Hyundai I30 vs Tesla Model S
What's the difference?

Hyundai I30

$23,888 - $62,724

2025 price

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Tesla Model S

—

2017 price

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Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Summary

2025 Hyundai I30

2017 Tesla Model S

By Emily Agar

By Peter Anderson

Safety Rating

Engine Type

Turbo 4, 1.5L

Electric motor type

Multi-Motor – Mixed Types

Fuel Type

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Vehicle type

Battery Electric

Fuel Efficiency

5.6L/100km (combined)

Electric range

613 km

Energy consumption

20.0 kWh/100km

Battery capacity

100.00 kWh

Seating

Likes

Impressive features list
Value for money
Drive incredibly well

Rocketship speed
Clean interior design
Ever-improving proposition

Dislikes

Dual-clutch transmission gets confused in stop/start traffic
Shorter servicing intervals
Some safety tech is intrusive

Sadly, it's not a sports car
It's a lot of money
Lack of convenient charging

2025 Hyundai I30 Summary

The Hyundai i30 sees an update for the 2025 model line and the base N Line variant gets the best of the new stuff, including a new mild-hybrid powertrain.

This might mean trouble for its nearest rivals, the Toyota Corolla, Mazda3 and Kia Cerato, because the update makes the N Line one of the better base-model hatches to come out in recent years for its segment.

In this review, we see how it also handles urban life!

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2017 Tesla Model S Summary

If you have even a passing interest in the Tesla Model S, you'll have seen the endless internet videos where someone has lined up a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or another fast exotic car you could name, to race against it.

There's a long build-up, usually involving men who can't operate a baseball cap, a drag strip and idiotic words in the headline like "destroys" or "rips", or whatever. There's usually a bunch of honking bros with bad haircuts watching on, already planning their next viral video where they set a perfectly good mobile phone on fire.

It's facile and idiotic and doesn't give you any real clue as to the depth of whatever supercar it has "humiliated" or, just as importantly, the depth of the Model S and its spectacular engineering.

So, I won't be spending the next thousand words building up to the conclusion that the Model S P100D with Ludicrous Mode is up there with the world's fastest production cars from 0-100km/h, because I'll tell you now that it is, and it does it in a claimed 2.7 seconds.

Now that's out of the way, there's quite a bit more to the Model S than a "broken" Nissan GT-R owner weeping into their bento box.

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Deep dive comparison

2025 Hyundai I30 2017 Tesla Model S

Verdict

The updated Hyundai i30 N Line doesn’t look like or perform like a base model.

You really do get bang for your buck here with its features. It’s a good-looking hatch that’s fun to drive in the city or open road and while the multimedia system is basic and occupants will be squished in the rear row, everything else is a big plus.

Verdict

I spoke to a friend who bought a Model S before one had even hit the ground here in Australia. He chuckled when I told him how much this car cost but then said something I'd already suspected. "My mates who own a P100D would never drop that kind of money on a normal car. Buying a Tesla is like buying shares in the company, you're buying into the future."

And that's kind of the point. A $300,000 Audi RS7 (fully-loaded, obviously) is a bit slower in a straight line, looks just as good, is extremely well-built and emits noises that make people like me go as weak at the knees (just as the Model S' acceleration does). And would probably win a 10 lap race with the Tesla around Mount Panorama.

The Tesla is the future of cars. It may still be decades before the internal combustion engine is gone, but Tesla buyers are getting the jump, and today the Model S is the best car in which to make that leap.

Hyundai I30 vs Tesla Model S What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

Hyundai I30 vs Tesla Model S
What's the difference?