You can normally gauge how much attention a new model will get by the amount of heads it turns when you're driving it. If head turns convert to sales, the 2021 Hyundai i30 N-Line Sedan (also known as the Elantra or Avante) is going to sell like hot cakes! Paul Maric tests out the latest warm sedan from Hyundai's N-Line division.
More Hyundai content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/hyundai
More Hyundai Elantra/i30 Sedan content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/hyundai/i30
Hardness tester results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior 01:00
Interior 03:04
Infotainment 04:41
Safety Tech 06:18
Practicality 07:10
On the road 10:10
Verdict 15:27
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#hyundai #i30 #elantra #review
More Hyundai content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/hyundai
More Hyundai Elantra/i30 Sedan content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/hyundai/i30
Hardness tester results: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/121Auf6HGvaBqRToYcuAz94alin7Sw55SpOPECBDlnKE
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Exterior 01:00
Interior 03:04
Infotainment 04:41
Safety Tech 06:18
Practicality 07:10
On the road 10:10
Verdict 15:27
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
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#hyundai #i30 #elantra #review
Category
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MotorTranscript
00:00 G'day, I'm Paul. So this car behind me, it is a Hyundai, but I reckon if you covered up the badges,
00:04 you would never actually know that it's a Hyundai. It is a seriously good-looking machine, and it turns some heads.
00:09 So, I don't know, it looks a bit German, a bit sort of high-end premium sort of thing.
00:14 Oh, let me know if you think I'm wrong. This is called the i30 sedan.
00:17 It was called the Elantra here in Australia, but they changed it to the i30 sedan.
00:22 This competes with things like the Mazda 3, the Honda Civic, the Toyota Corolla. This one here is the top specification.
00:28 It's called the N-Line Premium Auto, and it's priced at just over
00:32 $37,000, but if that's a little too expensive, the entire i30 sedan range starts at just under 25 grand.
00:39 So there's something in there for everyone. Today, we're going to do a detailed review of this car.
00:43 So if you do want to skip ahead to other parts of the review,
00:46 you can use the time codes that are up on the screen, or if you're on YouTube, just scroll down and use the chapters
00:50 below. And if you haven't done so already, I would love it
00:52 if you could subscribe to our channel and press the bell icon, so you can find out every single time
00:57 we drive cars that surprise me.
00:59 Okay, let's talk exterior. So you've got seven external colors to pick from. All but white is an additional
01:05 $495. So the design, I think this is what's excited me the most about it. It's not boring.
01:11 I'm just sick of these sedans being conservative and boring, and I think given that this is the N-Line,
01:17 they've been able to give it just a little bit of that sporty treatment. Up the front here,
01:21 you can see a stack of piano black, and while I don't like that stuff,
01:24 it actually works down the front of the car here, because you don't have to look at it all that much and touch it and
01:28 get it spongy and whatever. But you've got an N-Line badge down the front here, big Hyundai badge there,
01:33 and I think that this kind of gives you the perception that this is a
01:36 sporty version of the i30 sedan, and they've done it respectfully, I reckon.
01:40 I think it's not too over-the-top. It still looks stylish,
01:43 but it also has that sporty edge to it. Around the side here,
01:46 you have a set of full LED headlights with LED daytime running lights, and then a little indicator built into that socket
01:53 just there, and then around the side of the car, we have a set of 18-inch alloy wheels.
01:57 So typical to a lot of cars today,
01:59 they have that shadow chrome on the outside and then that
02:01 glossy sort of piano black finish on the inside there, and then the Hyundai logo around the side. This is interesting,
02:07 it's got like a textured knurled finish to the outside of it for the for the center cap,
02:11 which I think is pretty cool. Another N-Line badge just here.
02:14 You've got piano black on the top of that
02:16 wing mirror with an indicator built into it. Then up the top here, you have a sunroof,
02:20 but as you move down the side of the car, you can see this crease line that runs all the way from the front there
02:25 through to the back, and then it's joined over here with these little bits of aero on the C-pillar.
02:31 Let's go around the back of the car. Now around here, you've got a shark fin aerial, this black section that's attached to the boot.
02:37 You've got this black boot lip spoiler, these LED lights that run all the way around the back of the vehicle,
02:44 an i30 badge there, and then this is where your boot opener is located.
02:49 You've got that black diffuser section down the bottom, but while the design does look very German, unlike the Germans,
02:54 this actually has real exhaust outlets there, they're not fake. Let me know in the comments section,
02:58 do you reckon this is a good-looking car? Are you surprised that it's a Hyundai like I was?
03:02 Yeah, let me know what you think. Okay, we are inside the i30 sedan. Let's start off with the key. Here it is.
03:08 So lock, unlock, you have a remote start function and then a button to push and hold for the boot release. On the back there,
03:15 you have the Hyundai logo. This is a proximity sensing key,
03:19 so you just leave that in your pocket. Once you're inside the car, you have a push-button start just along the top here.
03:24 Now the styling, this is the bit that really intrigues me because this feels
03:28 so different to the rest of the Hyundai range. I remember when we reviewed the i30 hatch,
03:32 it still kind of feels like a previous generation of Hyundai product. This feels futuristic and really nice, like check out this grab handle.
03:40 You know, if you're doing racetrack driving, maybe you can hold on to that thing, you've got the big drive mode button over here.
03:45 There is a lot of piano black around the outer edges there and then down the side here,
03:49 but for the most part, this looks quite premium. Now in terms of the materials that they've used along the dashboard,
03:55 it's all quite nice.
03:57 It is a little scratchy along the top here,
03:59 which is a real shame because the rest of it actually feels quite nice. In terms of the touch points, in the center there,
04:05 that's firm but soft and then it is firm on the sides,
04:09 but it's still enough to have your elbows nice and relaxed. How firm is it?
04:13 Well, we have our durometer here.
04:15 We've tested all the main surfaces in this car.
04:17 If you want to see how this car compares to others that we've tested before,
04:20 scroll down and have a look at the link in the description. Now, what about build quality? So,
04:25 feels okay, but
04:29 listen to that. This is all sort of creaking and if you drive over uneven sections of road,
04:35 you can kind of hear it moving around a bit. So that is a little bit disappointing that this doesn't feel more well screwed together.
04:41 Okay, let's talk about infotainment. So, ahead of the driver you have these two screens. They are 10.25 inches each.
04:49 Now, we do have a detailed review of this infotainment system. You can click up here to watch that,
04:54 but today, let's give you a brief overview. So, you have satellite navigation built into the screen there.
04:58 It's quite sharp and quick and easy to use. You have shortcut buttons down the bottom. In terms of radio,
05:04 you have AM, FM and DAB plus digital radio. In addition to that,
05:09 you have an 8-speaker Bose branded sound system. And then on the smartphone mirroring front,
05:14 you have both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Both of those are cabled.
05:18 I'll show you what Android Auto looks like to start with. So, there it is there. You can see it's not quite a full-screen
05:24 integration. In some of these integrations, you can actually customize the right-hand side menu,
05:29 but here you can't for some reason. But it is nice and sharp, quick and easy to use.
05:33 And this is what Apple CarPlay looks like. Also, full screen.
05:37 You can see it tacks up the entire screen though. It is quick and easy to use as well.
05:42 Now, I should also point out that in addition to all of those functions, you also have sounds of nature.
05:46 We've seen this previously in Kia products before. And this basically plays
05:50 serene music so the kids can fall asleep.
05:52 You also have a voice memo function there as well and then a manual built into the screen. Then moving on to the screen ahead
05:59 of the driver. So, you can see speedometer on the left, tacho on the right. That also brings you warnings.
06:04 You can customize what appears on the screen here and then the center section is for your trip computer.
06:09 And then finally, when you do want to change drive modes, you can see the display changes with it, which I think is a really
06:15 clever setup. I quite like the way they've done that. Now, what about safety?
06:19 So, you have autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection. You've got rear cross traffic alert.
06:25 You've also got an exit assistant.
06:27 So, it'll tell you if there's pedestrians or cars coming and prevent you from getting outside.
06:31 And it'll also display a warning there ahead of the driver. You have blind spot monitoring built into the wing mirror.
06:36 You have a lane departure warning and a lane keeping assistant.
06:40 And you also have radar cruise control. And in terms of parking, you have front and rear parking sensors and a rear view camera.
06:46 I'll show you what that looks like. There it is there. So, pretty decent quality.
06:50 And then you've got this section here for your sonar.
06:52 Okay, so I was just gonna interrupt the video just for one second.
06:55 Let me know what your thoughts are on this. Has Hyundai's N division changed your perception of the brand?
07:01 So, things like i30N, this N line product. Do you think this has altered your opinion of the brand?
07:06 Do you think higher of Hyundai now? Let me know what you reckon in the comment section. Moving on to practicality,
07:11 we'll start with your connectivity options. So, you've got two USB ports down the front here, a 12-volt outlet.
07:16 You have a wireless charging pad. In the center console, you have another USB port.
07:21 Then, in terms of storage, where are you gonna put your phone?
07:24 Well, the phone can really live anywhere. We've got really deep cup holders here.
07:28 You can also put your phone down on the charge pad. In terms of your coffee,
07:32 it's not gonna fit in here. Well, it does fit in there, but it sort of disappears down the middle.
07:36 But there is a solution. So, you can lift this up,
07:39 turn it around, and then what it does is it raises the cup holder height.
07:44 So, when you do put your coffee in, it sits perfectly there. So, I love that.
07:48 That is a really clever solution, and I'm glad they've come up with something like that to save us from
07:53 destroying our coffee cups. In terms of just standard bottles, you can see that sort of fits in there pretty easily.
07:58 Now, what about our big bottle inside the door?
08:01 No, no chance of that fitting, unfortunately.
08:06 Other storage, you have a center console here that's pretty decent size. You can see how deep it is there with the bottle.
08:12 There is a glove box over here, reasonably sized.
08:16 We can fit our bottle in there, and then finally you have storage down the side here as well. Now, let's talk comfort.
08:20 You have dual zone automatic climate control up the front here. You have heated and cooled seats for the front row.
08:27 You have a heated steering wheel as well. The seats themselves, I reckon these look fantastic. So,
08:33 perforations, they have these heavy side bolsters. You've got red stitching and then the N logo in the center there.
08:39 I think they look really high-end, and they look pretty fancy. So, very impressed with that.
08:44 Steering wheel itself looks really nice as well. So, it sits great in the hand.
08:47 You've got those paddle shifters there. The steering wheel has tilt and reach adjustment.
08:52 The driver's seat is electrically adjustable with memory.
08:56 The passenger seat is manually adjustable, and then all of this is easy to reach while you're driving.
09:00 Okay, back seat of the i30 sedan. So, my driver's seat is pretty far back, so you can see how much knee room I have there.
09:08 I don't really have a great deal of toe room and headroom is pretty compromised.
09:13 You do have air vents back here and one map pocket, but no USB charging, unfortunately.
09:18 Center armrest, you have two cup holders built into there.
09:21 I'll show you what that looks like. Now, the question is, can our big bottle fit inside the doors? It couldn't in the front.
09:27 These do look like bigger holes.
09:30 It doesn't really fit in there either. You also have ISOFIX points for the two outboard seats as well.
09:35 Okay, let's talk cargo space. So, being a sedan, it's actually not too bad. Crack it open using this button on the back.
09:42 So, you've got 474 litres of cargo space available, and beneath the cargo floor,
09:47 you have a space saver spare tyre plus a jack. I'll show you what it looks like without bags in there.
09:52 So, there's the laptop. I can put the suitcase in.
09:55 There you go. It fits in nice and easily. It does have one more party trick, though.
10:00 You can drop the second row from here, but it's a bit counterintuitive. When you pull this, it simply unlocks the second row.
10:06 It doesn't fold it down, so you've then got to go in and manually do it all yourself.
10:10 So, we've hit the road in the i30 N-Line sedan, and I'll run you through what is under the bonnet first.
10:16 So, it's a 1.6 litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. It makes 150 kilowatts of power and
10:22 265 newton metres of torque, and that's all mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
10:29 Now, for the most part, these dual-clutch transmissions are getting better, and this one is pretty good once it's moving,
10:36 but at slow speeds, it can be really jittery, and it just feels like it's shivering for some reason.
10:42 And I was stuck in traffic yesterday and noticed that as I was letting off the brake and rolling
10:47 into the throttle on a slight uphill, it'd sort of stutter a little bit as it went. So, it is
10:51 unfortunately one of those characteristics of a dual-clutch gearbox. Now, I mentioned earlier the
10:56 build quality stuff when we were sitting inside the car. Well, I don't know if you can hear it, but
11:00 there's something rattling inside this dashboard. If I hold that, it stops, and if I let go, it's there again.
11:11 And it's really getting annoying while driving, so that's pretty frustrating.
11:16 The other thing that I'm finding really frustrating is, you'll see it flashing on the screen there,
11:20 it's the lane-keeping assistant. We're out on a country road at the moment, and it just keeps
11:23 darting me off towards the gravel. It's just really not a very good system for driving out
11:29 here on country roads, so I'm just going to switch that off entirely while we do this little bit.
11:34 There we go. Now, what's it like to drive? So, let's give this a little punch here.
11:38 That feels really nice. There's actually a little bark out of the exhaust as well.
11:44 We're not even in sport mode, and you can hear a little...
11:47 little crack from the exhaust, so that's pretty cool. Look, it's a fascinating engine,
11:57 because we've tested this engine before in other Hyundai products, and I don't know,
12:01 depending on the car that you drive, it's either really fun and inspiring like it is here,
12:05 or it's a little dull and boring. So, I like the fact that they've gone for a more interesting
12:09 tune here. It's got a bit of character to it, and it feels fun to drive. In terms of our drive
12:14 modes, if I hit that, you can see the gauges change. We've got normal, eco, sport, and smart.
12:20 I'll dart over to sport mode, so immediately I can feel the steering has become heavier,
12:24 and the throttle a little sharper. I'll just kick that down.
12:27 Yeah, that feels really nice. So, I don't know, this is actually quite engaging and fun to drive.
12:35 Hyundai doesn't have an official 0-100 time for the N-line sedan,
12:38 but we thought we'd put it up against our stopwatch.
12:51 Now, let's talk fuel economy. So, Hyundai claims a combined average of 6.8 litres per 100km.
12:56 Yesterday, when I was doing some highway driving, it was closer to that 7 litre per 100km mark.
13:01 Now that we've been out in the country, giving it a bit of a fang, it's sitting around 8.5 litres
13:05 per 100km, but as you can see there, it's climbed up to 9 after we've been doing a little bit more
13:10 sporty driving. So, look, it's not terrible, it's just expect it to use a little bit more fuel if
13:14 you get stuck into it. Okay, so let me pop this back into normal mode. I think I did notice
13:20 immediately as we started driving out here on these country roads, the amount of road noise
13:24 inside the cabin. It seems to be coming through the tyres and it's really translating through the
13:28 cabin. It's quite boomy and noisy in here, which is a little bit disappointing. I would have liked
13:33 something a little quieter, especially if you're doing a lot of highway driving. I think the
13:37 amount of noise you're getting in here is probably going to get a little frustrating over time.
13:40 Let's talk about the suspension. Much like a lot of Hyundai's other products,
13:44 this benefits from an Australian ride and handling tune. And I have mentioned previously
13:49 in other videos that, yes, Australian roads aren't any better or worse than roads in any
13:54 other country in the world, but here we have some unique road conditions and we have a bunch of
13:57 varying road conditions as well that these cars have to cater for. I think they've done a really
14:02 good job here. So, it is on the sportier side of comfortable, but I think you can get away with
14:06 that because it does have that sporty intention to it. And when you're driving here behind the
14:10 wheel, it just feels really nice and nimble and sharp, which is what you want from one of
14:14 these sporty sedans. Let's talk handling. We've got a couple of these higher speed corners here.
14:19 It's actually not too bad. It sits nice and flat through corners. There's a bucket load of response
14:24 through the steering there, especially in sport mode. It gets nice and heavy and it makes you
14:28 feel like you're actually doing something. As the speed picks up, it actually feels really nice and
14:33 planted. They've done a great job here with the body control and just making sure the car doesn't
14:38 sort of move around too much through the corners, even if you hit a bump mid-corner. It stays nice
14:42 and settled and flat and it's not sort of moving around the place. So, yeah, I think they've done
14:47 a really good job here with the handling and it's actually pretty surprising for what is what,
14:51 a $37,000 Hyundai that you could have some serious fun with this. So, yeah, big tick from me on the
14:57 fun factor. Now, what about visibility? Look, it's good. There's nothing to complain about. I can see
15:02 clearly down the front of the car there, we've got front and rear parking sensors, which makes
15:05 life easy. Decent sized wing mirrors and blind spot monitoring built into those as well. Visibility
15:11 at the rear is pretty good as well. It is a tiny bit narrowed, but for the most part, it's fine.
15:15 Finally, turning circle. So, it comes in at 10.8 metres, which is pretty reasonable for a sedan.
15:22 It just means that you may have to do the occasional 3.2.
15:26 So, the Hyundai i30 sedan N-line. I tell you what, I wasn't expecting this to be anywhere near as fun
15:34 as it is to drive. So, it's got those little snarly bits coming out of the exhaust and when
15:38 you really get up and you can hear it's doing things, and I don't think I was expecting that
15:42 much enjoyment from the driving experience. Once the car's moving, it's actually really fun to drive
15:46 and very punchy. It's just that low-speed jitteriness of the dual-clutch gearbox. I just,
15:51 I don't know, I'm sure you can get used to it, but I just don't find it really all that pleasant.
15:55 And just a couple of the interior bits, it does look really nicely presented, but the creaks and
15:59 stuff when you move it around aren't exactly fantastic. But if you put those things to one
16:03 side, this is a really premium-looking vehicle. It feels nice inside, it's got a great sound system,
16:09 and I think it's a good package in terms of the money that you're spending on it.
16:12 Now, let me know in the comments section below, have you bought one of these? What do you think
16:16 about it? I know the previous generation of the Elantra, the SR, was kind of like the N-line
16:20 version and they made that enjoyable to drive, but I think this takes it another step. I'm keen
16:25 to get your feedback on it. If you have bought one, does it turn heads? Is it a good long-term
16:29 proposition? Let me know in the comments section below. Now, if you did enjoy this video, make
16:33 sure you like it, and also don't forget to share it. And if you haven't done so already, subscribe
16:37 to our channel and press the bell icon as well, so you can find out every single time we publish
16:41 a new review. But until next time, take it easy.