Updates are on the way for the Hyundai i30. Despite being a refresh, the engineers cover this car with lots of concealment.
Up front, it's hard to discern any major changes. The headlights don't appear to have significant alterations. The trapezoidal grille is still a significant part of the nose. The camo hides revisions to the lower fascia. Covering the hood with fabric and blocky panels hints that there might be styling tweaks to this section.
Gallery: Hyundai i30 Facelift Spy Photos
Along the flanks, Hyundai's development team hides the doors and even the handles. The silhouette doesn't seem to change in comparison to the current car.
This i30 wears a big hump on the back to conceal the rear hatch. It appears that the taillights are rounder than the current design, but the lamps might be placeholder pieces.
The only glimpse of the interior is through the windows. It doesn't look like there are any camouflaged sections. If there are changes, then they seem very minor.
There's no indication of when the refreshed i30 would arrive. Hyundai last revised the model for the 2021 model year. At that time, the company added a 7.0-inch digital driver's display and improved safety tech. A 1.5-liter engine with mild-hybrid assistance was a new engine option. The updated i30 N arrived a few months later.
Hyundai's European boss Michael Cole confirms there would be new generations of the i10, i20, and i30 models. These models would likely gain electrified powertrains but probably wouldn't be full EVs. "We don't want to lose any customers. I don't want to walk away from any customer group. So we have to think about those i10, i20, i30 customers," he said.
The i30 N five-door hot hatch isn't returning with a combustion engine, and a new one might not arrive for a while. "If we're talking EVs, then we could very well see an all-electric i30 N in a hatch body with our B and C-segment plans, but it might take some time to get there, to get it right," said Hyundai Executive Technical Advisor Albert Biermann.
