Hyundai i30 1.6 and 2.0

One of the first Hyundai cars to feature the new i naming scheme is now in Malaysia, but it is not the first i car in Malaysia, as that honour has gone to the i10.
The Hyundai i30 is a C-segment contender designed by their European center for the European market, but that has not stopped it from offering it elsewhere unlike the Kia cee’d's European exclusivity. The i30 shares the same platform as cars like the cee’d and the upcoming Forte. Proof of that is the fact that the i30 is now here in Malaysia and the wagon version is even in the US, called the Hyundai Elantra Touring

Three variants are sold here, and the good news for manual fans is that there’s a manual version for the 1.6 liter. The following are the prices of the Hyundai i30 variants here in Malaysia:
Hyundai i30 1.6 (M) – RM92,388.00
Hyundai i30 1.6 (A) – RM97,888.00
Hyundai i30 2.0 (A) – RM112,888.00
The 1.6 liter engine makes 121 PS at 6,200rpm and 154Nm of torque at 4,200rpm, while the larger 2.0 liter unit makes 143 PS at 6,000rpm and 186Nm at 4,600rpm. The 2.0 liter engine is the same as the one in the Elantra/Avante, and not of the GEMA series found in the Sonata.

The 5-speed manual 1.6 gets 15 inch wheels with 185/65R15 tyres, the 1.6 auto goes up one inch with 205/55R16 tyres while the 2.0 auto gets 17 inch wheels with 225/45R17 tyres for a sportier stance. The car rides on a 2,650mm wheelbase chassis (the i30 wagon/Elantra Touring has an extended wheelbase of 2,700mm) with MacPherson struts at the front and a multi-link suspension setup at the rear.
In terms of safety features, all cars get 2 SRS airbags at the front as well as ABS brakes, and good news is that the 2.0 liter automatic gets ESP stability control. Another safety feature for your wallet – a 5 year or 300,000km warranty.

Hyundai is offering 1.99% loans for 5 year tenures, and this also applies to the rest of the Hyundai range except the Starex. Speaking of the rest of the Hyundai range, it looks like the Elantra has been renamed the Avante in the new Hyundai-Sime Darby line-up.
This probably happened when the Hyundai franchise was unified here in Malaysia – there are no longer two separate companies selling different Hyundai models, only the Sime Darby unit. The i30 will be in showrooms August onwards. If you like the car and are already thinking of how to pimp it up once you’ve bought one,