Hyundai i30 2021 review: Elite sedan

As the sales of small sedans continue to fade like Rudy Giuliani's credibility, you have to do something to stand out, especially if you don't have a German badge on the grille. Hyundai has absolutely decided to stand out. The Elantra it replaced started out as fairly safe, got a wacky facelift a couple of years ago and with a new nose and boot, the metamorphosis is complete. Unlike the slightly ungainly Corolla sedan and the curiously dulled-down Mazda3 four-door, the i30 Sedan is not the dowdy version.

From the wild grille which looks like it sprouts new, slim headlights and its sharp creasing through to the chipped and ripped rear end, the new i30 sedan is a proper head-turner. Sometimes on weekends I like to sit on the front porch with a coffee and watch passersby react to cars on the driveway that I think are worth looking at. I lost count of how many people wandered past, stopped and checked the badge before saying something complimentary about it to their companion. I think it looks terrific. If the looks don't sell it, nothing will. It's arguably much more interesting than the hatch.

The new i30 sedan is a proper head-turner.

And the same goes for the interior. In an odd twist, now it has the same badge as the hatch, it has a very different interior. Some of the elements are common, like the massive new 10.25-inch screen but there is a Lexus LC-style cockpit effect around the driver, an Audi-style four (or is it two?) spoke steering wheel. Behind that wheel is another 10.25-inch screen serving as a digital dashboard, a bit like the Mercedes twin-screen set-up.

There's an 10.25-inch screen serving as a digital dashboard.

The two-tone effect in the front sounds awful but it really works. The only problem is the materials are a bit cheap-feeling on some of the touch points, which kind of defeats the purpose, particularly the sweeping passenger grab handle on the centre console.

The i30 Elite Sedan has six airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection, junction assist, lane keep assist, lane following assist, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, exit warning and rear-cross traffic alert.

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2021 Hyundai i30 range - Virtual tour

The new i30 sedan has not been tested by ANCAP and won't be - ANCAP has struck again with the requirement for a centre front airbag to score five stars. So Hyundai is going to skip the assessment and live without an ANCAP rating, which would most likely come out at four stars.

Getting into a Hyundai is becoming an exercise in fulfilled expectations - there's a consistent feel all through the range. Driving position is right and if it isn't, seating and wheel adjustments get you there in a few moments of fiddling. The 2.0-litre engine settles into a barely-registerable idle and the transmission shifts into drive with an assuring action.

There's a proper feeling of quality in the i30, a bit lift from the Elantra. That's partly to do with the design and the very German twin-screen layout (and steering wheel) but it also come from the way it drives. When you're driving around normally, the ride and handling are very smooth and competent, with light easy steering.

The 2.0-litre is quiet when you're not pedalling it along and many owners will never discover that it gets a bit rackety when you floor it. The car makes a terrific argument for not spending any more money than this, because it's that good.

It's not particularly quick, but for a family of four - particularly as a second car - it is a very comfortable get-around-town machine, as well as a very pleasant long-distance cruiser. If you want or need more, the N-Line is coming, but it won't ride as well in return for sharper handling and its more powerful 1.6-litre turbo.