Frankfurt tease, part 2: All-new Hyundai i30 aka Elantra hatchback

August 11,2011

Is there room for the Hyundai i30? With the great-looking and attractively priced Elantra around, who needs another Hyundai C-segment car? In any case, the i30 is essentially the Elantra, with a feature set and powerplants more suitable for Europe. The outgoing i30 is certainly not a bad car, having won the 2008 compact car category from Car of the Year-Philippines, but lacks any semblance of personality.

The new model, to debut at Frankfurt in September, should set some of that right, as it follows the current Hyundai styling, down to the “fluidic sculpture” and the ever-popular hexagonal grille (Hey, Subaru, we have that, too!). The i30 has become Hyundai’s best-selling model in Europe, and the new one is poised to steal some sales from the competition, too.

The exciting bit is that the i30 sketch shows the form of what is essentially an Elantra hatchback. It certainly looks promising, and sets the stage for a hatchback battle with the likes of the Ford Focus, upcoming Chevy Cruze hatch, and even the mythical Volkswagen Golf. We know; we can dream.

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