Hyundai's I30 is a car that's meant to change the face of Hyundai in Europe�, according to the MD of Hyundai Motor UK Ltd. Will it, or is this just another empty manufacturer's claim?

Hyundai are making an impact on the UK market in an unprecedented way, and they're everywhere at the moment (try counting them when you're next out).

Part of this must be down to pricing , go to the forecourt and what looks like a low-mileage, second owner price is actually the showroom ticket. There's an assumed pay-off here , many people will look at the ticket value and assume that cheap means poor. You can't get something for nothing, as the old saying goes, and us Brits are a cynical bunch at the best of times. It's in our genes...

The problem with this thinking is the I30 (disregarding, for a moment, the Santa Fe). From the outside, it's relatively meek and mild , nicely styled but not too in your face.

Inside, the story starts to warm up , although at first glance, you might think that you're in any other C-segment car. The seats are comfortable, the steering wheel tilts and telescopes to afford maximum driver comfort. There's air-conditioning, a CD player with information screen , all the usual gadgets and gizmos in other words. It looks, well, normal.

Start the key and still nothing extraordinary happens. If you're trying out one of the diesel options (I had the 2.0-litre diesel), you can tell it's a diesel as it fires before the engine sinks back into a low, comforting thrum. As you'd expect, quite frankly.

Now, at this point, I must confess that I've never been the greatest Hyundai fan having driven quite a number of the older models in my previous existence as a motoring writer. They were OK, and that was about it. I wouldn't get worked up about them.

But the I30 is different, vastly different.

Pulling out onto Felpham Way and heading up Flansham lane, I'm starting to sense that 'something is up'. The diesel engine that I expected to be 'OK' pulls like a rocket and I have to reign it back. Every light brush of the throttle is rewarded with a controlled surge of power. This could be fun.

It's not until I hit the national speed limit that I can drop a cog and see what this beast can do. It's quick, far quicker than I would have expected even for a 2.0-litre , and for a diesel at that. It handles really well on the gentle curves of the A259. The steering has a nice neutral spot at top dead centre; there's no fighting with it through the potholes, no listing off to one side and certainly no following of the camber. This is good.

The gearbox is a real gem, it's smooth and solid with a firm change. It's neither long nor short throw but somewhere in the middle , and somehow this works. Too long a throw and I'd get bored getting it out of the gate, too short and it would feel like the car is trying to be something that it isn't. It is just right.

The ride is equally in the middle of two extremes. It's firm and I get the sense (although I am probably wrong) that it's adaptive , although this could be due to the full IRS. I didn't find a huge amount of difference between cruising down the A259 and heading over speed bumps on the way to the office. The I30 accepts whatever you throw at it with a surprising amount of grace and panache.

It's all very well tootling around town or booting it up to the national speed limit on straight or slightly bendy roads. The true test of any car is on the real twisties , of which there are depressingly few on my road from Bognor Regis to the office.

However, there is a superb little double S-bend coming off a roundabout on the way down Titnore Lane. It's not a massive bend, but it's enough.

Giving it a bit of juice going through the tightening left hander, I expected plenty of understeer and a little slide. But not in the I30 , the ESP kicked in and the car carried on going in the direction I was pointing. This is a real positive inclusion with the I30 , not only does it increase driver safety, but it increases confidence as well. You get the real impression that the I30 is solid, stable and safe.

I've had my opinions of Hyundai changed radically. Yes, the forecourt prices are low, but I can't find any area that has been omitted nor corner cut.

The I30 is a well-rounded, sporty five-door benefitting from clever design, good build quality and excellent driving dynamics. Will it change the face of Hyundai in Europe, however? If my experience is anything to go by, the answer is a resounding 'Yes'.