Hyundai i30 hatchback (2011-2017) review - Carbuyer / Mat Watson 

Mat Watson is hands-down the best motoring presenter on RU-vid.

He totally loves his job, and we like seeing that. good review

I bought this car back in 2013 and drove it 3 years and 80K miles. I had zero problems with it. I foolishly put new tires on the car a month before trading it and had the alignment checked. It was still in perfect alignment. Never had a car stay that true after all those miles. btw...I traded it in on a 2016 Elantra SE sedan. I must say the two cars, although same drive train, are different on the road. The GT definately had a sportier crisper feel whereas the sedan is softer and cushier over all. The sedan also is quiter and gets a tad better mpg. I miss the hatchback practicality of the GT but I like the looks of the sedan better. The GT was my first Hyundai and I must admit I'm sold. A Hyundai enthusiast.

I bought one of these recently partly based on this review, exactly the same car as the one in this video except mine is petrol. I'm very happy with it :)

great car. better, more beautiful than the Ford Focus.

Love this chap! He's really helped me narrow down my options for a second hand car. Thank you Matt

My son has just bought one of these, a 2016 plate and its in mint condition as it only has 14,500 miles on it, and such a lovely car he's well happy with it. Engine so nice and quiet, it's got everything you could want or need in a car, this is in 2024

That lip is not an issue. We have had a full shop, my bags and a wheelchair in the boot. It is seriously impressive on space. Sometimes you do not see the full benefit in these clips but it is an impressive car. No serious issues in 6 years of ownership.

This review actually sold me this car, and i am glad about it :)

I love that design of i30

I'm only a minute and 50sec into this video and I can tell that this is the best review. and the presenter is the "Best"

just purchased a 2016 Hyundai i30 here in Australia. Our models come with more standard kit than the model you reviewed here. mine has parking sensors, reverse camera, touch screen multimedia centre, cruise control, and apple car play. only downside is there is no CD player. car is amazing, drives well; build quality is excellent. all this is standard on the "active" version (base model). Australia is the "biggest market" for the i30 globally. I looked at several other cars including the VW polo (great car, too small for me as I am 6ft 3). Toyota corolla (looked boring) and ford fiesta (too expensive). it was either the i30 or a Kia Cerato; as soon as I threatened to look at the Cerato, they matched the drive away price on the cerato for the i30. I am extremely happy with my choice, as the engine has a decent power output compared to the corolla or the polo. another big factor was the 5 year/unlimited km warranty. No wonder Holden and ford struggle to sell the Cruze and fiesta respectively.

what a nice looking car, forget haters

I have owned this car for almost 2 months now after a meticulous 6-month research for what to buy, and I am happy to see that my choice proved to be a very good one. Highly recommended.

I have one for a year (august 28). The car is roomy even in the backseat (I'm 1.80 m) with good legroom (more than ford focus, toyota corolla ascent, mazda 3 neo), mine is the 1.6 gas and have enough power for a city car. Have electric folding mirrors, motorized tilting headlight (Almost standard on Europe, but not here in Panamá) wich you need to manually tilt in case you feel they're not bright enough, the front seats are very confortable, There are not cup holders in the back, but the center seat is more confortable than the ones with cup holders, I don't really know any problem with the AC, here in Panama is very hot, and the AC performs really good. The front pillar are thick and it may reduce visibility, that´s true. I bought the i30 over the focus because of the interior design that is simply far better than the focus, The fuel economy ir great. The exterior is really beautiful, a more complex design that turn heads. The handling is soft and the car is very quite. this is more like the elantra hatckback. May be you like the design may be not. May be you don´t like Korean cars, but honestly, this car is amaizing for the tag price and I highly recomend the i30.

now thats what i call a proper car review!!!! 5 mins of brilliance!!! keep up the good work

I LOVE THIS CAR! I'm learning to drive in one and it's BRILLAINT. I honestly have no complaints about it!!!!! I get so excited for my driving lessons, even though they cost me £25 lol.

You guys really make awesome reviews . Bravo CarBuyer Team.

I bought this car on 2013 in great part due to this review. It was my first car. Now I'm selling it and getting a Tesla Model Y. It was a great buy though.

maaan i love these 5 minutes reviews!! keep up the good work carbuyer!

I've just purchased it. I'll get it in two weeks and I am so excited about it: everybody gives outstanding reviews.

I have the estate/tourer version of this in 1.6CDTDI. Best family car I've owned hands down. 20 Quid road tax and drives great, with good torque.

After watching your review and after a visit to the dealer we must say your review was spot on!! We ended up buying it! Great car for a young family

man these guys do great reviews!! i dont care about lap times, i want fun, reliable and practical!

Drove one today, the base model. Excellent drive, very nippy and felt really nailed to those winding uneven NZ roads. Think we will see lots of these on the roads soon.

bought a fiesta as a result of his recommendation, and he's right about every aspect. Goodwork !

Renting one of these for 3 weeks from Green Motion. Driven it already from Heathrow to Milton Keynes and then further up to Newcastle. Pretty much everything this guy has said is true with this car. Really comfortable, handles well on the road at speed and I'm loving the connectivity with my iPhone. The windscreen pillars are a tad bit wide sadly and the small rear window can have really bad visibility due to the tiny wiper it has but overall absolute joy to drive. Highly recommended.

I like your reviews. You cover quite a number of things that are important to potential purchasers. Because I am in Australia and we drive on the same side of the road as you, the controls are as we get.

I took a test drive the other day and i loved it! Loads of space, easy and practical! This guy speaks the truth ;)

Had one of these for my driving lesson this week...bloody nice car!

Best feature: the HID adaptive headlights, also when the lights turn on when unlocking, great at night especially when someone is parking ‘too’ close to you. Surprising feature: the steering weight control: comfort in town Sport on the motorway brilliant balance. Also Love the flashing brake lights too when coming to a sudden stop (Example: Fast A40, a Porsche had them ahead and it was really useful to see him brake to a stop as visibility was poor that day in heavy rain). I love the push button start and the keyless entry. The puddle lighting is great too. We bought the top spec premium but got some reason we didn’t spec forward parking sensors, so have to get them installed sometime soon. Oh and FINALLY the reversing camera, because it only comes out when it’s being used, as it’s hidden, it is always clear and the camera is excellent, the best city feature for safety. Oh the pressure gauges on the tyres brilliant for my other half who doesn’t do a monthly check of pressures... oh -7i ch allows in great are sexy!

Fantastic car! I drove it a few days ago, and I can say congratulations to Hyundai as a good product.

good to see matt back

You forgot to mention the cool sunglasses holder compartment on the roof of the car near the middle rear view mirror! I love my 2013 i30 turbo 😁

My 2015 1.6 diesel is approaching 200k miles and still going strong.

Congrats Hyundai you deserve it ! And thank you Matt for not being obtuse and giving the contenders a real chance

Great Styling! Well come back Matt :P

This is our second car - I'm 6'3 and the space for such a car is extremely impressive. I'm extremely pleased and impressed with it!

Anyone notice BIG FOOT in the background at 3:22?

Have had this car (1.4 petrol) for 6.5 years... awesome car that I plan to have for at least another 6 years. I never even noticed the glove compartment is refrigerated, ha! Gotta use it on my next summer trip to Italy :)

The 2014 model is safer than a volvo V40 for your kids. ncap rating for volvo for your kids is 75%, This Hyndai is 90%! So much for the safe volvo. Well done Hyndai.

Going to own one very soon....can't wait!

I have my new i30 since 20 april in possession and am very happy about. Man, man, man, what a car!!

It looked like a nice car. But my biggest concern would be where Matt pointed out that rear visibility is not so great. There's no getting around the fact that that's dangerous.

true, Chairman of Volkswagen was impressed by the design of Hyundai i30 at the Motorshow in Frankfurt IAA 2011. the video clip was all over youtube. nice one, mat. you nailed it! what a considerable passionate review for a beautifully made i30. Pls maintain your humor and enthusiasm for cars. May you get to review more cars (subie impreza hatch pls:-)

Cant wait for the new 3-Series review that is due soon!

Yeah I just got one myself. Only a 1.4l diesel engine, but it's still fun to drive and perfect for my daily commute. Was a "special edition" with the large touchscreen nav system and everything...

I have 2013 model 1.6 crdi its fantastic such a nice drive i had corsa vxr and the mpg was terrible . The mpg on this is amazing im getting 68.2 mpg on motorway runs sometimes 72 mpg fantastic car.

This video helped me buy my i30 in 2015. Best buy.

I love my 2015 i30. The best little car for commuting!

I’m currently learning in one and absolutely love it I’m thinking of buying the i20 as sadly I can’t afford the i30 but wanna keep the Hyundai theme is the harsh seat rumour in the i20 true??

Good review. Hyundai has really upped their game.

Great review , its seems hyundai has improved a lot over these years. I would love to own one of these..

Loved watching this ❤️

I did love the snowboard test!

you are the best presenter ever, I don't know your name but your are amazing, I do like the way how you explain things. you are talented, I see most of your review, you must actually get the title of best car presenter in the world.

Just got one 2014 model love it

Nice looking car

Please someone answer me. This car he previewed is the basic model right ? The central console still looks the same even if you buy the elit model ? Cause I don't want switches that look like an oven for the A/C ...

Hi thanks for the review but i have a question, today i tried a Hyundai i30 1,6 110 crdi style and it was very nice but i found it little bit shaking and specially when I stopped on traffic light the steering wheel was noticed shaking is it normal? Should i buy it or what should i do? Thanx Alaa

Welcome back Mat. i30 looks allot better then the old one.

i actually liked that design a lot at the time. More than the new i30 to be honest (except N version). I wanted to buy the i30 at the time.

a excellent and comfortable car to drive,not to mention excellent mpg if driven sensibly

I own a Veloster... I'm amazed on the build quality.... :D

picked up my top of the line Premium crdi auto today - VERY happy! especially when i compared it to golf... ;)

Mat's BACK!!!! thank god..

what car do you think is more refined the i30 or the ceed ?

70+ mpg? how do you get those numbers? it's not even on the white paper. can anyone clarify on that?

I had a Hyundai Amica. Brought it at 20k miles for £1,400, died at 100k. In that time I have NEVER REPLACED A SINGLE PART. I NEVER EVER SERVICED it. I only changed rear bulbs 2-3 times which cost £2 each. £5 fuel gave me 80 miles. Drove it 80k miles, had a oil leak which made it loose power, in 9 years of owning car i though time for change. Sold car £400 even though it had major oil problem. Such a reliable car, cannot fault. I brought a VW GOLF which i spent 1k in repairs in 1 year... PIECE OF SHIT, Hyundai are really good cars.

nice1 mat i was waiting for this review,,looks like im going korean,

i'm waiting for the new c'eed review, then i'll have to choose between this and the kia. The kia looks more aggressive in my opinion. What would you guys choose ?

I'm here in the U.S. and drive the 2013 Hyundai Elantra ( the I30 in the UK). You get a lot of amenities standard for you money, that are not offered in other models, or require upgrading to the next tier which ends up costing you more money. I've had my Elantra over a year with no problems. I average 31 mpg per tank of gas (combined city/highway driving - though mostly city driving). I have achieved over 40 mpg on highway road trips, by keeping my speed consistent, using cruise control and not driving the car like I had just stole it. I didn't buy it with the mindset that its a sport car, and therefore don't expect to handle as such. I bought it for its improved reliability, long warranty (5 year/60k miles versus the usual 3 year/ 36k miles warranty coverage given to most cars here in the U.S.), the gas mileage, the look of the car (inside and out), the amenities, the safety features and finally the price (under $20k). The Hyundai is definitely worth a second look at, if you are looking to make a car purchase.

I was very impressed by this car, heck it has a central console with air vents for the rear passengers in a segment where you usually just get vents under the front seat, how cool is that.

How come the car is moving when he is touching the soft touch materials? 2:57

MATT IS BACK !

I want to get just for mpg! will it come to usa? my kia soul 1.6 gas engine get high 20's mpg

This vs Kia Ceed, except for external design?

I've got this car in black and I must say I love it great car

Currently driving this car as a rental on my holiday. No GPS. It's an ok car but it's definitely not made for the twisty roads. The 'A' pillar is bloody massive.

what's the mpg or economy of this car's automatic version guys? does anybody know it?

@shoelace510 It depends on cars. If a Car is AWD or RWD then it needs more space in the area behind and under seats than if it was FWD, so its cargo space is designed differently.

Hello Mat,you are doing great job,thanks for reviewing i30!please share your thought i30 1.6 crdi with 6 speed automatic.How is the performans and responsing transmission with diesel?Good luck you are seriously doing great job once again!

How many litters/km does the automatic does ? Can anyone help me please ? Thank you !

Great car! Nice review!

I have the 2012 model, 1.6 diesel. Love it

Does the i30 come with stability control? I've heard that it is not standard. There is no way I would consider this car if it has no stability control

I had a hire car in spain TDI the mpg was amazing and it was doing 75mpg as a box to transport you around it is very good

Mat where did you buy your jacket/coat?

How Volvic sales are increased?

anyone know the economy on the automatic compared to the manual?

what is the market & on road cost at trichy.

I am really considering to buy this car! Great car! Hyundai makes many progress! The others manufactures are now warned!

so matt after so many reviews what car do you drive? :D

I wish these reviews wer longer!

The best looking car in this class..

what do you count "nowadays" as?

how much HP does it come ??

Do you have sun up there in England?

i'm worried about price for new i30. it gonna cost for instance like focus or astra?!

What about the stereo?