The Hyundai i30 Hatch is on borrowed time and this fancy electric hatchback could end up replacing it.
Expected to be referred to as that Hyundai Ioniq 3the new electric hatchback, was introduced in this year’s Three concept and is scheduled to go into production in Turkey in 2026.
In the transition from concept to production car, the Ioniq 3 received conventional exterior mirrors and flush door handles.
However, it has the same rounded wedge profile, including a Genesis GV60-like rear shape, plus sleek lighting up front and a distinctively shaped instrument panel.
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The Ioniq 3 will be Hyundai’s next model to feature the Korean brand’s new Art of Steel design language. This debuted on last year’s Initium concept, which previewed the second-generation Nexo hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) unveiled this year, but still features familiar brand design elements such as square Parametric Pixel lighting elements.
The rounded profile owes more to the defunct Veloster than the more conservative i30 hatch.
The interior bears significantly less resemblance to the concept, although there is still a slightly angular steering wheel and a two-tier center console, as well as a minimalist center console with a single row of buttons.
In contrast to the concept, there are actually free-standing instrument clusters and infotainment screens.
The instrument cluster is slim and set well back, so a head-up display may not be necessary.
The infotainment screen is large and horizontally oriented. Below that are physical switches and buttons for adjusting the climate temperature and fan speed, as well as the heated and ventilated front seats. These switches, in turn, sit above a pair of ventilation slots.
There’s a bridge-style center console, with the top level featuring a covered bin with a padded armrest and a pair of cupholders, while there’s a storage compartment below.
The concept’s silly modular “Bring Your Own Lifestyle” widgets, which Hyundai never really explained, have been banished.
The Ioniq 3 is expected to share a 400V version of the E-GMP platform with the Kia EV4.
The five-door Three hatchback concept was 4287 mm long, 1940 mm wide and 1428 mm high with a wheelbase of 2722 mm. This makes it identical in length to the MG 4 and close to the i30 Hatch in overall size.
The i30 Hatch is 4340 mm long, 1795 mm wide and 1453 mm high with a wheelbase of 2650 mm.
This suggests that the Ioniq 3 will replace the i30 Hatch, at least in Europe. Camouflaged prototypes of a slightly updated version of the combustion-powered station wagon and station wagon have been spotted during test drives, but there’s been no news yet about a new generation of the venerable i30 nameplate.
In contrast, sister brand Kia has just launched a new small car – the K4 – which will not only replace the Cerato/Forte in markets like ours, but will also replace the European-developed, i30-related Ceed in Europe.
The i30 Hatch will be phased out in Australia this year and production for our market will end in December. The i30 Hatch N, also from the Czech Republic, will live on indefinitely. The hot hatch is no longer sold in Europe and is only offered in a few markets worldwide.
The Korean-built i30 sedan, known elsewhere as the Elantra and Avante and riding on newer underpinnings, is unaffected.
A dealer bulletin seen by Daily Sparkz confirmed the discontinuation of the i30 Hatch as well as the smaller i20 N hot hatch – although Hyundai Australia clearly said a “new generation of accessible N products” is expected in 2027, suggesting we’ll get the next i20 N, which will have hybrid power.
It’s unclear whether we’ll get the production Ioniq 3, although Kia will release its companion EV4 here.
MORE: Discover the Hyundai i30 showroom
