70: Hyundai i30 – Smart all-rounder if not much fun to drive

Pulling up hard on the heels of its Tucson bigger brother in our list is the Hyundai i30, yet another Korean product that trades heavily on being a safe and sensible choice, but which perhaps lacks for the sort of star quality which we'd like to see more of from Hyundai.

The i30 slots right into the middle of the ultra-competitive five-door hatcback class, scoring some serious kudos for understated, but actually really quite crisp and handsome, styling. More points are awarded for a spacious, well-made, comfortable cabin and one of the better touchscreens in the business. Engines are decent, with the 1.0-litre T-GDI petrol turbo and the 1.6-litre turbo diesel being the best ones.

Equipment levels are good (albeit not quite as generous for the money as you’d once have found from Hyundai) and it does come with an impressive camera-based automatic braking system (that occasionally struggles to deal with heavy rain). There’s now also a handsome and massively spacious estate version.

The only flaw, really, is that it’s deeply dull to drive, with over-light steering and a lack of enthusiasm to the chassis. Forthcoming 275hp ’N’ hot hatch version may make amends in that department…