Hyundai launch new i30 i-BLUE

Hyundai has launched a new green car sub-brand right out of the blue, yet wasted no time in calling it the i-BLUE and applying its fuel and environment saving advantages to the i30 C-Segment family hatchback. Simply by adopting its minor gear ratio twiddling, fuel optimising attributes, the new assemblage has the potential to benefit its entire current range. And your pockets. And the polar ice caps.

First seen at the Geneva Motor Show in prototype guise, Hyundai showed us just what it can do for fuel efficiency when it takes off its affordable car jacket and rolls up its sleeves. Back in March its i10 dealt a blow for fuel economising by appearing in its compressed natural gas colours.

This time round though, the new i30 i-BLUE takes a more considered, and less draconian line, and looks to re-tooling the existing transmission mated to its more familiar A1 route to success, its 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine.

Whereas other leading car manufacturers – notably the main rivals to the Hyundai i30 in Ford Focus ECOnetic and Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion eco-shapes – have gone down the populist green road of skinny, run-flat tyres, expensive Stop/Start ignition systems and lowered suspension to counter excess emission leakage, the Hyundai makes no such wholesale concessions.

Instead Hyundai has found that by re-configured gearing ratios will offer marginally longer gearing through the lower rev range, which in turn will yield a 6g/km minimisation in CO2 emissions. This clever bit of engineering and resultant math = sub 120g/km for all i-BLUE badged vehicles, starting with this i30.

Performance and handling of the i30 remains as it was before the transmission pre-fettling took place, so Hyundai drivers can expect more of the same ride quality of which they’ve become accustomed, despite in the future seeing costs of ownership dwindle whilst they get used to life in VED Group B and the sourcing of £35 per year as opposed to the current £120.

ESP, air-con and alloys combined with the cursory five year, unlimited mileage manufacturer warranty should provide the final nudge to those drivers dilly-dallying in the C-Segment family hatchback market, whilst those holding out for the same settings in something a little more compact wont have to wait long either.

Next up on Hyundai’s i-BLUE tooling table is the i10 supermini which will be available from September this year.