Hyundai's new i30 features best-ever function and comfort

Hyundai Motor has officially launched its compact hatchback "Hot Hatchback i30." While only few Korean hatchbacks gained success in the domestic market, Hyundai aims to break this jinx in the industry with its new i30.

Beginning with the Hot Hatch i30 release event at Gavit Island, Seoul on Wednesday, the new hatchback will kick-start sales on Thursday. As the new model released worldwide concurrently, i30 is one of Hyundai’s models, which will determine success and failure in the latter half of 2016.

Until now, hatchbacks with back seat and trunk undivided draw only little interest from Korean drivers. Such is the case for the previous i30 model, which was sold around 3,290 vehicles last year in Korea. Sales for the first seven months of this year barely reached 50 percent year-on-year. Peer models manufactured by Korean automakers such as Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback of GM Korea and K3 Euro of Kia Motors were sluggish as well.

At least Volkswagen Golf survived and gained somewhat success in the Korean hatchback market. Still, many point out that Golf gained popularity not because it was a hatchback, but it was an imported car from Germany. “History shows that thanks to their slim width and easy-to-store capacity, hatchbacks were the darlings of practical Europeans who have to drive in narrow roads," an official from the auto industry explained. "On the contrary, the growth in the Korean auto market was led by mid-sedans, with more importance given to driving comfort, design, and size rather than practicality.”

To position the new i30 as a “successful hatchback,” Hyundai has made drastic improvements both in function and design. The new model drives more efficiently with the combination of turbo engine and Dual Clutch Transmission (DCT). Latest technologies can be found with Blind Spot Detection (BSD), wireless smartphone recharging system and many more. The “cascading grill” inspired by the curves of Korean ceramics reminds of a molten metal pouring from a furnace. Hyundai plans to apply the cascading grill to its entire line-up in the future.

“The new i30 has focused on the basics, and is equipped with the most powerful driving performance, highest efficient powertrain, and the best driving comfort ever released in the market," said Hyundai Motor Vice President Kwak Jin. Prices range from 2.01 million won to 24.35 million won (price starts from 19.1 million won when tuner package is applied), 22.25 million won to 25.15 million won for gasoline 1.6 turbo models, and 21.9 million won to 26.15 million won for diesel 1.6 models.

이은택 기자nabi@donga.com