A touch of red

The Hyundai i30 Turbo. Top or Flop? 

The Hyundai Motor Company is a multi-national corporation and was founded 1967 in South Korea by Chung Ju-Yung. From their conception, they put the focus on developing motor cars with their own identities, like the 'Hyundai Pony' that was introduced in 1975 at the Autosalon in Turin, Italy. In 1998 they were taken over by Kia Motors, and an unstoppable success story began. As of today, the Hyundai Motor Company is regularly listed among the Top 5 largest automakers worldwide. Entering the German auto market on a long-term basis, Hyundai Germany was established in 1991 in Neckarsulm. They are assembling their vehicles nowadays in Turkey and partly in Germany. As successful as they are, the company is not only involved in motorsport activities. It also supports social projects and sponsors various sporting events like some of the major football world tournaments and championships. So the remaining question would be:" What's the success of Hyundai Germany?" A very radical pricing strategy? Quality? Design? Maybe the answer to this question is a mix of all these things.

A tour of The Steinburg Castle Hotel

On the 28/05/15 the 'Hyundai Family Day' event took place at one of the top locations in Germany. The Steinburg Castle Hotel, that looks over and above the rooftops of Würzburg, to celebrate some new arrivals to the Hyundai vehicles range, and also to introduce a few updates and facelifts to the existing and ongoing models, both in design detail and the overall look, also some safety enhancements and other features. 'CarsInFashion on Tour', apart from just test-driving various models from the production series i20, i30 & i40, also had the chance to find out how fashionable Hyundai motor cars are really are! Many thanks to the online magazine "Drive & Style", that sent us to this particular press-preview event.

Being a visitor at Steinburg Castle is an extraordinary experience, because it has a history going back to the 13th century. Overlooking the River Main and Würzburg, the view from the big terrace is just breath-taking. On the opposite side, you can see Fort Marienburg.

Feeling the Trend

I arrived around 10.00 am, and whilst registering at the welcome desk, I was offered a selection of available cars to review. Not too easy for someone like me who is not very familiar with Hyundai cars to make the right decision. After managing to get over this minor hurdle, I enjoyed a cup of coffee and a little chat with one of the press officers in the light-flooded modern conference room with lots of white leather sofas, flowers, a warm wooden feel and furniture.

Altogether, amazingly soave interieur style that you would expect to find in "Elle Decor", the living magazine. The set time for the press conference was at 12.30 pm, so I thought there would be enough of a time-slot to do a quick first lap in one of the Hyundai models. However the first route was 15km long, and in the end, it took much longer because the area is full of little hills and tight twisty roads.

As I approached the parking area below the Castle Hotel, I spotted many i20, i30 & i40 models, just like when I am at the motor shows or other events. I was quite curious to see their overall look and style from the rear, the front and the side view.

I walked around them and got a magical attraction to an orange/ brown model with the red painted radiator grille. This was definitely the car that I wanted to check out because it fitted perfectly with my fashion- automobile theme. So I was very happy when I was given the option to switch to this particular model, the Hyundai i30 Turbo! 

First Lap

When I hopped into the i30 Turbo some interesting details caught my eyes. Black and red cloth/ artificial leather sports seats, a perforated leather steering wheel with red stitching, an engine start/ stop button (extra option- smart key package), and an electric parking brake.

The data for the 15km short route was already programmed into the combined navigation & radio system with 7inch Zoll TFT colour- touchscreen ( extra option- package with a rearview camera and Map Care), and so I was ready to go for my first driving adventure. The road from the Castle Hotel leads to the hills and is spiralling down through blind corners and narrow lanes, but this time I enjoyed it very much because the i30 Turbo has a smooth 6speed manual gearbox and a sporty driving dynamics.

I don't know what it was in the end, but I totally forgot about the time, maybe because of my enthusiasm for my new friend, or for the beautiful countryside with the green grass, or just because of the missing clock in the speedometer.So I had to step hard on the gas to get back on time for the press-conference at 12.30pm. But it's very easy with a car that has 186PS and powered by a turbocharged version of the 1.6 litre Gamma GDI motor. The engine generates 265 Nm of torque from just 1500 to 4500 revs, which results in a more dynamic accelerative performance. 

It was a wild ride because I had to follow the navigational instructions, with no clue how far away I was from the Castle Hotel. I arrived in time, exhausted, but with a big smile on my face. 

Democratisation of Luxury

At the press conference, Bernhard Voß, Head of the Hyundai Press Office in Germany. explained the complexity of Hyundai Germany, which includes the opening of a lifestyle shop where potential buyers have the opportunity to learn more about the brand while getting in touch personally with the cars. New is the refreshed design of the Fluidic Sculpture design philosophy, a more aggressive and sporty look from the hexagonal grille and fresh arrangement of the front headlamps, dependant of the vehicle model (i20, i30, i40). The reason for this refreshing design is very similar to a fashion company attracting potential buyers who put their purchase focus on Design. So they need to bring out newly designed models quite regularly to keep everybody happy.

Design Awards

Hyundai cars were already awarded design honours like the Red Dot Award and the IF Design Award, for some of the vehicles on the production line, the i10 and i20. Hyundai wants to be recognized as a modern premium brand, with its focus on design, value and quality that you can mostly see in the widespread standard fitting of its vehicles.

The new 3dr i20 Coupe, for example, is a small car, has a boot with 335 litres and this is around 10 litres more than its 5dr brother has. Hyundai Germany wants to be a pioneer with the statement: "Democratisation of  Luxury", offering cars with high-end standard fittings, quality, design focus and a very good pricing. I am sure that this is the secret of their success in Germany, and I am sure for these reasons alone, it will help to sell more vehicles in the not too distant future for the Hyundai family mix ( i10,i20, i30, i40, ix35). 

A fun afternoon with the i30 Turbo

After an exquisite lunch on the big terrace, I had a chance for a second lap (the 55km tour), but this time I was more relaxed.

I am not a fan of navigation systems and so I lost a lot of time the right way, but I had a lot of fun, especially at the motorway.

Design & Style

I like the elegant, sporty radiator grille with red detailing, the lamellar design, the air intake holes and the upward looking headlights, and I also like the LED driving lamps integrated into the front bumper.

Altogether it gives the car a very racy and hot-blooded look, inspired by race cars on the track, which is not surprising, because tuning in the sporty characteristics, the engineers had to put all their knowledge and lifeblood into this area of development, they even took the i30 Turbo for an Accelerated Durability Test at the Hyundai Test centre, at the Nürnburgring in Germany. Additional features like twin exhausts, 18-inch alloy wheels, LED rear tail lights and aluminium pedals help to support that particular look.

I also very much like that the designer toyed with the colour red inside the car more than exterior. You can see a hint of erotic red detailing of the gear knob, the door trims, front and rear sports seats, the steering wheel, the sports instruments cluster, and the floor mats. 

Driving performance

You can have a lot of driving fun on the motorway, where you can drive quite fast and really push the car. The handling behaviour is very good, acceleration to 100km/h takes a mere 8sec, and the top speed is 136mph (219km/h). It is also fitted with a sports tuned suspension, turbo sports body kit, and a more direct steering action for a super dynamic ride. It's very easy to overtake Lorries, the power delivery and torque is very good even in the higher gears, it just sprints off so well if you push the gear hand and high. 

Summary                                                

I must confess that this was my first experience with Hyundai cars, never before were they an option for me until now, and certainly after this really exciting day of driving. For me, the i30 Turbo could be an interesting alternative to the VW Golf. It is very stylish. You sit snuggly inside the sporty seats, which is important if you are driving long distances. The average fuel consumption is around 38.7mpg which is not ideal; however, it would require further experimentation to ascertain its strong and weak points in this area. It is available in 3dr and 5dr body-styles and various colours. Also exclusive for the i30 Turbo is the additional new colour, Jet Black. The price for the 3dr version is 23.150 € or £22,500 OTR in the UK.

I don't like that the clock is missing on the speedometer, I was searching for it when I was in a hurry to get to the press conference in the morning, and the Hyundai team had actually point it out to me, being on the right side of the TFT display on the centre console. Also, I am not a fan of the modern electronic parking brake, this is not for me, I prefer the manual parking brake or handbrake as it is referred to in other European countries. 

A fashionable car

The Hyundai i30 Turbo is the first car reviewed so far that passed our fashionable test 100 percent. The designers also used the same red colour detailing of the front and rear bumpers as an eye-catching accessory on the interior design of the car.

The fresh orange caramel metallic fits so perfectly to my brown leather boots and my dress, that when I saw the vehicle in the morning, I immediately chose it without having a look inside. The strong red is a very good contrast to my cotton rose red dress. To give the outfit a VIP status I chose my favourite Missoni sunglasses, classical but adding glamour to each outfit. In the end, it was a happy coincidence that I decided to wear this particular outfit because 1day trips by train are always like Russian Roulette when it comes to outfits. I bought some short and lighter leggings with me inside my black Fringes leather handbag, in case the weather was sunny and hot. But it was fruitless, as I was driving all day. 

Style advise for him and her

Red is an erotic colour, it is sensual, strong, and I have no idea why it attracts men especially. In fashion, the combination red-black can look infamous but also very sporty depending on the style and pattern.

Denim trend colours by WGSN @ Trendfabrics Munich

The strong red stays trendy also in 2016.

Costume: Krabetz, Sunglass: RayBan, Location; Lyon

Shoes: Addidas Orginal Sneaker ZX- Flux decor, watch; Festina F16658/8 Tour Chrono, Red T-Shirt: Black Kavier AWAYNT, Trouser: Tommy Hilfinger. 

I prefer to use red as an eye-catching accessory like you see here, it's a woolen frock designed by me and I am wearing red boots by Buffalo, tights by Wolford, and a traditional scarf also in red-black. I would say the Hyundai i30 Turbo can be driven by men and woman,  aged 25-40+, so here is one outfit style for him and an idea about lipstick colours for her.

Parfum; Benefit, Lipstick: Kiko, Sunglass; Missoni, Handspa: Alessandro, Bracelet: Fefe, Italy
The handspa smells wonderful by the way. Love it!

Wonderland

The shuttle service by the Hyundai driving team was so very kind and brought me back to the famous Würzburger Residenz, where this terrific day fades away with a walk in the beautiful gardens of the Residenz, which has a UNESCO world cultural heritage. The style of the gardens and bosquet reminded me of the movie 'Alice in the Wonderland', very eccentric and unique.

Photo credit by Jul Krabetz, C.G and Hyundai Press Team, Source: Hyundai Germany and Hyundai UK.