An updated version of the Hyundai i30 for the European market will go on sale in January with new engines and Idle Stop/Go (ISG) technology.

The Australian i30 – sourced from South Korea – was updated in October, with the entire range now five-star ANCAP rated for safety with side and curtain airbags standard.

Hyundai Australia’s Ben Hershman said the European updates would not affect the local line-up, but confirmed that the ISG system was being investigated for import.

“ISG is only made for the European market at Hyundai’s new facility at Nosovice in the Czech Republic and sold in the European market.

“We would have to guarantee the factory in Korea sufficient demand for those items to justify them being made there, but that is something we are working on,” he said.

Meanwhile, a production-ready version of the new Hyundai Tucson (ix35) for the North American market is being showcased at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

CarAdvice detailed the launch of the ix35 last month, revealing a sleek crossover that has been redesigned from the ground up.

The new ix35 promises to be larger with a more spacious interior, offer five-star safety and feature class-leading fuel economy.

Hershman said that the Australian version (which will adopt the ix35 name) is still on track to be delivered here in the first six months of 2010, but could not confirm whether we will get both the two- and four-wheel drive variants.

The i30 and the Tucson have been Hyundai’s best year-to-date performers in 2009, up 110 and 92 percent respectively.

The i30 sold 1998 units in November while the Tucson recorded 1091, keeping Hyundai in reach of 70,000 sales for 2009.