IT WAS on the third month the Hyundai i30 caused its rivals to fall. During March, April and May 2016 the South Korean hatchback became both the top-selling small car and Australia’s favourite new car, enough to push it ahead of the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla in sales volume year-to-date. It reinforced that lead in June.

Hyundai’s aggressive deals are largely to thank (or blame in the case of rivals). The i30 Active automatic as tested here normally asks $23,290 plus-on road costs, however until June 30 it had sold for $19,990 driveaway. For July the deal changes to $22,990 driveaway.

So, is the i30 Active auto a genuinely good car or is this ageing model – which first launched locally in 2012 but was lightly facelifted early last year – simply now a decent buy?

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