If you giggle with pleasure at the idea of owning a Hyundai i30 but flatly refuse to pay Vehicle Excise Duty, four legal opportunities are available to you. If a further requirement is that you insist on having a three-door, this is the only one that will meet with your approval.I can see why you'd be drawn to this body style. All i30s look good, but none are prettier than this one. Its appearance is very satisfying, and during this test there was never a time when I approached the car and felt anything less than chuffed that I would soon be driving it.There are downsides. It would be difficult for a full-grown adult to get into the back, and they'd feel very cramped when they got there. And, dear God, those tiny rear side windows and those massive pillars. The view is so obstructed that I think there's a case for reversing this car to be limited only to drivers possessing a current HGV licence.Driving forwards is a different story. In normal motoring this i30 rides and handles exceptionally well. There's very little in the class that can touch it. It doesn't enjoy being pushed hard on challenging roads, where the weight of its 1.6-litre diesel engine is inclined to cause problems, but I doubt that many owners will be greatly concerned about that.To some extent you can adjust the driving experience. The Flex Steer system gives three levels of steering assistance, called Comfort, Normal and Sport. After some experimenting I decided that Comfort offered similar resistance to the other major controls and was therefore best. Normal was firmer but still okay. Sport seemed out of character with the rest of the car to me, but you might like it.The diesel engine's sound is well suppressed, and although its maximum output of 109bhp doesn't seem like much there is a good spread of power (70bhp is already available by 2000rpm) and I never thought that lack of performance was an issue.The CO2 rating is 100g/km, which just qualifies the car for VED exemption. On the EU test, combined fuel economy is 74.3mpg, a figure I suspect could be achieved outside the lab only with great patience and favourable winds.According the trip computer I averaged 56mpg. I reckon it was nearer 52mpg. Even if the electronics had a better grasp of the situation than I did, 56mpg is the sort of result I would have expected to achieve quite easily in a similar car five years ago. I'd like to have seen more sign of progress here.The Active trim is the second cheapest in the i30 range, and although Kubla Khan would find it a bit on the sparse side it's okay for the likes of me. 16" alloy wheels, air-conditioning, LED daytime running lights, heated door mirrors, USB and aux connections (one of which I thought was a second 12v power outlet - silly me), Bluetooth connectivity, Hill Start Assist and a decent array of safety devices are all included in the price.You can also have the Active with a 1.4-litre petrol engine. It's a bit slower, and you have to pay £140 each year for a tax disc, but it's more than £2000 cheaper. Experience with other i30s suggests it will also be even nicer to drive. If forced, at the business end of of a snickersnee, to choose between them, I think I'd go for the 1.4. Engine 1582cc, 4 cylinders Power 109bhp Transmission 6-speed manual Fuel/CO2 74.3mpg / 100g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.5 Top speed 115mph Price £17,690 Details correct at publication date
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