Hyundai I30 Problems

I would go for an i30. It's a former Carsguide Car of the Year and you will get a car with the remainder of the five-year warranty

You could upgrade to a more-powerful high-beam halogen globe but it's a common problem as many Asian makes focus on low-beam performance because their countries are mostly urban. So they use Xenon gas for HID low beams but do not bother to upgrade the high beam from halogen.

The i30 definitely gets The Tick and should be fine for you.

Your long-term experience reinforces what we already know from our time with all the latest Hyundai models.

I don't doubt that you feel frustrated; I would too. The diagnoses you have been given are all plausible, but they clearly need more investigation to establish the real cause. Go back to your dealer and ask them to tell you what they plan to do to fix your car. We will contact Hyundai in the meantime and ask for head office help for you.

When the Japanese brands slashed development spending through the global financial crisis, the Koreans spent more to improve their cabin quality, engines, gearboxes and everything else. Kia and Hyundai now also have specialist engineers who tune their suspensions just for Australia. They also lead on warranty and service costs, for a compelling overall package on cars like the Hyundai i30 and Kia Proceed.

A globe upgrade is always good with a quality brand like Philips. However, I would really do the homework before trying an HID conversion as factory units involve a lot of engineering work.

Ask that a service representative go with you, so you can show them what the problem is and that it is still present. Once you have their agreement that there is a problem you should be able to move forward and get a resolution.

There's nothing of great significance to report on with the i30, it was a great step forward from the Getz it replaced. The issues that cause most concern relate to the radio and the battery, which can go flat and cause starting issues. I wouldn't be too concerned about those, however, as the i20 is a safe and sound little car.

The replacement system should be one that's equivalent in age and condition to the old one, and in the case of one that is five weeks old I would expect the replacement to be new.