Toyota Corolla vs Hyundai i30 – Side-by-side snapshot

Read below for a quick side-by-side comparison of two of Australia's most popular small cars, the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30.

A base variant of each can be obtained for well under $30k, with performance spec vehicles available for both models.

• Body styles
• Comfort & Practicality
• Driving
• Boot Space
• Safety
• Warranty & Servicing
• Verdict – Toyota Corolla
• Verdict – Hyundai i30
• Specifications

Body Styles

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is available in a more affordable five-door hatch, or the dearer four-door sedan body style.

Above the regular range sits the hardcore GR with a stiffer reinforced body shell.

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Hyundai i30

The Hyundai i30 is available as a five-door hatchback or four-door sedan. All variants are front-wheel drive and the nameplate competes in Australia's sub-$40,000 small passenger car segment.

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Comfort & Practicality

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla’s interior is comfortable and well-packaged – at least for front occupants – with some visual interest found further up the variant tree.

The Corolla’s isn’t the most spacious or cutting-edge cabin, but the materials will certainly stand the test of time.

Skipping the fleet-focussed Ascent Sport is wise as the interior’s drowned in firm grey plastics. The core design is pleasing enough, though, with a shapely, contemporary dash that has pleasingly simple and intuitive controls.

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In Ascent Sport guise, the manually adjusted seats are trimmed in hardy cloth, while the coarse polyurethane steering wheel and shifter are far from joyful. Walking up to the SX maintains a conservative colour palate, but the leather-wrapped control surfaces make for a big jump in perceived quality.

Learn more about the Toyota Corolla's comfort and practicality in our range review.

Hyundai i30

The i30 is spacious for a small car and both the hatchback and sedan are comfortable, with their cabins scoring points for finish and presentation.

Because it's a Hyundai, the infotainment system displays well and is easy to operate. All other controls fall easily to hand and are logically grouped: audio and infotainment on the main display and ventilation lower on the dash.

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The hatchback has slim bottle holders in the door and two cup holders in the centre console. Automatic variants in Active spec and above don't have a manual handbrake so the console is uncluttered and everything is easy to use.

A 2021 update brought leather to the steering wheel and gear selector knob, a minor upgrade that yields a huge improvement over the shiny, slippery plastic of the previous i30.

Learn more about the Hyundai i30's comfort and practicality in our range review.

Driving

Toyota Corolla

As far as small cars go, the Toyota Corolla is one of the more dynamic with good steering and an exploitable chassis across the range – the AWD GR is a true driver’s car.

There are two main ingredients in the Corolla’s polished chassis: its TNGA underpinnings which have revolutionised driving experience across much of the Toyota model range, and independent trailing-arm rear suspension that separates it from mainly torsion bar-equipped rivals.

It results in a car that rides smoothly in base trim on small 16-inch alloys and pillowy eco tyres but also provides adjustability and driving enjoyment in the sporty ZR with its bigger rims and stickier Dunlop rubber.

This also provides an excellent platform for the AWD GR Corolla, with its extra bracing and stiffer suspension bringing true driving joy and engagement to the Corolla range.

Read more about the Toyota Corolla driving experience in our range review.

Hyundai i30

One of the reasons this third-generation i30 has been so impressive from launch is that it drives really nicely.

While the entry-level 2.0-litre petrol engine is hardly what you’d call characterful or exciting, it does the job quietly, whether hooked up with the well-sorted six-speed automatic transmission or six-speed manual.

The ride is comfortable and smooth and if you find yourself on a twisty road you'll enjoy its decent balance and accurate steering.

If you’re a keen driver, a stretch to the sporty N-Line is worth the extra coin, with its sporty Michelin tyres and multi-link rear suspension setup in place of the more basic torsion beam setup found in regular i30s.

Read more about the Hyundai i30 driving experience in our range review.

Boot Space

Toyota Corolla

A range of boot sizes feature across the Corolla range depending on trim level and body style, but none are particularly spacious – a common complaint for this generation of Corolla.

The best is the 440L sedan, with a measly 217 litres in the five-door hatches.

The ZR hybrid’s cargo area climbs to a more acceptable 333L, achieved by removing the space-saver spare tyre from under the boot floor and replacing it with a puncture repair kit.

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2023 Toyota Corolla ZR hybrid hatch boot

Hyundai i30

The five-door i30's cargo area is 395 litres, which is good for a small hatchback. Its rear seats can be folded 60:40 and folding the lot down brings an impressive 1301 litres in which to carry stuff.

Even with the full-size spare wheel, you can adjust the height of the boot floor. At its lower setting, capacity is maximised but there is a large step up to the rear of folded seatbacks. Raising the floor gives you a flatter extended load space.

You’ll score more boot storage in the i30 Sedan, which offers 474 litres. There is a huge aperture that allows for bulkier items to protrude into the cabin through the 60:40 split seats.

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2021 Hyundai i30 Sedan Active

Safety

Toyota Corolla

When tested by ANCAP in 2018, the Toyota Corolla was awarded five stars. This rating applies to all models except the heavily re-engineered GR models, which are unrated.

To get extra safety features including rear cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, and parking sensors, you’ll need to fit the convenience pack to the base Ascent Sport or splash out on a higher grade such as the SX.

Hyundai i30

The i30 hatchback has a five-star ANCAP safety rating that was awarded when the third-generation model arrived in 2017.

Curiously, the sedan has no ANCAP safety rating because, with no European NCAP crash test data to draw upon and changes in crash testing protocols, Hyundai decided not to submit the car for costly ANCAP testing, despite a large number of cutting-edge safety inclusions.

Hyundai Australia naturally insists it is safe and with its suite of active safety features together with the fact few Hyundai models have had issues with ANCAP testing, it's reasonable to take the company's word for it.

Warranty & Servicing

Toyota Corolla

The Toyota Corolla is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. Keeping your servicing up to date at a Toyota dealer will see this extended to eight years for the hybrid powertrains.

Service pricing is capped for the first five years. Maintenance is due every 12 months or 15,000km on regular Corollas. The GR Corolla is a little more involved, needing to see a spanner every six months or 10,000km.

Find Corolla service pricing details in our range review.

Hyundai i30

All Hyundai i30s, including the racy Ns, are covered by the company's five-year / unlimited-km warranty, along with an initial 12 months of roadside assistance – extending by a year every time you service at a dealer.

Standard i30 variants including the N-Line, have service intervals of 12 months or 15,000km.

Find i30 service pricing details in our range review.

Verdict – Toyota Corolla

Verdict – Hyundai i30

Corolla vs i30 Specifications

Full Range Reviews