ONE of the fastest movers in terms of development in the family motoring arena is Hyundai which is riding high on its classy i30 range.

Only three years after the European launch of the second-generation Hyundai i30 five-door and wagon, Hyundai drove in with the new model which is most definitely a car for today.

The latest i30 features three body styles, three-door, five-door and estate with enhanced styling, improved engine efficiency, a new transmission plus new safety and convenience features.

The i30 is an example of Hyundai's commitment to its regionalisation product strategy, having been designed and engineered at Hyundai Motor‘s Design Centre Europe in Rüsselsheim, Germany and built in the Czech Republic.

From the front the i30 features the latest Hyundai family face with the rest of the car basking in a much refreshed design.

Hyundai's 'Fluidic Sculpture' design philosophy never ceases to amaze me. It was not too many years ago that a Hyundai was seen as something of a bargain basement ugly duckling, but now it is one of the best looking ranges available.

But the car I drove proved that driving a Hyundai is still a thrifty move. The 1.4-litre 100ps petrol version I drove tipped the scales at £17,495 and offered a lot for the money.

With power fed via a six-speed manual transmission it was a smooth yet nippy performer with a top speed of 113mph on the cards with a 0-62mph sprint of 12.7 seconds.

It was typical of the new generation petrol powered cars that are springing up everywhere and proves without question that petrol is most definitely not a dead duck.

In typical Hyundai this i30 has a specification that is stacked with goodies, especially in the technology and entertainment department.

Here, on the SE Nav version you will find six speakers, Bluetooth connectivity with voice recognition, touchscreen SatNav with traffic messaging, USB and Aux connectors and steering wheel audio and phone controls.

For driver convenience there are features such as tyre pressure monitoring and much of the stuff you would expect to find on a car costing £10,000 more.

In terms of passive safety, every new i30 in Europe is fitted with six airbags - front, side and full length curtain as standard - while an innovative driver's knee airbag is optional.

The former 1.4-litre Gamma engine is replaced by a newly developed four-cylinder Kappa unit. This 1,368cc engine is significantly lighter than its predecessor.

This helps in returning a combined fuel economy figure of 47.1mpg with CO2 emissions of 138g/km.

Like all new Hyundai models, the i30 is backed up by Hyundai's unique, Europe-only, Five Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty package, something which has paid dividends in terms of sales for the company.