Thought I'd start up this thread, hopefully it doesn't become too full lol!

A few things I've noticed with my SR are:

*The lens covering the display for the music and radio info seems to scratch easily, but the one for the auto A/C does not...anyone else noticed this? Mind you they are only *very* fine scratches that you can see when the Sun is shining on the plastic. I only clean the interior with a micro fibre cloth!

*The hard black surfaces of the interior (on the doors, glove box etc) seems to scratch VERY easily and leaves a white mark where the scratch is.

*The carpet seems thinner than usual - noticed this when i first test drove the i30

*White 'blotches' have been forming on various parts of the leather, seem to be easily wiped off however.

*Front bumper fit - on my car the join on the passenger side is noticeably wider than on the drivers side. Anyone had issues with the bumpers?

*The cubby hole in front of the gear shift (with the lid that opens) does not have any rubber matting inside allowing things to slide around, the one on the dash however does..

That's about it so far!! Nothing major at all, but thought I'd mention them none the less. Post your issues here!

buddyforu,

I've also noticed some of these same problems with my car too. Yesterday, I noticed few fine scratches on my audio display after my brother cleaned it.Same with the white blotches on the leather,but I thought because it's a new car so they may applied some white powder stuff for some good reasons. I haven't checked my front bumper fit yet, will do tomorrow.

I don't have any of the issues mentioned, other than the slidy thing with the cubby hole. That was sorted by me on day 1 with a piece of gripmat, which I use in the boot.

As for the leather and the plastic, I had the complete SupaGard treatment applied which included external paintwork, leather protection and interior buffing, which seems to prevent scratches appearing.

I am agree with you at all ....and I notice the strange sound from the suspension when I drive over the bad street what is ussualy in eastern europe ...generaly suspension is to loud for that mehanicaly solution (multilink)

For you Europeans.

The Australian/NZ i30 has a suspension tuned to our raod conditions. A test vehicle was brought out here from Korea and underwent lots of testing and adjustments until they got it right for our roads. Evidently our suspension is firmer.

Bob

Just wondering if they tested them on our roads and set the suspention up or just changed spring rate and damping rate to suit the condition of some of our roads?

This post has been edited by Lakes: Apr 17 2008, 05:18 AM

As I know, body design (external and internal design ) and suspension setup are placed in Europe , Germany , city Russelsheim ...engine development are placed in Korea with some USA help in case of diesel engine (Detroit Diesel)... no market sensitive setup of any parts in progress as I know ... except USA market , because they have own model Elantra , like i30 sedan with 4 doors


Primary body design are made in Germany , ex designer from BMW , and this is a reason because many people sad that I30 like BMW series 1


Sorry for my bad English :(

This post has been edited by catman: Apr 17 2008, 04:53 PM

Hi catman, so you don't think the suspension on the i30 here in australia is any different to what you have in Europe?
here in Australia we are only a very small market, and in USA it's a much larger market, so i did not think they would waist time and $ for only a small return, but who knows? you seem very well connected and knowledgeable catman!
What part of Europe do you like driving the best?

Lakes (John), Catman and others,

I can remember reading in various reports just after the release of the i30, that during the development of the i30, Hyundai did testing and refinement of the suspension and power steering in Australia.

Here is a web reference to support this belief. I have lifted the section below directly from the website.

http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/A_109332/tit...ewsarticle.html

Advanced suspension - further refined for Australia

i30 suspension and steering have been specially calibrated for Australian driving conditions. This involved refining i30’s European settings to accommodate our multi-patched, lumpier, bumpier local roads.

Testing was undertaken, both in Korea and in Australia, to specify the optimum combination of front and rear springs, shock absorbers and anti-roll bars, together with revised mapping of the control unit on the electric power steering system. The components chosen for Australian i30s debut a combination that is unique in the world (although NZ cars will also share them).

The result is a considerably sportier driving experience but with enough built-in compliance to smooth out our rougher roads. i30 has more neutral handling characteristics with no unexpected vices, with steering that benefits from increased weight and more feel. It is a dynamic package fully in tune with i30's youthful target market in Australia.

If you Google "suspension Australia i30", there is plenty of info to support the fact the Hyundai did testing in Australia to fine tune the suspension for the Australia/NZ market.

Bob

This post has been edited by tjaliwalpa: Apr 18 2008, 02:51 AM

I am from Serbia and our roads are very poor quality ... we have only about 500Km highways ...but if I go to Germany via Hungary and Austria I have nice road with speed limit on 130Km/h and when I reach the German land I have paradise for driver ...no speed limit !!!

Last month i went to Germany (near by Francfurt ) ....it is 1250Km long trip and it was my first with my new i30 ... I spent 10:30 hours to finish that but it was weekend and truck is out of ways these days ... roads are empty and I drive 140 to 160 Km over the Hungarian and Austrian roads and about 170Km/h in the Germany ... engine is little bit loud then usual but sustainable and smooth .... consumption was 10,00 l/100Km and car was quite cool and comfortable ....

When I come back to Serbia it was working day with huge truck traffic and my speed was about 140 Km/h ... I spent 11:30 hours and consumption was 8l/100Km ..... I think that is OK consumption for very fast driving conditions .

In the rest of Western Europe roads are very good but speed limits are 130 to 140 Km/h and fine for step up speed is to high (in some cases 500€ and more )

In the Eastern Europe situation is not good enough but will be soon ....


Conclusion : Germany is a paradise for us who love the SPEED ! :auto:

catman,

I assume from what you have written that you have the 1.6l petrol engine. We don't have that option in Australia. There are just two options, the 1.6l CRDi (85km) and the 2.0l petrol.

Bob

Yes , we have 1.4 petrol with VVTi with 105-109 (depends on fuel and market version)HP , and my version 1.6 petrol with 115-122 HP ....also we have 2.0 petrol with 145 HP but this is a extremely unpopular engine because tax is too big ....

1.4 petrol is a too weak for this body , but this is very popular version because the price is very small (14.000 €).... in this price range you can choose small Europe car with less equipment or i30 with good equipment (ABS, manual clima)


diesel engine is 1,6 with 90HP and 115HP ...

best choice in my modest opinion is a 2.0 diesel engine with 140HP ...this is very robust and potent engine who is already proved your capacity on H1 van or small bus model


In Germany Hyundai is a very popular choice : many people bay Getz for children and wifes , many artificer bay H1 van for business purpose .... its very cheap solution and Hyundai have a crown of high fidelity car with very small amount of failure ...

Philosophy that German made best car is a true and Hyundai bosses set up development center in Germany , hire the qualified German designers and engineers and result is a very good car with world succes .....

Bob, i read that about what they said about the suspension just was not sure if it was true or not as no pictures of the improved components or description of what they actually did. but you said you drive on dirt roads in your car, are they smooth or rough? and how does the car drive on them? and how does it ride?
John

catman, that's pretty good economy for the speeds, i get 10L per 100k with no trouble with the 5.4 V8 going over the mountains and out west, we can go fast here too but don't put it in print :) still we do not have good drivers in Australia like you have, so it works out ok limiting there speeds.
Cheers m8
John

catman , does this mean you think the 1.6 turbo diesel we have is not a very strong motor? also can you tell me is the cams driven by chain or belt drive? as no one has answered me when i have asked that before, thanks John

John,

So far I have driven only a few km (about 500 km in total out of 6 000km) on dirt road that is in places very rough. By this I mean there are parts of the formed surface that are broken through and very sandy underneath. The i30 handled the rough patches very well without any handling problems. I have tried to avoid driving on dirt as much as possible, but that is not always convenient. Compared to other small-medium vehicles I have driven on the smae roads, I would rate the i30 very high.

Please realise I am an experienced dirt road driver having lived in rural SA for most of my life plus a sint in outback NT.

Also, I do remember seeing a photo somewhere of an i30 in disguise being driven on dusty Australian roads.

Bob

Lakes ,

you can find everything about engine on

http://hyundaiengine.com/auto_gasoline/03_r1.6.html


in my case timing train is CHAIN


About the power ...1,6 crdi engine is most modern and potent engine , and power/1000ccm3 is enormous (72HP per liter of capacity ) ... I think that is one good engine but time will show us how is robust ...

2.0 crdi engine is oldest version and he proved your capabilities to tow everything ... we in Serbia like big robust things but tax system is not friendly for this wishes

price difference is about 1000€ or less between this two engine and I think that is not reason to choose small one .... the big things is always better :)

I find that suspension on my i30 is good for sport drive on good roads , but when we have holes i must drive slowly ... car jumping like kangaroo ...

Only French car (Renault ) can go fast over the road holes ...