Hyundai i30 Tourer review

This is as effortless and easygoing as you could wish a small estate to be. The ride is comfortable, the steering nicely weighted and performance – mostly – adequate. And yep, that’s us paraphrasing that this isn’t hugely interesting to drive. A Ford Focus is unfathomably good to drive for a small, practical car; there’s no such surprise lurking beneath the i30’s skin.

But nevertheless, it’ll be good enough for most people. And Hyundai’s very good at setting up a steering and gearbox to be simple and satisfying to use. Get the manual unless you really need an automatic.

And get the 1.4-litre petrol if running costs aren’t your absolute priority. The 1-litre three-cylinder petrol makes a fun noise and is powerful enough once you’re actually on the move, but it exhibits a lot of turbo lag at low revs, and the 1.4 is a far better way to move the Tourer’s weight around. If you must have a diesel, have the more powerful one, which comes with an automatic gearbox as standard.