Both great. If I end up with a standard PD i30 it will get 17 inch wheels fairly soon.
Sitting in a number of PD i30s before driving one the centre screen didn't concern me at all. Quite liked it in fact. However on the move I found it a bit 'busy'. Figured out how to turn the screen off just leaving date and time. Ahh, perfect. The screen on the FD turned back on when adjusting the radio volume. On the PD i30 it didn't. I like that.
Seats are tall! My FD seat covers would not fit. They felt just fine.
Centre console seemed wide. Definitely wider than the FD. Got in the way a little. Something to get used to.
So did I like it? I did. Was concerned that I would miss the diesel but I could certainly live with this 2.0 petrol. The 1.6 turbo would be great but not comfortable spending the extra and just get the feeling the 2.0 normally aspirated would last longer than the 1.6 turbo. Only time will tell although the 1.6 turbo has been around for a while and I haven't really heard horror stories.
Off course the dealer was keen to hear if I wanted to buy their loaner. Quick answer, no. Yes I enjoyed driving the car but really like the manual in the FD. I need to drive a manual PD!
I phoned Hyundai NZ a while ago and asked about a manual. Yes they would indent order one for me. And then it was suggested I could import one privately from Australia! Warranty? Actually yes. As the Hyundai warranty is international. Although would only be a NZ warrantly, not an Australian one. Fair enough.
At present, my FD is running great. And I still really enjoy driving it.
But I have options. I have a few trips to Australia coming up and would like to see if I can get a little drive in a manual. Probably an Active. Have looked for i30 rental. Have found a couple but both automatic. Sigh.
Something to look forward to
Those of you who are currently driving a PD, enjoy.
Andrew
