The i's have it

THANK goodness for the i10 and the Kia pro_cee'd.

If I hadn't driven its smaller sibling and its Kia cousin, the Hyundai i30 would have come as the sort of shock that can be dangerous at my time of life.

The i30 hit the UK market at the end of last summer, but at least by putting off driving it until now I got a chance to see just what sort of quality the Korean car giant – Hyundai also owns Kia – is capable of delivering these days.

It also let me double up, driving the i30 hatch and the estate car version, too. The estate joined the five-door hatch on the UK market in the spring.

The i30 is both an important and a groundbreaking model for Hyundai.

It is designed specifically for the European market and for the ultra-competitive C-segment, the UK market's largest-selling sector, which pitches it against the likes of Ford's Focus and VW's Golf.

Selling successfully in that company takes quality and talent. Hyundai is after more buyers than would be tempted by the pile it high and sell it cheap approach of old.

What it has set out to do here is to engineer a car that matches rivals on ride, handling, fit and finish, while trumping them on price, equipment and a five-year unlimited mileage (as a private vehicle) warranty.

Both hatch and estate come in three specifications – Comfort, Style and Premium – but while the hatchback offers four engine options – 1.4 and 1.6 petrol and 1.6 or 2.0 diesel – the estate restricts the choice to 1.6 petrol or diesel, with manual or auto an option with either powerplant.

The entry-level Comfort model comes with features that many rivals consign to the options list. Air conditioning is standard across the range, as are remote central locking, alloy wheels, ESP stability control, electric windows all round, six airbags (the front passenger's can be deactivated for kiddie seats), an RDS CD/stereo with USB/iPod and aux connections and steering wheel remote controls.

The availability of automatic on the 1.6 diesel should help local sales, but my first taste of i30 motoring came in local dealer Barras Car Centre's Style automatic estate with the 1.6 petrol unit.

Outside impressions are good: unlike some station wagons it looks integrated.

The all-new i30 estate is no hatchback with a bit of greenhouse grafted on. Basing it on a slightly longer platform than the hatch, Hyundai has gone back almost to the drawing board and come up with a car that offers more head and legroom and a bigger loadbay with a lower sill.

Roofbars are standard and in addition to the extra passenger and load room, the £700 premium over the equivalent hatchback gets you electric folding door mirrors with integrated repeater lights, cargo security screen and a rear power outlet.

I'm not planning to move house – though with the school holidays looming I might change my mind – but this estate lets moonlight flitters take up to 1,395 litres of gear with them.

But since I haven't flitted, most of my time with the estate was spent ferrying one or two passengers about.

The performance is, as Rolls-Royce would say, adequate. The automatic transmission and the estate's extra weight add a second to the manual hatchback's 0-62mph time, taking it up to 12 seconds, and the top speed is an increasingly academic three figures.

Some testers have found the 1.6 petrol unit gets a bit vocal at higher revs, but the automatic box is more intelligent than most road testers – it doesn't take much – and we didn't find it a problem. Gearing is not that high, so I'll reserve judgement on motorway cruising.

In fact, finding problems is a bit of a challenge. The blue LCD readouts can be difficult to read in strong sunlight – though that is said not be a likely issue this summer – and rest of the instruments are a model of clarity.

And that's about it as far as the downside is concerned. The i30 represents a giant leap forward.

Everything feels solidly put together, interior mouldings fit well, cabin flaps and handles operate with a smooth, damped action, fascia and door cappings are high-quality padded plastic and the seat fabric feels – like the rest of the car – as if it will be around for some time to come.

As I was driving our eldest to work – simultaneously racking my brains to come up with a soundbite with which to sign this piece off – she struck up a conversation: well, it wasn't an early morning start.

And as our chat continued, the mists cleared and the i30 estate's forte emerged.

It's easy on its passengers, on the eye, on the driver and relatively easy on the wallet, too.

If that doesn't make it a winner in these cash-strapped days, I'll eat my foot.

Like the estate it was in Style specification – it was the powerplant that I was keen to try, the 1.6 diesel that has attracted rave reviews.

There is a shade less room than with the estate, but with about the longest wheelbase in its class, there are still lashings of boot space and rear-seat legroom.

The seats are comfy, too. You sit a little more upright than in most rivals and the suspension settings are a little softer than in its Kia cee'd cousin.

Not that the Hyundai brand is aimed at wrinklies, think of it more as Korea's VW to Kia's Seat.

While the fixed-income brigade will love the 1.6 diesel's economy potential and environmentalists be mollified by its 125g/km CO2 emissions, keen drivers will be more than satisfied.

The engine combines typical diesel grunt with an unusual refinement and willingness to rev.

The official figures make the diesel marginally behind the 1.6 petrol on acceleration but that's bollards. In real-world situations the diesel is much the sharper car and it has the advantage on top speed and, with its tall top gear, probably motorway refinement, too.

Despite the softer suspension settings, the handling is still taut enough to satisfy keen drivers and put the i30 near the top of a very talented class. That's thanks to the expensive multi-link rear suspension.

It's all part of Hyundai's aim to sell cars on the basis of product, not price.

But with the Guerns' famously short arms and deep pockets, the fact that it remains strong on price will do it no harm at all.