Hyundai i30 goes three-door

HYUNDAI has cut the price of entry to its i30 range, adding a sleek-looking three-door coupe priced from $19,990 driveaway.

The “Special Edition” three-door hatch, as the model is known, joins the five-door version that arrived in Australia in June last year and the Tourer (wagon) that landed in February.

The Special Edition hits showrooms from $19,990 for the six-speed manual, with a six-speed automatic transmission adding $2200.

It is also the only model in Hyundai’s i30 range to feature driveaway pricing.

The Special Edition is $1000 less than the five-door i30 Active that starts from $20,990 drive-away, while the Elantra sedan - effectively an i30 with a boot - kicks off from $19,990 but that price is also currently drive-away.

Power for the Czech-built hatch comes from Hyundai’s 1.6-litre direct-injection petrol engine, producing 98kW and 163Nm of torque, slightly less than the 110kW figure from the Korean-sourced 1.8-litre engine used under the bonnet of the five-door version.

Official fuel use figures for the stylish three-door are 6.3 litres per 100 kilometres for the manual, and 6.9L/100km for the auto.

Keeping the same basic design as the well-received five-door hatch, the Special Edition features longer front doors and an upswept beltline to emphasise its profile.

LED daytime running lights surround the fog-lamps in the front bumper, while the restyled rear end features new horizontal fog-lamps in the lower air dam, black inserts in the lower part of the bumper to make the i30 appear wider, and a spoiler.

The Special Edition rides on 16-inch alloy wheels, and features an economy mode on automatic models that smoothes out throttle response in an effort to minimise fuel use.

Standard gear includes a five-inch touchscreen, a four-speaker audio system with USB and auxiliary ports, phone and audio Bluetooth connectivity, and steering-wheel mounted controls.

Power windows, keyless entry, a cooled glove-box and cruise control are also standard.

The cloth upholstery is finished in black, while cargo space in the three-door remains the same as its bigger five-door sibling — 378 litres with all seats up, and 1316 litres with them down.

Rumours of a local berth for the three-door i30 surfaced late last year when Hyundai’s management confirmed the arrival of the wagon after initially deciding to leave it out of the Australian line-up.

Pressure from fleet buyers, a favourable exchange rate against the Euro and a surplus of supply at the Czech plant allowed the South Korean car-maker to import the Tourer.

Hyundai Motor Company Australia sources a number of vehicles from the Czech Republic, including the i30 Tourer and mid-specification SE variants of the ix35 compact SUV that arrived in March this year.

2013 Hyundai i30 Special Edition pricing*

1.6L GDi	$19,990
1.6L GDi (a)	$22,190

*Pricing is drive-away