Hyundai has been busy over the past few months, unveiling the new i30 in Paris and announcing its plans to take on the Golf GTI with a hotted-up i30 N Performance, but that isn't all the team in Seoul has been working on. The new i30 Touring, which will debut at the Geneva Motor Show this March, shares only a badge with its predecessor, running with a new chassis, design and engine lineup.
Amid the huge number of four-wheel drives and high-riding hatchbacks hitting the market, it's reassuring to see some love for good old-fashioned wagons. After all, ground clearance is necessary for tackling the Rubicon wilderness, but it's not what you'd call essential for the school run. Putting a regular car on taller suspension also has a catastrophic effect on handling, something wagons don't have to worry about.
As you'd expect of a long-roofed family hauler like the Tourer, a real focus has been placed on practicality. Thanks to a longer, taller body than the hatchback, boot space has grown from 395 liters (13.9 cubic feet) to a whopping 602 liters (21.3 cubic feet) with the rear seats upright. Folding them down expands the load space to a capacious 1,650 liters (58.3 cubic feet).
Just like the hatchback, the i30 Tourer comes loaded with a suite of active safety features to keep inattentive (or lazy) drivers on the straight and narrow. Along with the requisite active cruise control, which now works at speeds up to 180 km/h (112 mph) on the highway, blind spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-keeping assist and auto-dimming headlamps are all available. It'll even warn you of changing speed limits by monitoring road signs.
Not all the tech in the long-roofed i30 is focused on keeping you on the road; some of it is aimed at making the trip more enjoyable too. An eight-inch touchscreen on the dashboard offers Android Auto and Apple CarPlay functionality, and drivers can wirelessly charge their phones using a pad in the center console.
Power will come from a range of compact turbo engines, starting with a three-cylinder petrol making 118 hp (88 kW) and stretching to a 138 hp (103 kW) four-cylinder petrol. A four-cylinder turbodiesel making 109 hp (81 kW) is also available, although that engine is unlikely to make it to America, even if the wagon does.
The Hyundai i30 Tourer will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show, where New Atlas will be on the ground covering all the action. While the price hasn't been announced, the current Tourer retails for £16,795 (US$20,900) so the new version should roll in somewhere in the same neighborhood.
Source: Hyundai
