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Reforming the Policy Processes of our Democracies [1] "Principles to guide policy reform – can Plato show the way?"
Paper presented by Hon Tim Smith QC, at Melbourne University School of Government Conference , " Democracy in transition", 7 December 2015
The challenge of reform
How should we go about reforming our Democracies' policy processes? The way we should go about reforming all government process?
It involves exploring the nature and purposes of Democracies and identifying the principles that should best serve them and should guide the reform process.[2].
A policy framework for the reform of the policy processes of our democracies?
So what are the nature and purposes of our democratic governments?
Can they be better put than – "government of the people, by the people, for the people"?
And what are the principles that best serve our democratic governments and should guide the participants in this reform process?
I wish to initially focus on that issue.
Guiding principles?
In the recent Queensland election campaign, the Hon. Tony Fitzgerald QC, AC[3] sought from those seeking election commitments to the following principles;
- Govern for the peace, welfare and good government of the State;
- Make all decisions and take all actions, including public appointments, in the public interest without regard to personal, party political or other immaterial considerations;
- Treat all people equally without permitting any person or corporation special access or influence; and
- Promptly and accurately inform the public of its reasons for all significant or potentially controversial decisions and actions.
I submit that these individual principles give effect to, and are supported by, one fundamental principle that should guide all the participants in our democracies – those holding public office, those assisting them and we the people. The principle is the "public office public trust principle".
It is a simple ethical principle based on the proposition that where you entrust another with power over you and your affairs, that person is obliged to exercise those powers for your benefit not their own. It can be traced back to Plato. Translated to the operation of democratic governments, our elected and non-elected public officers are entrusted with power, and substantial sums of our money, to make decisions of enormous significance for the present and future for us and following generations. The public office public trust principle requires that when making decisions they must put the public interest first and in priority to their personal interests and other private interests.
It is also a legal principle – part of our common law.
The legal position was recently described by Sir Gerard Brennan, the former Chief Justice of the High Court, in his speech at the presentation of the ART Commonwealth Parliamentary Integrity Awards for the 43rd Parliament. He said[4]
"It has long been an established legal principle that a member of Parliament holds "a fiduciary relation towards the public"[5] and "undertakes and has imposed upon him a public duty and a public trust".[6] The duties of a public trustee are not identical with the duties of a private trustee but there is an analogous limitation imposed on the conduct of the trustee in both categories. The limitation demands that all decisions and exercises of power be taken in the interests of the beneficiaries and that duty cannot be subordinated to, or qualified by the interests of the trustee.[7]
Turning to the question of enforcement, he said (p5):
"True it is that the fiduciary duties of political officers are often impossible to enforce judicially; the courts will not invalidate a law of the Parliament for failure to secure the public interest[8] – the motivations for political action are often complex – but that does not negate the fiduciary nature of political duty. Power, whether legislative or executive, is reposed in members of the Parliament by the public for exercise in the interests of the public and not primarily for the interests of members or the parties to which they belong. The cry "whatever it takes" is not consistent with the performance of fiduciary duty."
This is not the occasion to explore the scope of the legal principle and its application in our legal system. Examples include the development of administrative law, the common law criminal offence of misconduct in public office[9], sentencing law, and contract law. Where unfettered statutory discretions are given to ministers such as planning ministers, the common law requires that the ministers comply with the principle. The key IBAC legislation definition of "corrupt conduct" includes "knowingly or recklessly breaching public trust"[10].
What we have is a unique and very special fiduciary relationship embracing the whole community, a mega Public Trust, in which our elected representatives and the public service are our Public Trustees charged with responsibility for the day-to-day and long-term administration of that Trust and we, the people, are the beneficiaries. One of its distinguishing features, however, is that where the trustees fail the beneficiaries, for example, in developing policy or in addressing breaches of the Public Trust , we, the beneficiaries, cannot generally turn to the courts for assistance because of the separation of powers between the three branches of government and, as a result, the buck stops with us. That is our ultimate responsibility in this mega Public Trust.
Are there reforms of the policy processes of our democracies that need to be addressed?
The state of our Democracies?
Valuable light has been shed on this issue by The Hon Barry Jones in lectures he has given (including one for Ican[11]), and the Hon Lindsay Tanner and Michelle Grattan in delivering Integrity in Government Lectures for the Accountability Round Table (ART) and the Melbourne University Law School Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies[12].
Between them, they have identified a large number of changes in the way our members of Parliament have been conducting themselves and thereby causing damage to our democracies particularly in the policy area including the following[13]:
- An absence of meaningful debate of public policy"; resulting from
- a shift in the political debate from the rationalism of the 80s and 90s to the populism of the late 1990s onwards;
- seeking advice only from people who will support the Party narrative – the full evidence is not considered;
- reliance on surveys and focus groups
- the growing switch from public campaign meetings to intimate fundraising dinners as the pursuit of funding has increased; grown
- "the bear pit of question time";
- a decline in the ability to debate major issues and defend positions;
- failing to attempt to justify broken promises.
- Deception:
- lying to Parliament, no longer a resignation offence and, to the people, no longer seen as a serious matter;
- the continuous election campaign involving "half-truths" and "exaggerations ";
- the development of the "spin industry";
- the lack of transparency of political fund-raising and the devices used to avoid the inadequate regulation that is in place;
- reliance on invented narratives.
There should be added to those concerns, the ever increasing secrecy of our governments.
What have been the direct causes? [14]
- Professionalization of the political trade? In the 80s, the majority of members of Parliament came from careers other than politics. Since the mid to late-90s that has reversed.
- The development of major party Factions? The result has been a focus of those in politics on what will sell and "what will my faction want", not "what is in the public interest".
Considering each of the above developments and direct causes, do they not involve breach of the Public Office Public Trust principle or a failure to honour it?
What has allowed such changes to occur?
There was a time when it was common to refer to the principle in assessing and passing judgement on the actions of those entrusted with power to govern. About 100 years ago Maitland complained
"Open an English newspaper, and you will be unlucky if you do not see the word "trustee" applied to the "Crown" or to some high and mighty body. I have just made the experiment, and my lesson for today is, that as the Transvaal has not yet received a representative constitution, the Imperial Parliament is "a trustee for the colony" ".[15]
But until recently (when Fairfax Media took up[16] the issue), the Public Office Public Trust principle had, for many years, disappeared not only from political and social debate but from our community's consciousness. As a result it has not been in our consciousness to guide us, or our members of Parliament or our democracies.
Several people[17] have been aware of it and have written and spoken about it including Hon Paul Finn, Chief Justice French and former Chief Justice Gleeson and Dr Solomon. I was not aware of it until it was brought to my attention six years ago by Prof Coghill. The vast majority of people I have spoken to about it have not been aware of it. Those most likely to be aware of it studied philosophy not law or government. Since becoming aware of it, I have attempted to explore its significance and the impact of our loss of consciousness of it.
The principle over the last 50 years
It was not being talked about in the 1970s and 1980s but those public officers we elected, and the public service, by and large still appear to have seen their jobs as ones where they had to focus on, and give priority to, the public interest – for example, consider the bi-partisan approach taken in the to refugees in those years and the major economic reforms of the 1980s.
The Hon Fred Chaney, for example, in his inaugural Government Integrity Lecture[18] spoke about the complex conflict of interest and values, problems that members of Parliament brought with them to their office. He identified as the principle that will enable them to find their way through those conflicts, placing the public interest first. In doing so he was giving effect to the Public Office Public Trust principle, but he did not cite it.
Compare that to the approaches taken by our Members of Parliament in recent years in their decision-making and their treatment of us, the beneficiaries of the Public Trust. At the 2012 Woodford Festival, for example, Malcolm Turnbull frankly commented that it has never been easier for parliamentarians to lie and that parliamentarians treat us with contempt. He expressly included himself among the parliamentarians.[19] This is the antithesis of the way fiduciaries should behave to their beneficiaries.
I suggest that there is a correlation between the changes that have occurred over time and the ever increasing loss, over time, of our community's awareness of the Public Office Public Trust principle, the last vestiges disappearing through the 1990s.
I also suggest that the vast majority, if not all, of the concerns we have about the state of our Democracies flow from the fact that for many years we, together with our elected representatives and public servants, have not been aware of the Public Office Public Trust principle.
And what of our disengagement from our democracy that Lindsay Tanner referred to in his lecture[20]. Would we have disengaged to the extent we have if we were all aware of the Public Office Public Trust principle and appreciated that in our Mega Public Trust, if our Public Trustees are breaching it or ignoring it, or failing to take steps to address such behaviour when action is needed, the ultimate responsibility rests with us, the beneficiaries?
What can and should be done?
What can we do? We have been seeing an ongoing loss of the people's trust in our elected representatives with voters directing their votes away from the major parties. We are also seeing more people seeking election as independents. But more is needed. We need those who can, to join, and be active in, political parties.
But what will guide us all? We need to have restored as quickly as possible to our collective consciousness the guiding principle – that public office is a public trust.
How can we best do that? For a start, when the media, and when we, are discussing the conduct and performance of our public trustees, the standard we should apply is the Public Office Public Trust principle and we should refer to it in any such discussion. It also should be a subject that is taught in all schools and universities. There is also a special opportunity, of which most Australians are unaware and which we have been very slow to grasp.
A new and special opportunity
On 17 November 2015 the Commonwealth Government published on its website that it had committed to proceed with Australia's 2013 application to join the Open Government Partnership (OGP).
The OGP is an international body established in 2011 by Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the USA. It now has 69 participating nations.
Australia was invited to join in 2011 and did so in May 2013. Work began on the required 2 year National Action Plan but was not, for some 2 ½ years, pursued with the people of Australia.
On 17 November 2015, however, the present Commonwealth government also published on its website a proposed program for developing Australia's first National Action Plan in partnership with the community.[21]
If you are not aware of this development, you are not alone. There has been no attempt by Government to publicise it and the traditional media had not picked it up – until recently and briefly.
The OGP has detailed Articles of Governance.[22] They describe the background and objectives and the detailed structure of the OGP under which the national governments of member nations undertake to enter into a partnership with their citizens to
- "promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance"[23]
- involve and consult with the community in that process
- and undertake to develop two-year action plans, which are to be "ambitious".
There is also within the OGP, a substantial worldwide support unit to assist civil society groups and individuals who wish to participate in the OGP and in their national partnerships in addressing their obligations under the OGP.
The OGP also requires mid-term and end of term self-assessment reports by the participating governments and provides an Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) to complement the participating government's self-assessment report.[24]
The result is that we, the people of Australia, have been provided with a substantial and effective framework (our A0GP) in which we can engage with the Commonwealth government, re-engage with our Commonwealth Democracy, and so be involved, in particular, in resolving our Democracy's problems and their causes, including threats to its integrity.
Relevant material about the AOGP and what has been, and is, happening can be found on the AOGP website[25] and Peter Timmins Blog, "Open and Shut"[26].
You will see that the government has already set in train the preparation of Australia's National Action Plan. It has published a proposed multi-stage process for the development of Australia's National Action Plan. The first stage began on 17 November 2015.
What has been provided is a system which, if honoured by the participants, should serve Australia well. But the success of this new partnership will depend on all the participants in the Partnership adopting the Public Office Public Trust principle as their guiding principle; for, it will help to ensure that all participants in this new partnership will approach their task on the basis that each National Action Plan it is to serve the public interest and to do so in priority to any personal interests or other private interests.
The OGP framework and guiding principles will encourage that approach. For it will help to ensure that
- the people of each nation are informed and will be involved in consultation with the Public Trustees and
- that the Public Trustees will be better informed and assisted to take into account all they should in determining what will best serve the public interest.
This will be particularly important where the public trustees find themselves unavoidably in a conflict of interest position, particularly when considering reforms to the Commonwealth government integrity system (for example, the operations and powers of anticorruption bodies or whistle-blower protection or freedom of information system). It will also be particularly important where their personal interests are unavoidably more directly involved and in conflict with the public interest on policy issues such as the transparency of political fundraising and lobbying.
We are very fortunate to have this new and special opportunity. Let us ensure that we all rise to its challenge.
[1] Paper presented by Hon Tim Smith QC, 7 December 2015. at School of Government Conference , " Democracy in transition", 7 December 2015.
[2] Cf reforming central processes of the judicial branch of government – Australian Law Reform Commission ALRC, Report No. 38, Evidence, chapter 3; and ALRC Report No 102, 2.45 – 2.70
[3] In conjunction with the St James Ethics Centre and the Australian Institute http://www.tai.org.au/content/accountability-push-ahead-queensland-poll
[4] P.3, https://www.accountabilityrt.org/integrity-awards/sir-gerard-brennan-presentation-of-accountability-round-table-integrity-awards-dec-2013/
[5] (quoting Higgins, J. in R v Boston (1923)33 CLR386, 412)
[6] ibid408
[7] citing Rich,J in Horne v Barber(1920)27CLR494,501
[8] citing United Steamship Co of Australia Pty Ltd v King (1988) 82 CLR 43 at 48; In para 16 of the judgement it is stated:
"16. These decisions and statements of high authority demonstrate that, within the limits of the grant, a power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of a territory is as ample and plenary as the power possessed by the Imperial Parliament itself. That is, the words "for the peace, order and good government" are not words of limitation. They did not confer on the courts of a colony, just as they do not confer on the courts of a State, jurisdiction to strike down legislation on the ground that, in the opinion of a court, the legislation does not promote or secure the peace, order and good government of the colony. Just as the courts of the United Kingdom cannot invalidate laws made by the Parliament of the United Kingdom on the ground that they do not secure the welfare and the public interest, so the exercise of its legislative power by the Parliament of New South Wales is not susceptible to judicial review on that score. Whether the exercise of that legislative power is subject to some restraints by reference to rights deeply rooted in our democratic system of government and the common law (see Drivers v. Road Carriers (1982) 1 NZLR 374, at p 390; Fraser v. State Services Commission (1984) 1 NZLR 116, at p 121; Taylor v. New Zealand Poultry Board (1984) 1 NZLR 394, at p 398), a view which Lord Reid firmly rejected in Pickin v. British Railways Board (1974) AC 765, at p 782, is another question which we need not explore."
[9] Lusty, D. "Revival of the Common Law Offence of Misconduct in Public Office" (2014) 38 Criminal Law Journal 337. https://www.accountabilityrt.org/?s=Lusty And see generally Smith T., Integrity in politics? Public office as a public trust? Is there hope? –https://www.accountabilityrt.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Smith-T-2014-Lyceum-U3A-Speech-final-_3_.pdf ( note p11 and discussion of Magill v Porter ; also Smith T, Government Secrecy and Urban Planning – The Forgotten Trust and Reform, http://www.accountabilityrt.org/government-secrecy-and-urban-planning-the-forgotten-trust-and-reform/
[10] See Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission Act 2011, S60,s3(1) and S4
[11] In lectures he has given recently including one to for Ican (firstname.lastname@example.com.,au), an independent network established by a member of ART, Carmel Benjamin. . Its aims are to
- "Engage , members of the public in active , non-partisan support for the principle of public, office public trust".
- "Advocate for a corruption free government of integrity and accountability".
For Barry Jones's speech; – https://www.accountabilityrt.org/barry-jones-whats-wrong-with-democracy/ Barry Jones .
[12] Delivering Integrity in Government Lectures for the ART and the Melbourne University Law School Centre for comparative Constitutional Studies; https://www.accountabilityrt.org/integrity-lectures/
[13] Discussed in more detail in T Smith "Australia's Democratic governments; a proud history, their present state and future"; https://www.accountabilityrt.org/australias-democratic-governments-a-proud-history-their-present-state-and-future/
[14] See discussion by Barry Jones – above; and 2 other papers – "Political recruitment in Australia – Why do we not trust our leaders and politicians?" ( 9/5/2013) and "Gough Whitlam's vision of social democracy with a focus on parliament and party" ( 4/11/2015) available at
[15] F.W.Maitland, "Trust and Corporation" in Collected Papers (CUP, Cambridge, 1911) Vol 3, P403 –
[16] Michael Short, http://www.smh.com.au/national/protecting-the-public-is-key-to-resolving-conflict-of-interest-among-politicians-20141114-11mn6d.html.; http://www.theage.com.au/comment/the-age-editorial/the-political-price-of-betraying-public-trust-20150206-138e6b.html; and see, Ms Gai Brodtmann, Member for Canberra, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/a-matter-of-public-trust-measuring-how-government-performs-20151003-gk0omx.html#ixzz3wMuDO1Bw .
[17] For references and other examples– https://www.accountabilityrt.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Smith-T-2014-Lyceum-U3A-Speech-final-_3_.pdf, pp ; pp 10-18
[18] https://www.accountabilityrt.org/inaugural-art-lecture-fred-chaney-integrity-parliament-where-does-duty-lie/
[19] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTOtpzMelyI
[20] see link in footnote 12 above.
[21] http://ogpau.govspace.gov.au/introduction/
[22] http://www.opengovpartnership.org/Articles
[23] Op cit. , p2
[24] http://www.opengovpartnership.org/independent-reporting-mechanism
[25] https://ogpau.govspace.gov.au/
[26] http://foi-privacy.blogspot.com.au/search/label/Australia.%20Open%20Government%20Partnership.#.VouxB-9umbw


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Hyundai i30 long-term test
The third-generation Hyundai i30 is billed as the brand's best small car yet, so, will the SR Premium impress us over the coming months?
What are we testing: The Hyundai i30 SR Premium
Who's running it: Isaac Bober, Founder & Head of Content
Why are we testing it: The Hyundai i30 is one of the best-selling cars in the country, and this new model needs to build on that and out-step the competition.
What it needs to do: Handle everything from long-distance commutes into the Big Smoke, to the school run, the weekly grocery trip, runs to the hardware store and given its sporting bent, be entertaining into the bargain.
2017 Hyundai i30 SR Premium
Pricing From $33,950+ORC Extras: $495 metallic paint; Warranty five-years, unlimited kilometres Safety five-star ANCAP Engine 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol Power 150kW at 6000rpm Torque 265Nm at 1500-4500rpm Transmission seven-speed DCT Drive front-wheel drive Dimensions 4340mm (L); 1795mm (W); 1455mm (H) 2650mm (WB) Boot Space 395L/1301L Spare Space Saver Fuel Tank 50L Thirst 7.5L/100km (combined)
Do you really need an SUV?
When it comes to buying a new car most people these days default to, it must be an SUV. Why? The majority of SUVs being purchased are all front-drive only which means no-one's buying them for dirt road driving. Because, let's face it, driving something that's high riding down a dirt road that's only two-wheel drive is likely to end in you picking bits of tree out of your face, or leave you hanging on a ditch if you try and drive it like a 'proper rough roader'… Okay, I'm exaggerating for poetic effect.
And then there's the argument that you get a better view of the road ahead from an SUV. Nope. Not really. In most cases an SUV is only sitting a few centimetres higher than its non-SUV equivalent. And, what are you trying to get a good view of? The back of another SUV… as long as you can see the brake lights of the vehicle in front and travel at a safe distance, what do you need to see?
And then there's the storage space, or back seat space that an SUV offers. Wrong again. Let's take the i30 and Kona as a case in point. The Kona offers less boot space than the i30 and doesn't get rear air vents either. So, not only can you carry less stuff in the SUV those in the back seat won't be as comfortable either.
You'll find most SUVs in the hot-selling categories are just jacked up versions of hatchbacks, so, before you leap straight to the conclusion you need an SUV, take a look at its hatchback equivalent. In the case of Kona Vs i30, well, I'd take the i30 every single day of the week and weekend.
Be cool, or warm…
We've had some bonkers weather of late. Boiling hot one day and I mean, properly boiling hot with the mercury hitting 40-plus degrees C before plunging back down to 17-degrees C the following day. This means the climate control in the i30 has been copping a real work-out…
Yes, I'll agree, this doesn't sound like the most exciting post but I've found it fascinating and it's going to lead to a larger yarn, two actually, one on how car makers measure the interior temperature of their vehicles via the climate control system, and another on how air-con and climate control differ and work.
Consider this, the abridged version. Obviously there's a thermostat somewhere in the vehicle that tells the climate control when the interior of the car has reached the set temperature, and then, like your home air-con system when set to 'automatic' will keep blowing warm or cool air to maintain that temperature. But don't know just where the thermostat is, is it measuring the temp from right next to the outlets, or over in the boot? I'll find this out and report back.
Let's talk a bit about the difference between air-con and climate control. It's pretty simple, really, because air-conditioning is a basic system that allows you to either cool or warm the air inside the car, and you can also control the fan speed. There's generally no temperature advice, it's just a blue or red line that's thicker or thinner; the thicker the line the hotter or colder the temperature, etc.
With climate control, like you get in our i30 SR, you can set a specific temperature and the car will cool the cabin and then maintain that temperature. And, let me tell you, the system in the i30 is genius. I've currently got three press cars in the garage and so I decided to conduct an experiment. I had them all parked one behind the other and then got in each one in turn and drove each one around for 10 minutes with the climate control set to 19-degrees C (it was 28-degrees C outside): Car A (let's call that the i30 SR) cooled to the temperature set in two minutes. Car B was a sportscar and it cooled to the set temp in 2min30secs, and Car B was a four-wheel drive with tri-zone climate control (I'll explain that in a moment) and it took four minutes to cool to 19-degrees C.
The i30 SR offers dual-zone climate control which means the driver can set one temperature and the passenger another. It also offers rear air vents which take the driver's side setting and pipe that air into the back. A 4×4 we've got at the moment offer tri-zone which allows those in the back to set their own temperature and fan speed entirely.
There's a lot to unpack in how this all works, so, stay tuned for an article that breaks down climate control and how it actually works. But, in the meantime, know that the climate control system in the i30 is more than up to the task of keeping you cool and quickly too on a warm summer's day.
Short Update
With Christmas fast approaching work seems to be getting busier with the Practical Motoring garage generally clogged with two cars each week. Unfortunately, it means I haven't spent as much time with the i30 SR as I would like.
However, earlier in the week, after dropping back the Stinger GT, I took the i30 SR for a spin… just to properly get my Korean fix. Now I know I've raved about the i30, indeed, I'm proud to say that Practical Motoring was the first outlet to recognise the i30; it's since picked up a bunch of accolades. Moving on.
A quick run along some of my favourite roads the other revealed a chassis that's altogether more complete than the one under the Stinger. Sure, these are different cars, but there's a fluidity from front to back and in the transmission the big Kia just doesn't have. I've got a real soft spot for the i30 SR, as you can no doubt tell.
Latest Instalment – Crashing cars… or not
AEB. It stands for Autonomous Emergency Braking and while it is undoubtedly a potential lifesaver, I'd had mixed experiences with it and other active safety features. I test drove a vehicle recently, the review will appear online shortly, and it's lane keeping assist reacted to phantom lines on the road and kept trying to counter steer me into other cars while I fought against the steering.
I've also had AEB systems react to a concrete lane divider mid-corner and try and take me from 80km/h to 0km/h in the space of a few metres. And earlier this week I tested a lane keeping assist system where you could turn off the assist part but the warning would remain active giving you, if you hadn't realised the system was off, like me, a false sense of security. The motoring hack I was in the car with and I nearly needed a change of trousers as the car wandered across the lane, beeping, but with no steering assistance.
So, I'm incredibly thrilled to say that Hyundai's ActiveSense is nothing like that; and thank goodness for that too. Because, just yesterday, while on the school run and argu… I mean, negotiating with my children to be quiet… and travelling at the required 40km/h, a car pulled out ahead of me.
Now, I won't lie, I was distracted and wasn't expecting a numptie to pull out in front a bright red little Hyundai i30. By the time I realised what was happening and that I was about to leave an H pressed into the door of the Land Rover Discovery that had pulled out, the car came to the rescue. The brakes were applied autonomously, the collision was avoided and the tool int he Disco continued on their merry way oblivious to what had just transpired.
2 November – Nothing to report but I do need your help
This week has been hectic one where I've almost spent more time at the airport than I have at home. This week has seen me attending three new car launches, on Tuesday there was the updated Abarth 595, Wednesday the Infiniti Q50 Red Sport, and tomorrow I'll be driving the new Hyundai Sonata.
All this travel has meant that I haven't even sat in the i30 SR Premium, merely walked past it on my down to the airport. That said, another comment popped up at the end of this article from a reader who I, and others, have been debating about rear seat head room with the panoramic roof. Myself and others who've driven this new i30 claim you'll fit a six-footer in the back seat easily even with the glass roof, while our commenter, who claims to have sat in the back of one recently and had his head touching the roof, doesn't agree. So, what I'd like to do, is ask all the owners of a PD i30 (the new model) and who have a panoramic roof to share a photo of them sitting in the back of the car showing how much room they have above their head.
Next week is looking a little quieter and so hopefully regularly scheduled seat time will resume with our i30 SR Premium. I miss it.
October 27 – Another opinion
After my mother spent two weeks tootling about in our i30 SR Premium it was my wife's turn to give her opinion. And her thoughts came via a series of texts… how very modern dictated while driving the car, which I've paraphrased.
A big fan of the way the i30 looks, Mrs B, thinks it looks conservative compared to the old i30 but more mature and European looking and she likes it, especially in our car's orangey-red colour scheme. But she's not so keen on the red metallic accents on the inside of the car, the contrast stitching or the red seat belts; I'm the opposite, I love them and think they help to lift the otherwise very dark cabin.
Connecting her phone was a doddle; you simply slug it in and then, whether you've got an iPhone or Android it'll display the key features of your phone via Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Hey Siri worked well 9 times out of 10 and I can confirm that the voice to text messages came out just fine.
There's plenty of room inside, according to Mrs B who found the driver's seat to be very comfortable on her commute to work which is round trip of 100km. She found it was easy for the kids to get in and out and said the boot with its net made keeping the groceries in place a cinch. No-one likes chasing spilled groceries around a car's boot.
The gearbox. While Mrs B said the engine was more than powerful enough she wasn't too keen on the gearbox at low speed saying she thought it was a little jerky. The ride is excellent, says Mrs B, saying you can definitely feel that it's been tuned for Australia, ironing out all the lumps and bumps in the road.
Not something that usually gets a mention, Mrs B wanted to make note of the headlights and how good she thought they were. She said they offer a nice wide spread, illuminating the edges of the road and that both the main and high beam are better than on our own family car.
October 17 – Catching up on lost time
WITH TOO many cars in my driveway waiting to be tested and my mother trying to decide what will become her retirement car, I threw her the keys to our long-term i30 SR for a couple of weeks to see whether it might just be the car for her.
As you might have gathered, I'm a big fan of the i30 and particularly the SR premium… it's got just about everything that opens and shuts. Indeed, right now, there's a Discovery Sport parked on my driveway and that thing gets heated leather seats but not ventilated seats like the i30. The Disco Sport starts at $55k.
Sure, these are two very different machines and ones unlikely to ever be cross-shopped but I'm trying to make the point that for the price you get the sort of stuff in the i30 that you don't get in luxury cars. Indeed, the i30 SR Premium gets goodies the more expensive and roomier Subaru Levorg 1.6 GT doesn't. Indeed, the i30 SR Premium gets stuff the new top-spec Kona Highlander doesn't, of course, the Kona offers all-wheel drive and the i30 SR Premium doesn't but, if you don't need an 'SUV' the bang for your buck's choice is the i30 SR Premium, but I digress.
So, my aging mother has been pottering around in the i30 SR Premium and has just dropped it back. What follows is my best interpretation of her thoughts and, yes, I did have to prompt her.
Let's start with the infotainment… She's got a smartphone but for my mum, the height of technical wizardry is being able to make a collage out of the photos on her phone and then text them to family and friends. So, when I explained she could plug in her phone and use it instead of the car's infotainment system it just about blew her mind. She said she'd give it a whirl but hadn't when I asked her after her two weeks with the thing. Shame.
What about the space inside the car? Like me, mum found the i30 to be a roomy little thing that was perfectly sized for both her and my father. He's got a crook back and he found the seat could be adjusted to be comfortable, even after, say, 100km behind the wheel. There was some grandparent duties performed during the loan period, and both of my parents thought the i30 performed well as a small family car.
With only two of them now at home, the weekly shop is much smaller than it used to be. But, mum said the elasticised net in the boot was great for keeping her shopping in place although she found the clips a little fiddly to use.
So, for my mum, the i30 offered more technology than she'd likely ever use, was more than big enough for her lifestyle. What about the quality?
According to mum, the i30 SR Premium was one of the most luxurious cars she'd ever been in. See, while yours and my generation might expect a cheap as chips hatchback to have heated and ventilated seats, for my mum, that sort of whizz-bangery is the domain of Rolls-Royce. I shouldn't mis-paint her as someone who's hidden under a rock and never driven anything more flash than a 1970s Toyota Corolla; rather she's the proud owner of a now-tired 1998 Subaru Outback and my old man owns a P38 Range Rover (yep, he's a glutton for punishment). Moving on.
The fit and finish, according to mum, was excellent and she felt there was a decent amount of storage. She liked the materials used and the contrasting colour surrounds on the air vents, etc.
But, she felt there was just a little bit too much grunt. Indeed, she said she occasionally felt like she was hanging on as her lead foot propelled the thing towards the horizon. Granted, mum's been driving around in an old Outback which would now be nowhere near making the power and torque it used to when new. She liked the gearbox and thought it was better than the DSG she'd sampled in her friend's Golf 7. Ouch. For my mum, the 2.0-litre four-pot i30 would be more than enough engine.
What about the ride? She was a fan; living out in Bathurst the roads she drives on can be a mix of super-smooth or super-rubbish and she said the i30 felt comfortable no matter where she was driving. She didn't fling it around any corners but she did say the steering was nice and that she felt 'in control' at all times while driving.
While she said she'd have to get used to the power, mum did say the i30 is now at the top of her consideration list but a friend of hers has a Mazda 3 that she wants to try before committing. I didn't want to cloud her judgement, but I think she'll be coming back to the i30.
28 September 2017 – How practical is the i30 SR Premium?
Let's not beat around the bush here, the i30 SR Premium is a small car, but does that mean it isn't very practical? Let's take a closer look. And, my apologies for missing an update last week.
Starting at the front and working our way back there are door bins that'll hold a 500ml-plus water bottle with room left over for your wallet, or a purse to be stashed alongside the bottle. The shape of the bottle holder is such that secondary items won't fall into the space when the bottle is removed which is good.
Then, there's the door grab handle which, unlike some cars, isn't just a hole which means you can actually do as I do and use it to keep the keys in. You won't forget them because you'll feel them as you open the door… more than that, the car won't let you lock it when they're inside the thing.
Move towards the centre of the car and there's a deep storage bin ahead of the gear shifter with a lid that can be closed to hideaway all of the receipts and chocolate wrappers that'll end up being stored in there. If you don't fill it full of rubbish, the bin affords plenty of room for your phone with Qi wireless charging available. There's also a 12V, Aux and USB outlets.
On the other side of the shifter are the cup holders, and the divider is removable turning the space into a large rectangle for storing… pens? There's a roll-top style lid that can be closed over this space. And there's a small storage bin beside the cup holders.
The centre console isn't super wide but it's deep and with a 12v outlet at the bottom. The padded lid is at the right height and location to use as an elbow rest while driving. Up at the top of the windscreen is the obligatory sunglasses holder… I never thought anyone used them, I never do, but a question asked on Facebook once revealed that the overwhelming majority of people use them to indeed hold their sunglasses.
The glovebox is a decent size and will take a few more small items as well as the owner's handbook.
Moving into the back there's room again in the door bins for 500ml water bottles with some additional storage beside the bottle. There are nets on the back of the front seats for keeping an iPad in. The middle of the middle seat back can be folded down for use as an elbow rest or, if you've got kids, as a demarcation line that neither child can cross to avoid backseat arguments… some of them. There are cup holders in the fold down rest too.
My daughter still requires a booster seat and, as you can see, our seat fits neatly into the i30 without her losing any legroom or filling up the doorway and making it hard for her to climb into the car. There's even enough room, if she's sat in the seat, for her brother to squeeze through the back. There are ISOFIX mounts that are easily accessible on the two outboard seats.
It's nice and easy to fold down the back seats via the seat shoulder-mounted levers, and I particularly like the fact the seatbelt doesn't get caught in the seat when it's being raised back up.
There's 395 litres of space in the boot and the i30 SR Premium gets a dual floor thanks to its space saver spare. You can now buy a full-size spare for an extra $550 which reduces boot space slightly. There are two small bins at the edge of the boot floor at the back of the wheel arches. These bins are hard and so can be used to hold a bottle of water or waterless car wash and a rag, or some other sort of liquid… you get my point.
The grey suitcase in the image is large enough for a week away with enough room around the larger port for soft bags and the kid's scooters. Or, you could stand the port up and fit in another suitcase and still have room for a smaller suitcase or softbags. I did have to remove the parcel shelf, though.
Folding down the seats liberates even more space (1301 litres) but the boot floor isn't flat. Leave on of the back seats up, though, and there's a small lip that helps to keep you bag from sliding backwards. And, I'm a huge fan of the standard-fit elastic net; this thing is great for keeping your weekly shop from sliding around the boot, or even keeping small suitcases from rattling around.
In all, there's quite a lot of storage space inside the i30 and the front and back seats offer plenty of head, shoulder and leg room. You'll fit three adults across the back seat, although the one in the middle won't be as comfortable as the two in the outboard seats because of the shape of that middle perch.
The boot is a decent shape and with up to 1301 litres of storage space, the i30 SR Premium is a properly flexible and spacious small car.
15 September 2017 – i30 SR is a video star… sort of
This week's been one of those one's that comes and goes before you know it. The i30 SR Premium has been confined to the school run only this week, although I'm planing a run down to the big smoke this weekend for my son's soccer academy.
That didn't stop me from finding a spare five minutes to take a quick video of the i30 to give you a better look inside the thing. My apologies for the quality of the interim; the wind was literally blowing a gale and the microphone was clearly useless.
Our next video will be a look at the i30 SR's ride and handling which will give me an excuse to take it out on a proper drive. The next written update will be a look at the thing's practicality.
8 September 2017 – Taking a bite out of the apple… huh?!
Only a short update this week as I've been in and out of all sorts of cars this week from a Ford Everest Titanium to the WRX STI Spec.R that I reviewed earlier in the week. I've been syncing my phone up to each of the cars I've bene in and it has revealed some interesting findings. And that is, mainly, that I'm a sucker for a pretty face. And what I mean by that, before the speaker of the house reads this and… is that the interface of an infotainment system goes a long way towards how you, me, us, feel about it. And, indeed, how much we'll use it.
Now, it wasn't that long ago that Bluetooth and audio streaming were the height of connectivity and now we've got smartphones that'll sync with our cars and show a version of their home screen, giving us access to key functionality like maps, text messages and music.
Don't misread me, I'm not a fan of making our cars even more connected, because I already think that drivers on our roads are bad enough without wanting them to be multi-tasking even more when they should just be concentrating on driving their cars. So, being able to dictate a text message or update Facebook, while your car is parked, or even having your car act as a Wi-Fi hotspot is all just too much for me. See, I grew up in a time before Google and cut my teeth in media when websites were a novelty and not the norm. I remember interviewing someone about their favourite website (I was working on a marketing magazine) and, I kid you not, they said the Maille mustard website was their favourite. I can't remember the reasons why they liked it, but I remember not batting an eyelid at the time because back then everything about the internet was exciting. But I'm becoming lost.
So, back to in-car infotainment… Both the Everest and the i30 offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity while the WRX didn't… and, you know what, I really struggled with the system in the WRX. Yes, it could still play my soccer podcasts but getting to them was a nightmare and when listening to music it was a lucky dip as to whether it would begin playing the last song I'd listened to or something totally random. For me, there was just too much to do to get it working.
That's not the case in the i30, indeed, I'd go so far as to suggest it's probably the best Apple CarPlay and I assume Android Auto too (I don't have an Android phone to test it) out of all the cars offering similar connectivity in this part of the market. The Everest isn't in this segment and it's in a whole other league because its native Sync3 system is so powerful, but I love the fact it offers smartphone connectivity because it does allow you to keep things simple and easy when you want.
But, the i30. The speed with which it connects and reconnects, always plays what I was listening to last, and gives me the choice of listing to music from either iTunes or Google Play is great. The audio quality when making a call is excellent and I've never had a drop out yet even in spots where I normally have a drop out in other cars, although whether that's the car or the weather and my phone, or something else, I can't quite say.
Hyundai's system offers native sat-nav and I like that because I think it's a cheap and nasty cop-out when a car company shouts that it offers smartphone connectivity and then whispers that it, at the same time, doesn't offer native maps. And that's because not everyone is going to connect their phone to the car every single time and so being able to use the native sat-nav, which is better in the Hyundai i30 than Apple's mapping is great.
Personally, I think the level of functionality in the i30 SR Premium is spot on, I mean, having the ability to change the colour of the interior lights or how fast the doors auto lock is great, but do you really need to be able to deep dive into car functionality to that extent? No, give me a car that connects quickly and easily to my phone and allows me to get on with the job of driving the car rather than making me concentrate on both at the same time.
30 August 2017 – Pushed hard on our ride and handling loop…
Ordinarily, I update these reports at the end of each week, but on Monday I decided to finally get our Hyundai i30 SR Premium long-termer out onto my test loop. My loop is about 27.5km long and is located west of the Blue Mountains, and incorporates a stretch of highway, some of the most delicious corners you can imagine, a corkscrew-esque descent down into a valley that works the brakes hard and then onto a one-kilometre long stretch of the worst patched section of road you can imagine. Following that is a section of dirt a couple of kilometres long which then becomes bitumen again. Then more lovely corners and a hill crest that's not only blind but also drops away so quickly that if you're not careful you'll get airborne off the top before it bumps back into the highway.
There'll be some complaining that it's too short… and you'd be wrong. By being 27km-long it allows me to do several loops, learning more about the car with each lap… car companies might hone their car's ride and handling on the Nurburgring, but I use this loop to unravel them.
This is the sort of road that allows you to see into the soul of a car and will quickly reveal any flaws in the chassis, steering, suspension, brakes, tune of the traction or stability control, and the noise insulation. It's also a hoot of a road to drive in the right sort of car.
And it just so happens that the i30 SR Premium is just the right sort of car. Okay, it's easy for the nay-sayers to dismiss the i30 SR as just a warm hatch and some would suggest it isn't even that… and they'd be wrong. Very wrong, with a cherry on top.
Drive the i30 SR to the shops and you'd think it feels nice to drive, and you'd be right, but you wouldn't come away thinking it's anything much more than that. It's only when you grab the thing by the scruff of the neck and hurl it at a corner that demands it to actually work that the depth of A) the i30's chassis, in general and, B) the work performed by the local engineers to the suspension and steering, is revealed.
But let's pause a moment… the i30 SR has a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine making 150kW and 265Nm of torque from 1500rpm through to 4500rpm and this is mated to a seven-speed DCT (another name for a DSG). Now, when I tested this same transmission in the diesel-powered i30, I noted some hesitation when moving off from a standing start; this is occasionally a trait of DSG-type transmissions (always think about a DSG's behaviour as if you were driving a manual, because it's basically just an automated manual, I emphasise basically; of course there's more to it than that), but that's the not the case with the unit in our long-termer… it's rifle-bolt precise and smart in the way it responds to the throttle.
And that brings me back to my road loop out in the country. On a road like this and in a car like the i30 SR you can be lifted from a melancholy mood after the first corner; that the sun was shining down on this day was icing on the cake.
Now, let's talk about the noise insulation, and my apologies if this seems like I'm jumping all over the place. Making a car quiet is a clever way of making an affordable car seem like a more premium one, because who doesn't like to drive along in serenity and not hear road noise, or the sound of another car rushing past you. And while you can test drive a car on a bitumen road and remark on how quiet it is, it's only until you drive across a dirt road and there are plenty of these in Australia that you can separate the quiet cars from the serene ones.
I was recently asked about road noise in the i30 SR by my neighbour, I responded by saying it was quiet, but after my drive earlier this week I can now remark that it's not just quiet for a small car that costs less than $35,000, but it's quiet for a car costing around $100,000. I've driven some of the better selling cars in this small car category across the dirt section of my test loop and they've sounded like I was making popcorn in the back seat. So, I have no hesitation in saying that the i30 SR might just be the quietest car in the segment.
What about its braking and turning on dirt? That was all good too… I nailed the brakes from 80km/h in a simulated emergency stop and while ABS is tuned in favour of bitumen, it kept the car straight under brakes and pulled it up quickly too.
The steering is well weighted and quick in its response with a nice, meaty and direct action. In general-driving it seems like there's a slight lack of feel, but that's not the case when you're leaning on the car; there's excellent feedback. Indeed, we're lucky in this country as the steering response on our Hyundai i30s is much quicker than on the cars anywhere else in the world.
And the suspension tune is excellent. The way the i30 SR responds to mid-corner bumps or patchwork section of road really should be experienced to be believed. The Golf GTI is easily the king of the real-world hot hatches but I don't reckon the suspension tune on it is as deep as the tune on the i30 SR. Push hard through a corner and you can feel the suspension pushing the wheels and tyres into the road and the tyres gripping into the surface; there's bugger all body roll and mid-corner grip on a dry road is phenomenal. I can only imagine what the i30 N will be like.
The traction control is tuned well, too, to the point that when you're leaning hard into a corner and the inside tyre goes light and begins to spin, there's no loss of momentum and rather than the vehicle pushing wide from the corner, stays hunkered down and on the line you've chosen. Push too hard and it still resists understeer with some gentle braking to keep the i30 SR on the right line through the corner.
So, after a drive across my road loop is there anything I didn't like? Not really, no. The engine gives enough power and torque to fling the thing from one corner to the other with a real sense of urgency. And the brakes even though they copped a pounding felt strong with pedal response consistent; lots of hard stops and the thing has travelled less than 1000km.
In my next update, I'm going to spend some time fiddling around with the infotainment unit. And will explore the run-in period and how the i30 SR has changed after hitting 1000km.
25 August 2017 – Some questions that need answering…
THIS IS week three of our time with the i30 SR Premium and I've got a confession to make… I've only driven it once this week, and that's because this week I've spent most of my time putting 4x4s through their paces up and down hills that were too steep to walk up and down, through water, mud, sand and across rocks. Unfortunately, the i30 was not the right tool for that job.
But there have been quite a few questions asked, and statements made about the new i30 I thought I'd address this week. The first being the back seat in an i30 with a panoramic glass roof. Our reader commented that they were disappointed they couldn't sit in the back of an i30 with the glass roof without their head touching the roof.
Well, I can tell you that I'm six-foot tall and I can sit comfortably in the back seat with headroom to spare, and you can see the photo below for proof.
Another question/statement related to the paint quality on the i30 with one reader saying a spray painter friend had noticed the paint looked like 'orange peel'. Usually, an orange peel effect in car paint jobs is caused when the thinner in the paint evaporates too quickly causing the paint to dry unevenly and thus leaving the painted surface looking like the surface of an orange.
It's not uncommon for new cars to have orange peel in their surfacing but it's usually something picked up on inspection before the vehicle leaves the factory, or even once it's emerged from the paint bay. Basically, the paint is drying before it's had a chance to flow out and really is as simple as the wrong type of thinner being used.
After reading that note at the bottom of this article I decided to have a real close look at the paint on our i30… and, yes, if you look closely and in the right light you can see a slight orange peel effect to the paint. But, it should be noted that it's only in small patch; the rest of the paintwork is flawless. I've asked Hyundai is this is an issue they're aware of; it could have been a batch of cars in a particular colour and will report back once I've heard back from it. [UPDATE]: I've spoke with Hyundai and it hasn't had any issues, so, that means my case is likely to be isolated. I'll be taking the car back to Hyundai next week for them to have a look at the paint… will report back.
Now, for the heated and ventilated front seat… in my neck of the woods it's still very much a case of 'winter is here' and so switching on the ventilated seats is not on my to-do list, but in the name of science I did just that earlier today. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't the icy chill that blasted up my back and then began to turn my legs to blocks of ice shortly after… if you've been watching Game of Thrones, I'm likening the sensation to Jon Snow falling into the icy water last Monday night.
So, to answer our reader's question about how well the ventilated seats will work during the warmer months, I can say very well indeed. I switched mine to full blast, but turning them down to either one or two will still have a cooling effect. I can well imagine this switch getting a work out during an Australian summer and making a big difference to turning up to a backyard barbie as cool as a cucumber.
This week's highlight: Apple CarPlay. Cleverly, Hyundai's i30 offers owners the choice of using the native sat-nav or connecting your smartphone and making use of the respective operating systems's in-car experience. But, one thing that stands out with the i30 and it's not something that all infotainment systems with CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity offer, and that is the choice of not diving straight into CarPlay or Auto once your phone is connected.
Plug-in your phone into the i30 and the infotainment screen will keep the native sat-nav map on one half of the screen and, for me and my iPhone, a small green C displayed at the bottom of the other half of the screen. This means you can connect your phone to keep it topped up on charge without having to have an abbreviated version of its screen displayed on the car's screen and then navigate back out to get to one of the car's native functions… or choose to deep dive into your phone.
18 August 2017 – Into the city, the country and to the soccer
THIS WEEK the Hyundai's been busy but not quite as busy as I'd hoped… it had a quick run out on one of my favourite stretches of road in the Blue Mountains; the road that runs from Blackheath down into the Megalong Valley. Interestingly, this is the one of the roads that Hyundai uses when testing its ride and handling combinations.
Indeed, if you read our recent news piece on the Genesis G70 testing in the Blue Mountains… well, it was this road the G70 was being driven along. Moving on.
The road carves its way down from the mountain top to the valley floor dropping down several hundred metres. It's steep, tight and twisting, is filled with humps and bumps and is one of the best roads I know for finding all the weak spots in a vehicle's chassis and steering… and brakes. And then, on the way up, how well the engine copes under the strain of the steep climb and constant corners.
Our Hyundai i30 SR Premium is still very new with less than 600km now on the clock, so my drive down into the Valley was a little bit less enthusiastic than if the thing had at least 1000km under its belt. But the big revelation for me was just how well the front-end handles both hard mid-corner holes and bumps without shimmying off line or jolting through the steering wheel. The compliance of the suspension in general coupled with the fact that it rides on 18-inch alloys show just well this thing has been tuned for Australian roads.
After my drive down into the Megalong Valley, a meeting in the city meant the i30 had to ferry me into the guts of the Big Smoke. While there's been some moaning about dual-clutch transmissions, I've got to say the thing proved smooth at low speeds as we crept through Sydney's usual all-hours-of-the-day gridlock. I could have used the native sat-nav to guide me to my destination, but with the address already pre-loaded on my phone, connecting via Apple CarPlay made the whole trip very easy.
For those who spend weekends schlepping around from child's sports game to child's sports game, I'm happy to report the i30 SR Premium works a treat as a soccer mum or dad car. I coach my son's soccer team and so have to carry around the kit bag and all the balls. They fit easily into the back of the i30 as you can see.
This week's highlight: This week I want to briefly touch on the Lane Keeping Assist functionality in Hyundai's SmartSense active safety suite. Only available on variants fitted with a DCT, the lane keep will alert you if you've wandered while also gently steering you back into your lane… I took my hands off the wheel, not something you should be doing, and watched the wheel turn to describe a fairly long corner. It held the turn for a few seconds before letting go quite abruptly which saw the steering spring back to the straight ahead. It's a good set-up and one that's designed to assist if you're momentarily distracted, like checking in the rear vision mirror or adjusting the air-con, but it doesn't mean you can take your hands off the wheel and think the i30 will actively steer you around a corner… you need to keep your hands on the wheel.
11 August 2017 – The Hyundai i30 SR Premium joins our fleet
IF YOU'VE READ any of our Hyundai i30 reviews you'll get the distinct impression that we're just a little bit impressed with the third-generation model. And we kind of liked the second-gen i30, too. But, driving around in a car for a week and then giving back the keys is a little different to living with one for any real period.
In the week, we have our test cars we try and do as much with them as possible to replicate an ownership experience. But, there's no substitute for time and so we'll be living with the new Hyundai i30 SR Premium to see if, as I'm on record as saying, that it's the new small car benchmark.
Last week when I tested the entry-level i30 Active I said how much I enjoyed it and that if you didn't want, need all the fruit or were shopping on a budget then it represented real bang for your buck. And while I've been happy to live with that car for a few months, I'm secretly very happy indeed that Hyundai decided to offer the top-spec SR Premium instead. Besides offering more kit and a nicer interior there's a lot more to explore and talk about with this thing.
Recently we received a question about how well the new i30 will hold together compared with, say, a Toyota Corolla over a five-year period. Well, I won't be able to answer that question definitively, but I will be able to get part way there with this weekly series of updates on our long-term i30 SR Premium.
I've only just picked up the i30 and have only added around 110km to its delivery specification odometer reading of 196km. And those kays were all freeway from Hyundai's head office in Sydney to my home perched on top of the Blue Mountains. But, before we get into my initial impressions, let's explore the i30 SR Premium and look at what you get for your $33,950+ORC (see the image below that details the step-change from SR to SR Premium).
Hold your hand over the name of the car and look through the features list and you could easily be forgiven for thinking you're looking at a premium brand vehicle. The SR Premium offers heated and ventilated front seats; I can remember testing an E63 AMG half a dozen years ago that had these fitted and now they're being fitted to a $30k Hyundai i30… Our long-termer comes with plenty of standard kit to the point that there aren't any extra cost options except for metallic paint at $495.
So, what do I think of the i30 SR Premium SR so far. Well, I like it. I'm going to drive it responsibly during the run-in period but I did give it a bit of a squirt on the drive home and I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this car. The turbocharged 1.6L four-cylinder is a very nice little engine with a decent amount of shove offering 150kW and 265Nm of torque; although it feels like more torque. Our car has the seven-speed DCT that we also tested this week in the i30 Diesel. Obviously, because it's bolted onto a different engine, the DCT in the SR Premium has none of the hesitancy in on-off throttle situations and responds cleanly to the paddle shifters on the steering wheel.
The leather seats are nice and grippy without being too tight and, even with the front seats set to suit me I'm still able to sit comfortably behind. The middle seat is a perch but the flattened off transmission tunnel means an adult could use the seat in a pinch.
The boot offers 395 litres of storage space but the floor can be set at two heights, meaning there's a little bit of hidden storage space on top of the space saver spare when you raise the floor. There's a net latched to the tie-down points which makes for a mess-free drive home when the boot's full of groceries.
This week's highlight: It would be remiss of me not to mention the panoramic glass roof on our i30 SR Premium. I'm not generally a fan of these things as the sun-blinds are generally sub-par at keeping the sun out. But, the blind in the i30 is excellent, so much so, that if you didn't point out the roof passengers probably wouldn't notice. So, full marks to Hyundai for fitting a proper sun blind to the panoramic roof.
Next week: The i30 SR Premium will get a baptism of fire as it spends a week on the school run and gets put through its paces on my ride and handling road. I might even get to put a short video together.
It will be refreshing to read (hopefully) some 'real world' relevant reviewing and useful comments for this vehicle. For example, how strong are the headlights and high-beam at night on an unlit road, what is the reversing camera display like in a dark area, how does the vehicle handle and brake in the wet, does an optional full-size alloy spare fit OK under the raised boot floor and what is the effect on power with four persons on board? Just to name a few.
A test drive doesn't allow one the opportunity to check those noted – and other – 'real world' situations.
I look forward to reading your future updates (and comments).
Isaac, you mention again in your latest video that buyers can buy a full size spare. Sorry to keep harping on about it, but as far as I can tell a full size spare still isn't available as an option (despite John Cadogan's recent video stating one would soon be available). My local dealer knew nothing about it – and quoted me over $1,500 to buy another full size wheel!
There's every chance I'd buy an SR if I could get a full size spare – without having to pay a ridiculous $1,500 for it.
Many thanks, Isaac.
$500 is sure a lot better than $1,500, and nothing beats the feeling of security you get when going on a long trip knowing you can get a flat tyre and not have it completely ruin your day.
The last two flat tyres I had were both well over 200 km from home – imagine doing that trip at 80 kph max!
When I test for rear headroom, I sit with my backside all the way rearward in the seat squab (to avoid lower back pain caused by slouching) adjust the headrest to the supportive height and then place my head on it. By doing so, your head is rearward of the scalloped section for the sunroof and indeed touching the roof lining causing you to slouch, then hello lower back discomfort! Thanks for your pic anyway Isaac
I re sat in the back of my wifes i30 premium with the glass moon roof and followed your suggestion and adjusted my head to a supportive height and placed my head on it. Mate I'm 6ft 1″ in old scale 184.5cm new scale and my head still dosn't touch the ceiling..Ben you must be long in the trunk from bum to head because your agood 4 inches/100cm shorter than me in height. Go figure ?
Hi Isaac, happy to see youv'e joined our Lover of i30 pregade .As I mentioned last post , fantastic car to drive and great interior.. Dropped in and saw my mate in charge of sales at the Hyundai dealership last week , and he stated what millions of others have thought and stated over the look of the new i30." If I can get them past the look of the car and get them to drive it, they fall in love with it", it's a world beater ". Got to love Hyundai. Have you seen the Hyundai i30 station wagon being released soon, it looks identical to the i30 coupe only stretched longer, exactly same roof lines.
After I expounded the virtues of the PD Hyundai i30 to a friend (who is a spray painter), he decided to view a few PD i30's at a dealership.
From a paint finish perspective he wasn't impressed.
"There was 'see through patches' [poor paint coat coverage] on some and 'orange peel' on a few others. With the 'patches' they probably used the 'base colour tint added to the undercoat/primer coat' trick; it lets them use less base coats, it's bloody hard to colour match and even harder to blend."
"And when you finally do pick up the 'see through patches' and or the 'paint peel' a few months after you had driven it out of the dealership, it won't be their problem it'll be yours."
"You might be OK with one painted in 'small-goods' white. Or else give it six months and see if the Hyundai painting robots have lifted their painting game."
After his words, I think need to see if my friend would agree to check the paint-work on my new car, before it is driven out of the dealership.
The issue of 'orange peel' with PD Hyundai i30 has been noted in the 'Hyundai i30 2017 Review' on July 03, 2017 by the 'Motoring' car review site.
Hi Isaac, I just read your 'Long term review – 30 Aug, and thought it was a great review I was particularly
interested in your comments regarding the i30's low road noise levels. Road noise levels are a number one priority in choosing my next new vehicle. I presently own a Golf 7 Comfortline, and find that he road noise levels are 'just' acceptable, but I would like prefer them much lower. It's good to read reviews that
mention the vehicle's NVH levels, as some of our country roads have course chipped surfaces, which I travel on frequently. I look forward to reading your upcoming reviews on different vehicles.
G'day Isaac,
I read the description of your "test loop" and had myself thinking……
Coxs River rd > Lowther Siding rd > Jenolan Caves rd back to Great Western hwy is 28km, but to complete the loop would be 33km (more than your stated 27km).
Then I saw some of your photos. Was I warm (like the SR hatch you are punting)?
The fact is, the Lancer is a relatively cheap (compared to most others), and usually reliable transport. There is nothing wrong with recommending one.
Even though it is an older design, I have driven one for 8 years, without a single problem. That's a record in my car history.
Yes, the latest i30 is more modern, but never discount the real value of reliability.
People want to be able to jump in their car and go. Every day, every time. The Lancer does this very well. And the latest GSR continues this tradition.
Saying that, I am not saying that the i30 is unreliable, merely that I think the Lancer cops a raw deal from those ignorant of it's qualities.
We will be updating soon, which is why I am reading this article, so I do like the new i30. But I will not bag the Lancer after our own 8 year experience, which has been faultless. There are very few cars you can say that about.
Hi Tanya!
If your definition of "good" = the best/greatest overall, then of course the i30 SR if both are asking the same price.
Thing is, without negotiating, the Lancer GSR is currently asking around 15% less. The i30 SR is still in front if you won't miss the extra $5,000 or so. But have a look at an i30 Active first, especially if you do not need all the extra features and the turbocharger etc. That way, you will still get a "good" car and pocket some significant savings.
But if it is my money, my definition of "good" (i.e. something that rides and handles adequately + mechanically proven + does not cost the earth to own, run, and maintain + passes with flying colours, a proper independent professional pre-purchase inspection that I pay for myself etc.), and based on my usage pattern (i.e. low km/year), a 3-year-old Lancer GSR – essentially the same car – can cost up to 55% less to buy (based on the cheapest one currently available with less than 20,000km), than the cheapest PD i30 SR. That is a deal that I personally find difficult to walk past for around $17,000 saving upfront. I would also consider any other well-maintained CJ/CF Lancers with 7 airbags. Or any well-maintained used YD Cerato Si/SLi. Or a new YD Cerato S, albeit at a slightly reduced saving.
Kind regards,
Your 30th August weekly instalment was a very good read; I was lifted from a melancholy mood after the first read. And just as with the previous weekly reviews, the answers to some of the questions from the posted comments were succinct, relevant and informative; all resulting in giving me an insight into the Hyundai i30 SR that could never have been gained regardless of the number of test drives undertaken. Early days I know, however when you take a night drive in an unlit area, I'd appreciate knowing how strong the headlights and high-beam are, and what the reversing camera display is like in a dark area. Keep up the great work.
I've been in the market for a small car recently and was greatly interested in the i30. Really, I think the amount of technology, features and performance packed into the car is amazing and at a very reasonable price. Unfortunately though when I took it on two extended test drives I found some things that aren't mentioned in the mainly very positive reviews.
For me the greatest issue was the seats. They're too firm and shaped in such a way to cause me sciatica after 15 minutes of driving (literally pain in the butt). This is something I've never experienced in cars before except on very long road trips – no amount of adjustment helped on the SR or SR Premium. Also, the suspension which is lauded by many reviewers is also too firm for a comfortable commuter especially at speeds of 60km/h or less on bumpy roads (which are common as dirt in Australia). The too-firm suspension, in tandem with the large low-profile tyres, transmits every little bump and large jolt to the car's occupants. It actually was enough to cause my Dad to get car sick when sitting in the passenger seat, which never happens in any vehicle we currently own.
Cabin noise is also a problem: wind noise is low but tyre noise is variable. Usually it's ok but over coarse chip roads it's deafeningly loud. Others have reported that changing out the stock Hankooks for a quieter tyres helps. Finally, the sound system in the i30 is below par; not clear at all (nice that it has DAB radio though).
In short, I wanted to buy the i30 based on everything it has on paper but on the road it was too uncomfortable a ride. As a result I had to fall back on my second choice: the VW Golf Comfortline, which was a much more comfortable ride. It's handles coarse chip roads with no problems and has a much better stereo system. But I wish it had the i30s engine and Hyundai's 5 year warranty. Hopefully, Hyundai can put the SRs petrol engine in one of its comfort models, then people like me will be able to buy one.
The i30 Active lacks the more powerful turbo engine and safety tech that made the SR attractive to me in the first place so I didn't consider it. There are rumours that the safety tech will be offered as an optional extra sometime soon which will be good for those who are happy to stick with the last generation engine to save some money. In the end the VW Golf was a package that better suited my needs even though I'm not a fan of VW as a manufacturer (in the past they have released immature products to market which have had huge reliability problems).
Your last sentence has been my only thought since the i30's release.
Perhaps try to buy some 16″ i30 Active alloys from Fleabay or Gumstick, as people often upgrade the wheels when they buy the base model.
This is the only way that I would buy a Mazda 3 with the equipment grade required.
Petrol (the standard variety) please. We don't do diesels in Australia. Petrol's our default position. It's very like the default English position of driving manuals. All that century of 'tech' topped off by a nut (driver) who may or may not change gears at the optimum time. Funny (weird) that. perhaps "The Poms' want to keep the manual on future autonomous cars. Go figure.
Hi Isaac. I have the i30 SR, had it for about 3 weeks. Love it for all the same reasons you do. With Android Auto, I just can't get into a good routine of plugging my phone in/running it all. Do you use a cradle or a short USB (I have a longish cord and it looks tacky/plays havoc with my OCD haha) or something that makes it quick and easy? Any tips around how you use it all would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the reviews, I've found more things to love about my car because of them.
As one who is of the view that 'lane-keep assist' (steering intervention) is the work of fiendish minds – catering for those who should hand in their car keys for a public transport pass – I was hoping that Practical Motoring could share their views on the steering of both the i30 SR manual and i30 SR Premium – on a straight piece of bitumen.
Whilst most Aussie car scribes salivate about the ability of the i30 SR motoring through a set of curves, I have read the following review comment – for the i30 SR manual – from an Aussie car scribe:
"You receive a good balance of feedback from the road, except at higher speeds. In our opinion it can feel a little nervous to keep in a straight line, and it tends to require effort to keep in lane. Part of this is down to the less-than-perfect electric steering."
I look forward to reading your views.
I've only driven the SR on rural motorways for about three hours so far but I hadn't noticed any difference in the amount of effort to stay in the lane from other cars I've driven. If there was I would expect to have noticed it straight away rather than later after getting used to the car.
I'm wondering if the scribe had the lane keep assist turned on. I have noticed that if you turn it on you do get a weird effect where it might disagree with you about where exactly the car should be in the lane and you are steering against it.
Yes, I totally agree with your assessment Andrew. In your last sentence where you state in part, "you do get a weird effect where it might disagree with you about where exactly the car should be in the lane and you are steering against it" . I couldn't have 'nailed it' any better! In my otherwise seemingly perfect late December '17 Turbo i30SR, Premium [DCT], the 'lka' does exactly what you've said. My wife says that I have a penchant for keeping closer to the driver side (usually centre) lane to which I say. "Yes maybe. My dear;" (remember I'm talking to her now), "I like to be just a 'smidgen' closer to centre line rather than 'dead centre' in the lane" and she comments that she prefers dead centre as the default position. Andrew, I'd love to be able to adjust the 'lka' to my preference (& vice versa for her). And I agree that given this, at times I seem to be "steering against it" as you say. thanks …
Hi Alan, the LKA won't activate if you're actively using the steering. Meaning, if you're actually crossing the line deliberately then the system will do nothing other than warn you that you've crossed a line. If, however, it senses you've crossed a line, that the indicator isn't on and that there's been no steering input, meaning, that you've wandered across a line instead of turning to follow the road then it will gently steer you back into the centre of the road.
Believe me, the system in the i30 is a good one. I never turn it off in our long-termer and that's because it barely ever intervenes. If you want to experience a truly rubbish LKA system than test drive a new Camry; it's like having someone grab the steering wheel and reef it sideways and then immediately let go. The result is you end up counter steering against the violence of the 'assist'. Horrid. – Isaac
Thanks Practical Motoring/Isaac re the LKA . Both Andrew (above me) & I have what is probably temporarily a slight issue, but my wife is fine with it. I just love the car & wish I saw more around Melb metro & beyond. (nb. between my wife & self, we have over 60 & 55 years of total non-collision motoring.) Hoping, all this 'tech' "helps facilitating" our "careful style" mutually developed since the nineteen fifties.)
Isaac, with the heaven opening, how does the Hyundai i30 SR Premium conduct itself in the wet?
Also, which vehicle are you referring to in your piece contained in (Latest Instalment – Crashing Cars… Or Not), "(unknown vehicle)…had (the) AEB systems react to a concrete lane divider mid-corner and try and take me from 80km/h to 0km/h in the space of a few metres."?
I got my brand new i30 SR December 22nd 2017 and on Xmas day my lane keep asisst and basically the multifunction camera that is responsible for forward collision warning, AEB and lane keep assist failed.
Hyundai has replaced the entire system under warranty. It was a faulty camera. Not impressed but glad that at a retail worth 5k it's been replaced and fixed! I also find it intrusive and have set it to just lane departure warning, best to keep the assisted steering on a long stretch of road such as freeway when driving long distance, other than that it's very strange have the wheel nudge you in different directions, almost dangerous to be honest!
We've got the current PD Hyundai i30 SR Turbo DCT Premium 'with the lot', bought brand new, not a demo.. Thus far we are 'stoked' but on a learning curve re all the 'tech'.. I could go on, but will spare you. I'm following with interest the general discussion and especially Isaac's Long Term Review of this car. Finally, I must say that it's a bit disconcerting in that I've only seen half a dozen new (PD) i30's (of any sub-model) on Melbourne roads as of today, 21 Jan '18. The 'GO' strategy is obviously a 'fall-back position' which I believe will reinvigorate i30 sales. I tend to think that Hyundai was perhaps, over excited by its own 'Euro look' hype & hence, predictions (& pricing) for the PDi30. In the long run, I expect the i30 will regain its sales composure.
Graham, the thought of an invisible hand taking control of the steering of my car i.e., via lane keep assist (LKA) isn't almost dangerous, IT IS DANGEROUS… full stop.
Just imagine if a passenger in the seat beside you lent over and repeatedly prodded your steering wheel. I would be certain that after intervention of that nature you'd pull on over, open the passenger door, then give the interventionist a push out off the door and then you'd drive off.
And lane keep assist (LKA) is deemed as a safety requirement; heaven help us. Fortunately as you have noted, you can set the intervention witchcraft to just 'lane departure warning' mode.
Which brings me to the Hyundai i30 SR manual; during my test drives I found the Hyundai i30 SR manual to be very engaging, with an enthusiastic engine that worked wonderfully with the manual transmission.
What I also found appealing about this model is the lack of autonomous safety electronic driving intervention witchcraft. I like a good drive; just add some sweet sweepers and a receptive vehicle, and that car and me will get those 'cats-eyes' clicking, without some dark invisible force telling us otherwise. I do however find that the standard safety electronic driving intervention witchcraft that is fitted to be very helpful, i.e., Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Blind Spot Detection.
I do question the 'across the board' safety validity and functionality of safety electronic driving intervention witchcraft; especially after reading your comments – and similar from others – about (LKA) and then reading Isaac's comments in (Latest Instalment – Crashing Cars… Or Not):
"…had AEB systems react to a concrete lane divider mid-corner and try and take me from 80km/h to 0km/h in the space of a few metres."
Trust me; the irony isn't lost on me.
So, would I pay thousands of dollars for a safety suite that lacks safety validity and functionality in the real world?
Absolutely not.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Lem's Love Advice
Hi all,
Welcome to the special February edition of the Argo advice column! As you may remember, we answered reader-submitted questions once upon a time (i.e. last year). Fortunately, we were able to bring in a (not certified) love expert to celebrate Valentine's Day by answering some of your burning questions about romance (and travel and grades). Enjoy!
– Nadine & Julianna (Editors-in-Chief)
"Hey Lem! Over quarantine, I met this guy who I think might be my SOULMATE. We share the same zodiac sign, favorite number, interests and music taste. And although I've made multiple failed attempts to get him to like me back, I refuse to give up on this obvious chemistry we share. How do I get this guy to like me back without telling him to like me back? Thanks x" – Promiscuousgirl113
Hey PG,
If you have obvious chemistry with this guy, then surely you must also have the same favorite element on the periodic table. Just kidding, that's fake science, unlike astrology (This joke was made by Nadine, my boss. She's also incidentally the Captain of the Science Team).
I feel like I should tell you about the psychology of love or something, but I re-read your question and realized it would be futile.
The problem here is that YOU AREN'T COMPATIBLE WITH PEOPLE WHO SHARE YOUR ZODIAC SIGN. Matching zodiac signs conflict with each other. Any self-respecting astrologist could tell you that. No matter how many times you attempt to get him to like you back, you're doomed by fate. Sorry. But if you hope to valiantly defy your cruel destiny, you can always follow in the footsteps of Welsh hero Lleu Llaw Gyffes by spontaneously transforming into an eagle and being reborn.
Ok, this comes off as super pessimistic. But in all honesty, the most obvious answer is that maybe you're not as compatible as you might have thought. And it's not because you're "not good enough," it's because they can't fully appreciate how good you really are. Even if you were to "get this guy to like you back," you'd probably still be doing all the work in the relationship. It's not worth it to be this fixated on one specific person who doesn't seem to appreciate you when there are, as they say, "many fish in the sea." If they don't like you, they don't deserve you.
But I agree there may be chemistry here. You both clearly are interested in similar things, and you, at least, see potential here. I don't know what these "attempts" are, but it seems like you've been dropping hints rather than being straightforward with your feelings. And guys are TERRIBLE at picking up on that kind of thing. If you like him, just tell him that you like him. Anything short and they may miss it. Guys can be pretty dense sometimes.
If all else fails, Nadine suggests that you get a full natal chart compatibility reading.
"WHY IS CONSTANTLY LISTENING TO HIS SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS NOT ENOUGH TO GET HIM TO FALL IN LOVE WITH ME? : (" – EmogirlXO
Hi Ms. Girl,
It's not enough to obsessively listen to his playlists. You have to go ahead and shoot him a non-threatening correspondence informing him that you're listening to them. Otherwise, how will he know? Other things to include:
- A catalog of the places and people they've interacted with for the past week
- Listed names in chronological order of their childhood pets and how they inevitably met their untimely demise
- Their tax returns
- A picture of your favorite stuffed animal, to show them how cute it is!
Unfortunately, listening to their Spotify and hoping your brainwaves transmit to him is not a viable way to convince him of your irresistible charms. It's only when they know you're interested that they'll like you back. That's also the only way you'll develop a substantive relationship where you can get to know each other (not to say that music is not a good basis for a relationship – immaculate vibes are very romantic). And the only way to do that is to interact with them in a way that shows them how much you clearly care.
"i have a terrible gaydar and i can never tell if girls just want to be girl friends or girlfriends 🙁 i like someone right now but i'm scared she's going to be weirded out if i say so" – Bisexual in Black
Hello BIB!
I'm not bi, so I may not be qualified to fully answer this question. But I do also like people from time to time.
In 1935, some musty old dude named Schrodinger did a thought experiment that would undoubtedly have PETA setting up angry demonstrations in Animal Crossing if it were to happen today. You place a cat in a box with radioactive material and a monitor with a 50 percent chance of detecting it. As long as you don't look in the box, according to the laws of quantum physics, the cat is alive and dead at the same time. It's only when you open the box that the possibilities resolve. Point is, modern scientific regulations on cruel and inhumane experiments are killing all the fun.
Think about yourself as the scientist and the cat is your relationship.
Wait actually, that sounds really dumb.
Whatever, I'll dig this hole a little deeper.
There are literally only two possibilities here:
- The cat (your relationship) lives, and a huge scientific breakthrough happens. Congrats! They like you back — and no cats had to die in the process.
- The cat (your relationship) is poisoned.
Let's look at option 2 here, because it's where this whole analogy falls apart.
Just because they don't like you back doesn't mean that anything dies. While it is possible that it could make things a tad awkward, it's more likely that, as friends, you'll be able to fall back on whatever brought you together in the first place.
But the radioactive frustration of not knowing seems to be killing you, more than any hypothetical poison might.
Ok yeah, this is a really roundabout way to say "dude just ask them out."
And then you say, "But I'm scared she's going to be weirded out if I say so."
You're not alone — this is a major concern for a lot of people. The solution, and the most important aspect of any relationship, is to make the person feel comfortable saying no. Make sure they know that nothing changes if they turn you down and that you are willing to take no for an answer. As long as they feel comfortable making the decision that they truly want, you can count on them to at least continue being your friend. And if a single question can tear a friendship apart, how strong was that friendship to begin with?
You've got a modern thought experiment on your hands. I'll have to keep an eye on my cat around you though.
"How do I survive Term 3 and get those 6 juicy A+'s?" – anonymous
Hello Mysterious Stranger,
I like to think about grades like how I play Papa's Hotdoggeria — you start off trying to please everyone and get that sweet 97+ percent, only to realize that 100 percent isn't possible because freaking Roy never likes how you place the tomatoes on his hotdog since they're always slightly tilted. And then you realize: who even puts tomatoes on their hotdogs? Why do they always have to be positioned at a 180-degree angle just for you to get enough tips to survive on more than minimum wage? I guess the point is that there will always be little things that you can't help about classes, because just like how you're not a bot that can get perfect scores on everything and please everyone grading you, you don't always have the steel nerves to keep your mouse still enough to evenly spread ketchup on every hotdog without dripping a little bit on the drink. There will always be times when you mess up, but that doesn't mean that you're screwed if you get two out of three tickets on a weekday and can't access all the extra content after the day ends. There's nothing wrong with trying your best and still aiming high, but make sure to appreciate the people who enter your life and practice self-care. Everyone knows that the real reason why people play Papa's games is for the character outfit customization segment, anyways.
The socio-economic implications of Papa's Hotdoggeria aside (Rest in Peace Adobe Flash), you're talking to someone who has never earned a single A+. Ever.
So basically, just do the exact opposite of what I do and you're good. Budget time wisely and don't fulfill obligations (read: the Argo advice columns) the day before they're supposed to get done. Reward yourself for finishing assignments by taking short breaks, but don't play bootleg Flash games during them, or you might never get back to work ever again.
At the end of the day, however, remember that A+'s aren't everything, especially if they sacrifice time with friends and family or mental well-being. Good grades are important for sure, but making straight A's your end goal in life is pointless. Even if you don't make straight A+'s, if you've tried your best, that's a reason to be happy in and of itself.
"How can I not be single for the rest of my life?" – anonymous
Steal the scroll of seals and become double through the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Naruto does it all the time.
"Lem, do you think that a trip to the Maldives is worth it?" – anonymous
Hi anonymous,
Uhhh, probably not right now, the Center for Disease Control has designated the Maldives a Level 4 (very high) COVID threat. In addition, the U.S. government warns that terrorist threats in the Maldives have increased due to instability generated by COVID… this isn't to scare you or anything, Maldives is usually a lovely and really safe travel destination but yeah, not right now pls.
With that being said,
Whether or not a travel destination is worth it or not depends largely on your own budget and preferences, so while I think the Maldives is a lovely tourist destination, I can't make that judgment from your perspective. What I can do, however, is give you a bit of background.
Our first major concern is cost. The cost of a trip to the Maldives is on the higher end: the average for a one week trip can be as low as 420 (haha funny number) dollars. But more likely, you'll be paying a few thousand if you want the full experience. Of course, these prices can vary depending on several factors. The first is time. The cheapest time to visit the Maldives is between May and October, the tourism off-season. But if you want the signature warm tropical climate the Maldives is known for, you can spend a bit more and go between December and April. The second factor is whether or not you're being frugal with your spending. The Maldives are known for their luxury resorts, which can run you 1000 dollars a night or more, and their cheaper guest houses, which will only be a fraction of that cost. Food and transportation are generally cheap. The average tourist expense for these per day in the Maldives is around 60 dollars. Once again, however, if you're staying in a luxury resort or a high-end area, these prices go up.
Another concern is the environment. The Maldives is hot and tropical year-round. If you're looking for warm tropical vibes, the Maldives is a perfect fit, especially during the dry season (November to April). The Maldives are a cluster of small islands that aren't conducive to adventurers (people who want to stay on the move to different tourist attractions). If you're more of a relaxer, however, the Maldives is a good choice.
When choosing travel locations, it's always important to understand their social aspect. The Maldives is made up of thousands of islands, some of which are man-made, and some of which are uninhabited. Climate change has caused some of these islands to start disappearing and has also caused a lack of drinking water (most drinking water is just recycled and remineralized). The local population of the Maldives is pretty much 100 percent Muslim. This has several implications: no pork, no tobacco, no alcohol (except for in designated resort areas). Bathing suits and revealing clothing are generally frowned upon, and public displays of affection are illegal (no kissing :\). If you visit during Ramadan, the month of fasting may affect the opening hours of local stores. Be sure to bring a lot of cash, especially U.S. dollars, as sometimes you can get lower prices by paying in American currency and there are limited ATM machines on the islands. In terms of festivals, the Maldives has several. Events such as the Whale Shark Festival in August and the Kuda Eid Festival in October show vibrant glimpses into Maldivian culture and religion. Such festivals should not be treated as simple photo opportunities — they are connected to the soul of the Maldives and should be respected as such.
The last concern is sand. There's sand.
The Maldives offer unique experiences, with their bioluminescent beaches and snorkeling right next to a huge variety of marine wildlife. Whether or not it's worth the price tag? That's up to you to decide. Oh — and don't go during the COVID pandemic. Thank you for submitting to the love advice column and hope this helps!