Hyundai i30cw Challenge – 1000km on one tank?
September 3, 2009 by Alborz Fallah
Anthony Crawford and I are setting off on a bit of a challenge tomorrow morning, we will be driving a bright red manual Hyundai i30cw diesel from Anthony’s house in Sydney to my house in Brisbane, a distance of exactly 934 kilometres.
By Alborz Fallah
According to the Hyundai’s official fuel efficiency figures, the manual variant can manage a rating of 4.9 litres per 100 kilometres on the ADR combined cycle, or 4.3L/100km for highway driving.
With a 53 litre fuel tank, the 1.6-litre CRDi engine has a theoretical range in excess of 1000km, but as we all know, real world fuel economy figures tend to differ to those listed by manufacturers and hence the challenge.
Anthony believes it will be possible to drive all the way to my front door on one tank, I think we will be pushing it. The idea is to only stop to swap drivers and continue driving until the car runs out of fuel or we arrive at my house.
We will be updating live as we go, so check back tomorrow to see if we’ve made it.
Print it: 
We have owned an i30 diesel, manual, wagon with cruise control for 3 weeks now and we have already managed 1000k’s of all highway driving with the air con. on and four adult passengers……so the only thing this test will prove to me is whether you guys can drive for economy or not?????
i will be very surprised if you fall short but good luck anyway!!!
Not that much of a challenge both my 4WD Tiguan TDI (6.7l/100km) and 320D (4.9L/100km) did Bris Vegas to Mackay which was just over a 1000kms from where I stayed to where I live just North of Mackay. The light weight Hyundai should do it easily, just go easy on the AC and gentle acceleration and make use of the cruise control if possible
didn’t the old Peugeot 405 or 406 set the record for most distance travelled on a tank of diesel?
I believe you and Anthony will make it relatively easily. The diesel variant of the i30 has been proven very fuel efficient not only in the manufacturer’s figures but by mnay of those who own one.
It s a long driving so be sure to bring enough water and snacks along so you keep hydrated and don t starve in the car. Good luck.
My sister’s Mondeo diesel got 1100+km from one tank on a trip to country Vic recently, and that’s in a heavier vehicle with an AUTO transmission. The funny thing with Hyundai is if they simply manage to produce a vehicle at the same – or close to the same – standard as everyone else, then suddenly they are fantastic vehicles lauded by all and sundry. I wonder how long the “Underdog Allowance” will last for them…
But at the end of the day. how far you can travel on a tank is meaningless since it’s largely dependent on fuel economy AND tank size. My brother’s PETROL Landcruiser gets 1000+ km’s from one refill, helped out considerably by a long range fuel tank. The only thing that matters is the L/100km produced in real-world driving.
JML…….Our i30 is my wife’s car and i am saving up for a Mondeo diesel like the one your sister drives so i “AM” a fan of that car BUT the Mondeo has a bigger tank than the i30 and is a much better and more expensive car. As far as i’m aware the i30 is being praised because it has no competitor that can match that sort of fuel economy, build quality, space and legroom for “THAT” sort of price!! So your complaint seems a bit missplaced!! Cheers anyway and lucky sister she is in a great car!
Hey, don’t get me wrong Carl, the i30 isn’t a bad car by any stretch of the term. A colleague has one and I’ve ridden in it on numerous occasions. But I think it is exaggerated just how good it really is, for the simple reason that Hyundai has surprised everyone by leaping ahead of their previous standards in one giant leap.
Furthermore the build quality of the i30 remains sub-standard in terms of quality of plastics. I’ve seen Fisher Price toys with better plastics than the i30 dashboard. And if you took, say, the Golf or Focus diesels, removed everything that’s great about them and reduced them to “fuel economy, build quality, space” done well, then yes, they would be able to match Hyundai’s price. But they offer so much more, such as 2 litre diesel motor, 6-speed dual-clutch transmissions, fantastic handling and steering, torsional rigidity, etc etc, things that you compare behind the wheel, not on a spec sheet.
Thank you for reiterating my point in regards to “km’s from one tank” being irrelevant.
Cheers,JML
I just compared the specs anyway, and the Focus gets alloy wheels, four airbags, fog lamps, leather steering wheel, and more extra as well…
Why don’t you take a Golf 1.6TDI as well. That would be interesting, because you’d be comparing a well above average car with a just above average car. Taking one car in isolation is not that interesting…..
Great idea Reckless1.
But at end of challenge, they have to show us this Hyundai i30cw is nothing special compare to VW Golf….
That’s mean their positive campaign for Hyndai doesn’t work at all, so they wound not do that.
Even it will be great article.
They just want to say “Hyndai Manse !!!”.
If VW golf can’t do that, it can be pretty embarrassing….
VW should provide a car to Caradvice team to prove otherwise.
I really think you could get 1300kms or even more if you were a real tight arse!
to keep it relevant, I hope CA will post GPS data
many reviewers give a “real life” economy figure to compare to the ADR figure
but its meaningless unless information like average speed and time spent below 20km/h are included
Sure, it’s excellent that the car can (perhaps) get 4.3l/100km or more on a highway run and that’s the point of doing this however…
The problem is that it looks soulless. Bland. Beige. It’s worse than a Toyota Corolla
I don’t want to channel Clarkson here, but is that something you want to actually drive? Not me.
Yes we knew…
But they don’t care, especially Hyundai owners.
They are just happy as a tool move to A to B, nothing else.
Their translation of “Fun to drive” is something different compare to us.
did the trip a few years ago in a prius II from BNE to near Macquarie uni, fully loaded. The fuel light was flashing at the end.
BTW, if you buy a diesel to save money and you plan to change the car over in less than five years, then you are fooling yourself – it’s a false economy “fuelled” by marketing hype and Euro chic.
The diesel premium on the i30 (which is small compared to most) is $2500. Being 2.5L/100km more frugal than the petrol version, assuming 15,000km travelled per year and fuel at $1.30/L, the diesel will save save you $487.50 a year, meaning it will take you just over 5 years to BREAK EVEN. Add to that the higher maintenance costs, the option of instead putting that $2500 in a high interest-bearing term deposit, and the fact that last time petrol prices were up, diesel was about 30c/L more expensive, it simply doesn’t add up.
Diesels are great if you love the torque and do a lot of highway miles, otherwise no.
True. Diesel isn t that much more economical than petrol with everything considered. Higher parts prices, initial purchase price can only be recouped in well over 3 years usually for most drivers.
But I still think Diesel makes a lot more economic sense than Hybrid cars like the Prius. It s only the size of a Corolla but costs at least 40k. I have no idea how this can be cost-efficient to most consumers unless they do 100,000 kms every year to recoup the initial purchase price.
Its complicated electric battery means higher maintencance costs than any petrol or diesel variants. It isn t particualrly more powerful than petrol either; diesel at least has plenty of torque.
So I really don’t see why anyone would pay that much money for a hybrid car. It does seem they are very green though.. that alone isn t enough to attract people is it?
JML, You forgot to factor in that the diesel will be worth more than the petrol at resale time all other things being equal!!! and the i30 doesn’t have the cost of a particulate filter either that’s partly why it was voted the second cheapest car to own and run after the Getz….and the service intervals are 15,000 K’s and around 200 dollars that’s better than a Yaris!!!
The diesel will not produce anywhere near as much resale difference as your Hyundai salesman would have told you. Look in Redbook and compare a 2004 Golf V Comfortline petrol vs diesel and you’ll see: the starting price is the same and the trade-in price is the same for both, hence the diesel doesn’t produce any higher resale. It’s only the initial price difference that makes the resale difference at the end, and that $2500 difference depreciates along with the value of the car – it will make a $500 difference after 5 years if you are lucky.
Comparing a Hyundai to a Yaris is moot, since we were discussing the economic sense of paying the extra premium for the diesel variant of the same vehicle.
JML, Only a fool would pay the same money for a petrol car if everything else was identical, For example; Kilometers traveled, features and general state of the car…..having said that there are fools born every minute out there!!! Same goes for LPG, the red book might say one thing but in the real world LPG and diesels are worth more second hand….Also the difference for me was the massive torque that only a petrol engine that consumes much more than 50% can match and that for me alone makes the small modern turbo diesel additive enough not want to go back to thirsty petrol versions
JML, The reason i compared the running costs to a Yaris is because i bought a brand new Yaris in 2006 it cost over 20 grand, it consumed much more fuel than Toyota claimed and it was gutless and cost around 200 dollars to service (same as the i30)!!! The point being, i was fooled into thinking you had to drive around in a little gutless sh*t box like the yaris to save on fuel bills but since then I’ve had a 2 year old LPG Falcon and this i30 diesel and both cost similar money to purchase than the Yaris and are far superior in every respect including fuel costs so that is not a moot point in my book!!!
JML I’m tipping you’ve never actually had a diesel as a daily driver.
My Golf TDI regularly gives me over 800km around town.
I’m sorry to say it, but your comment just seems ignorant.
i easily get 1.000 kilometers pure city-traffic out of my Mitsu Montero’s tank
I can be easily done. 53 liter tank 943km that is 5.62L/100km. Many years ago Peugeot 406HDi went from Melbourne to Rockhampton on one tank 2348.3 km on just 67.69 litres.
Than there is other records. Just go to this website. http://www.fuelacademy.com/wor.....2000s.html
Did this in a fully loaded VT Commodore when they first came out, and had fuel to spare when i got to sydney.
I still cant believe that story about the diesel Pug going from Rocky to Melbourne on one tank. Its an incredible effort and highlights how far we haven’t come in the last 10 years with fuel economy. This record was achieved years and years ago.
A guy has driven an I30 from Adelaide to Sydney. He still had fuel left and so continued up to Newcastle before it was empty. Brilliant little rollers.
That would be an impressive feat. Here in America, I have the 2.0 petrol version of that red i30cw. If I use cruise control and coast as much as possible, I can almost go 640km. With a lighter, aluminum block engine, manual transmission, and the benefit of direct injection, this diesel should go much farther. But how much….?
Why does Hyundai insist on specifying the inferior automatic transmission for the higher spec i30CW SLX??? You can only get the manual in the base form!
Hans I am asking the very same question.
Those who question diesels have obviously never driven the latest common rail versions – they are superb.
Question to all previous posters – who doesn’t like torque and fuel economy combined in a single package. Australians wake up and smell the coffee the days of 6 and 8 cylinder gas guzzlers being the bastion of the common man are long gone – get your heads round diesel and 4 cylinder petrols – you may even like them!
On a separate and unrelated note get Isofix approved as child seat system your current system is vastly inferior and nobody is doing anything about it! Kids lives are at stake.
My i30 hatch gets close to 1100km off every tank, and that is without driving for economy at all :) You guys will have no problem getting there
Well we haven’t had any updates, so one could assume they either didn’t make it or didn’t get out the garage!
any updates on this??
Hey guys did you get lost or is the little i30 still going?????????????
Well were are the updates! If you say your going to do something then you should do it as it will only come back to haunt you.
Maybe the aliens got them.
They ran out of fuel between petrol stations in the NT!
aarrgh… no need for updates… cause we already know the answers… lol…
hey… waz the hyundai current offer tingie doing at the top of the page?