Greener Hyundai i30 CRDi
November 1, 2007 by George Skentzos
It seems Hyundai’s new i30 is more than just a one trick pony, posting incredible results at the Panasonic World Solar Challenge.
Not only does the i30 boast impressive styling for which Hyundai is becoming more known for in recent times, but by also becoming the cheapest way into a diesel car in Australia.
This is no ordinary diesel however, as the i30 CRDi has gone on to better its hybrid and diesel powered rivals to top the fuel efficiency stakes in the Greenfleet Technology Class at the recent Panasonic World Solar Challenge.
The i30 consumed just 3.2 litres of fuel per 100km, emitting just 97g of CO2 per km on the 3600km journey from Darwin to Adelaide.
Not only does this outshine the much-loved Toyota Prius, but even the leaders in diesel technology Peugeot and Audi – as well as a BioBike for good measure.
Additionally, Solar Challenge founder Hans Tholstrup demonstrated the efficiency of the i30 CRDi by driving from Adelaide to Newcastle via Sydney on less than one tank of fuel.
The 1.6-litre common rail diesel engine is a practical and affordable alternative to hybrid vehicles, with technology such as an Electric Assist Steering System to further reduce the consumption of an already efficient technology.
Starting at just $21,490 for the CRDi SX model, backed by Australia’s first 5 year warranty with unlimited kilometres, and Prius-rivalling fuel efficiency – need I go on?
George Skentzos
Print it: 
Andrew M, there is heaps of water around.. once a COST EFFECTIVE method of extracting hydrogen from seawater is developed, it is possible that hydrogen will be cheaper than fuel. it all depends on how efficient and resource intensive it is to extract the hydrogen.
yes bill i see that point im saying (in a long winded way i suppose) i find it hard to believe that we will pay 80c per litre again.
also diesel is cheaper to produce than unleaded yet we see diesel as the dearer product.
hydrogen isnt a matter of taking buckets from the sea and putting it through a purifyer though.
also i doubt the current hydrogen supply is taxed.
(i know LPG isnt either apart from gst)
Thats why I said it may drop below current prices IF a cost-effective method is developed. It is not a simple process, I’m well aware of that. There is currently no “hydrogen supply” that you speak of, well not in Australia that I’m aware of. It certainly is very scarce if it is around. The biggest problem with introducing hydrogen, or any new fuel type, is that petrol stations won’t want to provide it until there is the market to justify removing a fuel pump, and customers won’t buy a car unless they can fill up anywhere.
it works both ways.
it is dear at the moment, it is scarce, and there is also bugger all demand on it
once production goes up, with it will go the demand meaning it prob wont get cheaper
Andrew M and Naughtius Maximus, it’s cool. I’m aware that falcons have their tanks concealed under-boot, just didn’t think to put it in my post. I guess I was more focused on the less elegant solution that’s more commonly employed.
I’ve even seen Commodore & Falcon wagons with a big after-market LPG tank mounted just behind the rear passenger seat and that’s when I kinda shrug and say, “why bother?”
yeah i agree bubba
hyundai is korean for no resale
thats cool golfschwein,
on the other hand i wouldnt get a duel fuel aftermarket kit fitted either.
with duel fuel you have a compromise on tuning and THEN you lose boot space
Hyundai Hater, you’ve already been provided the facts, seconded by Naughtyius Maximus. You must have missed these comments…
‘Bubba Ganoush, where have you been living for the past 5 years, under a rock? Hyundai has left you in the 90’s.
Do some research on the resale value of a Hyundai Santa Fe SX CRD. One of the least depreciative vehicles on the market.’
‘Spot on call Stevo about Santa Fe. FACT’
And watch the rest of the diesel Hyundai models hold their value as well as any other Toyota/Honda/Nissan petrol.
(I know we are getting off topic talking about the i30!)
a hydrogen powered car
http://www.caradvice.com.au/91.....n-powered/
Queensland solar powered car *can be fitted with CNG for up to 500km range
http://www.epsa.uq.edu.au/inde.....p;pid=7452
more figures at http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~serl/UltraCommuter.html
Toyota Paul said “which if their source of power is from say Nuclear power or for the Greenpeace fairies Wind power etc”
well that is a pretty nasty thing to call the Danes. Over 20% of their electricity comes from wind turbines
http://www.scandinavica.com/cu.....e/wind.htm
Bubba Ganoush, where have you been living for the past 5 years, under a rock? Hyundai has left you in the 90’s.
Do some research on the resale value of a Hyundai Santa Fe SX CRD. One of the least depreciative vehicles on the market.’
Steve i have heard this similar rant before……in the mid nineties saying that they were a new breed of vehicle unlike the 80s variants but LO & BEHOLD Electrics failed and resale value deteriorated as the old saying goes you can only s___t in the same can so many times.
The only way you can get more money in resale for one of those things is to put a chocolate bar in the glove box
put a blade on it and would “possibly” make a good lawn mower but other than that a briggs and stratton motor has more reliabilty than a hyundai
I`ve been driving almost fifty years now and in that time I`ve owned two diesel cars, was very happy with both.
On the subject of LPG why not a small LPG car I know Hyundai makes LPG compatable small cars as do european makers why don`t they import them here?? a small car on LPG would be very cheap to run.
kris
oh yeah and BETTER RESALE
Was quite interested in the diesel i30 until I read through the spec sheet and discovered they don’t offer cruise control on the diesel (petrol only!). Looks like I’ll hold off going diesel for now.
I have just put a deposit down for an i30 SLX diesel. (1 month wait) I didn’t find out about the cruise control not available until after the contract was signed as I had only test driven a base model diesel and the petrol SLX with all it’s gadgets. I’m mad that I wasn’t told about it… but at the same time it’t a gadget I have lived without so far in my driving life, so I won’t really know what I am missing. I run approx 40k km/year with my work, so I figure the cheaper run/fuel costs will add up. A good mate is a bio-diesel guru so I plan to produce my own fuel where possible at approx $0.25/L cost.
This will be my first diesel car, second Hyundai new car purchase. (Repeat business for a reason? :-) I’m driving it away for $25k with a few extras on board. I’d have liked to bargain down a bit more but as they are not in stock it’s a bit hard to motivate the reps.
I’d recommend peeps to go take a test drive of this little car. It drives fab and I can’t wait (although I have to) till it’s my regular drive.
Hello Suzii,
I’m also very keen on the i30 SLX diesel. Best price I can get in Hobart Tasmania is $29900 drive away with the Protectz safety pack. $25k drive away with a few extras is a sensational price, even if that’s without the safety pack. Any chance you could post the name of the Dealership where you bought, at that price I would fly over to the mainland and drive back, would still be thousands of dollars in front.
Hyundai Lover.
I bought one of the very last i30 diesels in Tasmania, the SX model, and paid a total of $24,089 for it. I love diesels after buying my first diesel 8 years ago. Before this I used to be a LPG fan and owned many gas converted cars while living in Victoria when gas could regulary be bought for the third of the price of petrol, which made the figures very appealing, not so much nowadays I believe. A friend converted me to diesel after he owned a gas converted Landcruiser and traded it in on a diesel Landcruiser and I asked him why didn’t he stay with the gas converted car, his simple reply was that “diesel engines are better”, so I decided to make my next car a diesel to see why people say this, and have never looked back. They just tick over at the same old pace, never needing tuning and nothing seems to be able to stop them. I’m sure one day diesel will become obselete but at the moment it is a good way to go. The i30 was picked up with the gauge reading just under half and we managed to get 320 klm when we needed to fill up after the fuel light came on. The tank took 50 litres to fill and I set the trip meter to zero, the tank is now near enough to just under half again and we have travelled 650 klm’s on the new tank, so I believe we will achieve very close to a thousand klm’s on our first tank in mainly stop and start driving around the hills of Hobart and surrounding area. This will make close to 1000klm’s on one tank and without being used to the car, while also doing the speed limit, I’m sure I will improve on this. Cheers.
Hyundai Lover.
I would also like to add that Hyundai have made a good quality thought out vehicle that is affordable to the average person and also has the power to handle any driving situation the average person comes across. Hyundai have made it possible for me to own one of these high performing diesels before I believed I could, can’t overlook that.
It is good knowing one can drive where he wants without having to worry about how much it will cost, at least for the time being. Cheers.
Hello, for those interested I got 1001 klm’s on the trip meter when I filled up, this is the first full tank to be used on the i30. The tank took 45.4 litres of diesel.The warning light came on earlier than last time, maybe because of the hillier roads I was driving on at the time and I also noticed a slight slant of the driveway at the service station which may have prevented me from getting a total full tank, all the same I fulled up until the tank nearly overflowed. Going on these figures the car got 4.5 litres to 100 klm,s. Cheers
I am very pleased with this considering the hilly, windey roads we drive on and mostly doing short trips as well. I’ll let you know how the next tank goes. Wasn’t impressed having to pay $1.51 a litre for diesel compared to $1.37 for petrol but with this sought of economy and my preference for diesel, I can live with that. Cheers
Hello Suzie,
I am presently looking at getting the i30 diesel SLX and i was wondering which hyundai place you bought yours for 25k. Also what extras did you get thrown in as I am into the negotiating stage and am finding it hard to beat the price down.
Cheers
John
I’ve driven a new Ford Focus TDCi turbo diesel…by jeezus the thing goes hard with the six speed manual!
I’ll be taking a new i30 for a drive next week to compare, and with the huge price difference and great warantee and backup, we might juste be swayed away from the Ford…
Seems strange to think we might have a car in the driveway where I could honestly say “Hmm, I need to nick up to my brothers place 300km away on the weekend…I might take the Hyundai instead of my Suzuki VL800 motorcycle…it’ll use less fuel than the bike…” LOL
My 2003 VL800 Volusia on the highway gets a steady 5lt/100km…
Go for the Focus John, I have driven both and the Ford is more refined and better quality, your mates won’t pick you as much either, support a company that has supported us over the years, I like that you ride Suzuki I have a SV1000 naked version its a thumping bike fuel economy isn’t the greatest but a blast to ride….
Gooday John. We paid $24,089 total. Our model is the SX, the most basic model but enough stuff in it to keep me happy. It has no cruise control that I know of but I would never use it with the windie roads over here and the only extra was the metallic paint job which was $300 and is part of the total price above. The salesman at Hobart Hyundai rang me after visiting their showroom and said he was keen to sell me a car and what would it take. It worked out a good price and I asked him “how come you are giving me such a better deal compared to last time” and he said “The sales people need to reach a tally of fifty cars to get our bonus and it is in our best interest to sell a few cars cheaper to get rid of them”.
I believe the fuel consumption figure in my other post may be out, because the gauge came off the full mark to quick compared to the time before so now I am doing a more careful and accurate economy figure. I have slowly fulled the tank this time until the liquid diesel can be seen at the very top of the fuel tank, where before I filled up quicker, until the froth of the diesel filled the tank making me think it was full but in reality it could still be quite a few litres away from full. On the tank I have now I have done 550 klms and I believe there is still enough to get another 550klms but won’t know of course until I do it. It is more klms than last time but the tank is fuller this time and I estimate it will take about 54 litres next time I fill it. I should have used most of the fuel in a couple of weeks and will post the figures then.
Have not driven the focus so can’t comment. To me, the focus would want to be exceptionally good for the extra dollars. I have no regrets with this car yet. I think it’s going to be a good little car. Wasn’t to happy to see petrol at $1.31 a litre and diesel 1.56 at our local bowser recently. Petrol has gone up since to 1.46 and diesel still at 1.56 and now I am a bit happier. Cheers.
This has been a great read, thanks to all the i30 CRDi comments. I’m in the process of arranging a test drive here in Adelaide and hope to own within the next couple of months, although the dealer sites here don’t list the CRDi at all.
Any tips for negotiating? Any furhter word on the cruise control option? How does the i30 compare on internal space with the Focus, Astra, 407 and C4? Any wisdom on any other considerations, even colour choice?
Thanks.
I am looking at a CRDI. Local salesman said that an aftermarket cruise contol ia available, but that they have not fitted one as yet. Does anyone know of an aftermarket cruise fitted, and how it worked?
Jim,
We’ve ordered an I30 SLX CRDi with protectz pack (ESP and TCS). I enquired about the aftermarket cruise control but at around $900 fitted I decided I could do without the luxury. I was also worried about where and how the controls would be fitted. I was informed by the dealer that they wouldnot be on the steering wheel.
Incidently, we signed on the dottted line about 2 weeks before Xmas. Because we wanted the protectz pack fitted, we had to wait for a vehicle off the assembly line. I have been told the vehicle is on its way Adelaide from Melbourne by road at this moment. Can’t wait.
I have found out that AusCruise by Altron have a specific cruise for the i30 that is steering whell mounted. Indicative cost is $895. It also has options for multi-resume and speed alerts.
Anyone had one fitted, and are you happy with it?
So I see most ppl are heading for the top option in the CRDi. Is it really worth the cost?
I thought I wanted the SLX with Safety Pack and body kit but maybe I’ll just go for the LX and keep everything very basic.
What does everyone think? Are the options good value?
I um’d and r’d about the base model v the SLX too. I liked the idea of the 16″ rims and lower profile tyres over the 15″ steel and standard tyres, plus the ESP and extra airbags. Considered adding the Protectz pack to the SX but then I liked the onboard computer in the SLX. So, you see, it all fitted together and out came the SLX despite the extra premium.
Latest news from the dealer is our i30 (white SLX CDRi) is not in Australia yet and we will have to wait until the next batch in Feb.
I picked up my SLX CDRi just last Monday (after having ordered it early Dec). Very happy with everything thus far. I went with the SLX over the LX, as I thought the upholstery looked a bit better (although the LX is far better in this respect than many other base models), the alloy wheels and the nice little trim features (ie nicer shift stick, color matched door handles etc).
I drove the Focus diesel, and it does have a whole lot more power, but was put off by the very average looking interior. In particular the big plastic thing which is used to adjust the stereo controls.
With regard to recouping the extra cost of a diesel, did anyone consider the *rising* cost of fuel? An extra $2000 paid today for a diesel engine may actually actually pay off faster as the price increases.
All the calculations presented here did not consider this, which is not a criticism because it is difficult to do so. Perhaps someone with enough time on their hands could calculate a hypothetical number-of-years-required-to-recoup cost by increasing the fuel price by, say, 5%-7% per year. What would be the recoup time for an CRDi i30 over a standard i30 then?
And the moment everyone has been waiting for. From one total full tank to the next the SX i30 1.6 diesel travelled 1128 klm around the hills of hobart and surrounding areas, most common speed was 80 to 90 klms an hr and sometimes reaching 100 and a bit over on good stretches. The car has plenty of get up and go, it surprised by keeping in 5th gear on some of the long steep hills.
The tank took a total of 56.2 litres when I filled it. It needs to be filled slowly near the top or else you get a whole heap of froth clicking the pump off early. That,s important if you want to do a serious economy check.
My first tank load I posted here, I believe now is not accurate because of this frothiness but I can assure you that this one is. The fuel light came on about 30 klms before filling up. I don,t think I would like to risk driving for much longer than this considering it is supposed to be a 55 litre tank.
So 1128 klm’s on 56.2 litres of fuel is 4.98 or near enough to 5 litres to 100 klms, still pretty good for me.
This is the base model and it has every thing I want, if I traded it in one day I’d probably go for the base model again. Cheers.
I just two weeks ago picked up my new i30 slx crdi and am delighted with it. Two days later I drove it from Canberra to Melbournre and back and averaged around 5.5l/p100. This was with 4 adults and luggage sitting around 115klm for most of the trip. once run in, I expect to get even better. I actually am a sales consultant for hyundai so there may be a element of bias, but i honestly dont believe there is a tubo deisol out there that offers the performance, value and quality that this car offers in this class, jap, euro or otherwise.I have also installed an after market cruise and it hasnt missed a beat. I had my car slightly lowered and put a set of 18″ alloys on it and can assure you, it turns heads,even if it is because of the unusual clatter of the diesol engine. As for the debate on fuel economy and savings, I traded down from a large V6 averaging around 13l/p100 so am using about half that in diesel with only slighly less performance and vertually half the running costs!
James,
I have a similar i30 as you with a ESP fitted. I am interested in knowing what aftermarket cruise control you have had fitted and what the cost is. Any details would be appreciated including where the contols are fitted.
Sounds like are getting the kind of fuel economy you should expect. We get ours when the next boat load arrives at the end of the month. It’s been a bit of a wait.
I will be driving mine to work on the open road (100kph limit) and doing around 800km/wk. There are no town limits or spped restrictions between my home town and my destination town. This should be the perfect situation to judge just what the i30 CRDi is capable of.
I wrote a post a month ago and notice it is not here so I’ll write in brief what I wrote then, don’t know what happened.
My i30 got 1128 klm’s on 56.2 litres of fuel driving mainly hilly windy roads at about 80 to 90k’s an hour and sometimes hitting 100+ on open stretches. No decent long trips in this time, just short trips (15 to 30 klm’s average), shopping,school, etc.
This is a fuel economy of 5 litres to 100 klm’s.
Nearly Pirus economy less the cost and bullshit! Will look at one for my next vehicle.
Bob, Have you picked up your car yet? I had the cruise fitted by a local moter electrician though i have no idea who makes it. It is a simple plate with 3 buttons that sits above the steering wheel hub. Not real pretty but it does the job just fine. It cost me $900 which seemed a lot but that is apparantly becase the i30 has electic throttle or fly by wire rather than a cable throttle.
Sound like you are getting acceptional fuel economy mr Hyundai lover. I reset my trip computer after my trip to melbourne and have since averaged 6.5l/p100. That is driving in city conitions though i acknowledge that canberra peek hour traffic is rather tame compared to say Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.
What does hurt is paying $1.47 per litre. Why is it that there seems to be some competition for petrol prices but not for Diesel? Petrol seems to change dramaticly in price, day to day ,week by week but deisel remains pretty much the same!
James,
No news of the i30s arrival as yet. All the family is getting a litttle testy and wants it to arrive. We have a Getz as our main car until the i30 arrives when the Getz will be our second car.
The trip computer is the same price as one I found on the web and sounds like the same controls. I have heard that you can have it fitted to OEM controls but I don’t know how expensive they would be.
I wonder how accurate the trip meter computer is on fuel consumption. Has anyone done a test? Where I live (country SA), diesel is 148c while petrol is 143c (ethonol blend is 140c).
Hi Everyone,
At last we have good news. Our white i30 CRDi SLX with Protectz pack arrived yesterday on a cargo ship now berthed in Adelaide. Hopefully we’ll take delivery of it late next week. It has been a three month wait.
We live in Northern Tasmania and are also patiently waiting for our moonlight blue i30 CRDi SLX to arrive (due 6th March). Would have liked cruise control but can’t justify paying $900 for an after market add-on. Have been getting sensational fuel economy (around 6 ltrs per 100km) and great reliability from our 2 year old 1.6 Getz owned since new which is just being traded on a New Nissan Tiida for my wife to cart our 2 new grandkids around in. Only issue with Getz was size of boot. Great driveability etc..etc..
Any more updates?
I dont get the delay?
On drive . com they have 63 diesel powered i30’s for sale?
Cheers
F-0
Hi F-O
Wasn’t going to be practical with a trade-in to get rid of (2002 Elantra) to go through drive.com. Shipment to Tassie has had some delays but is now likely to show up in next day or two (then needs pre-delivery) As it happens might be able to change my colour choice from moonlight blue to silver or white now I have got the Wife her own new car.
The diesels have huge waiting lists in UK so can’t see drive.com having 63 sitting around for long.
Had a sit in a black SR while following up my order today pity they don’t come in a diesel as I prefer the wheels and the seats are pretty smick too.
I know you’re a corolla man but you really should test drive a Diesel SLX.
Cheers,
Dazz
P.S. Went to the drive.com website. could only find 2 SLX manual diesels (one had 280kms the other 3800kms – both Vivid blue) plus a handful of SX models – dont know where the others went!
G_Day Dazz,
Your long wait for the car will be worth it. Had my i30 CRDI slx for 5 weeks now and have already put 3500 klms on it and only filled it 4 times.
I am surprised to here that there is stock available as Hyundai are taking only retail orders and dealers can NOT top up there stock levels. How do i know this, I am in the industry.Also, Why do you want to change colours? The moonlight blue is a great colour. Its a bit different from a lot of the common blues on the market. The vivid blue is nice but every manafacturer has their own version. The car does look good in silver granted.
Lastly, good on you for supporting your local dealer because in return, the will look after you.
Love the “pen name” Thanks for the encouragement. The moonlight blue was my wife’s choice of colour. I wanted silver and she relented at the last minute but the dealer forgot and wrote out the docket for the moonlight blue. The MB looks good in some lights but Hyundai uses the silver in most of it’s adverting and I imagine it will be the most popular colour also from experience it’s the best for hiding the dirt.
Have been extremely impressed with the Tiida we have just got for the wife have tinted the windows and have a set of flash allows coming from B-J t/mart (only $92 each) so the sedan we got will even look half decent. It is zippy, frugal, comfortable, quiet, roomy and nice to steer (very underrated!) at $17990 with $1000 free fuel a real bargain…
Cheers,
DAZZ -
Woops brainfade, i meant www . carsales . com . au, 63 diesel i30 in different trims for sale.
Hope you enjoy yor new car, have not tested it checked it out and it looks very well made and engineered
cheers
F-0
DAZZ 2 -
Yes the Tiida is a outstanding buy with the offer that Nissan are doing.
Just it looks odd and *she* does not like it…groan!
Cheers
F-0
Tiidas at $13990 plus on roads. That is about the same price as a Getz. Hard to top that for value
Hope thats a typo ET, our deal was $17990 plus ORs (around $19300 drive away + $1000 BP Fuel Card (they forgot to activate mine – GRRR)they will be getting a call this morning.
Doing a comparison on Red Book the list of features for the Tiida looks thin but in reality you dont miss out on much that can’t be cheaply added. The brakes work OK with ABS although rear Discs would have been nice, as would MP3 playback in the audio and the wife misses audio controls on the steering but we all lived without them until a couple of years ago.
See ya
hey short & stout – was that a typo “flash allows” or is that why you needed tinted windows. hehehe..
Hi Frank,
Yep it was a typo. Talking of tinted windows the factory tints on most vehicles are way too light don’t you think. I used to like the days when you could apply a really dark after market tint (probably dangerous) but the 35% max rule seems a bit”light on” so to speak…
Cheers,
Dazz