IF, IN buying a used Focus-sized family hatchback, you merely want to buy a very good one and pay as little as possible for it, then Hyundai has a proposition for you: the original version of its second generation i30 that sold between 2012 and 2015.

Smart, frugal, spacious and value-laden, this is one car that, in its time, all the other big volume manufacturers were keeping their eye on.

What You Get If there was one area where the original first generation i30 came up conspicuously short of the top family hatchbacks, it was styling.

It wasn’t that there was anything really wrong with that car’s shape: it was just that...well, can you remember what one looked like? No, we thought not.

This MK2 model’s design though, is decidedly more distinctive, with a European feel that hints at Ford with its hexagonal grille or a little at Peugeot in the sharply sculpted wheelarches. But it has its own appeal too thanks to a further development of Hyundai’s now quite familiar ‘fluidic sculpture’ styling theme that’s most obvious in the emphatic swage lines that flare out of the front door before sweeping down into the rear light clusters.

Inside, equal effort has been made and there’s just as great a change for the better.

The cabin might not quite have the build solidity of a Golf or the flair of a Focus from this period, but it’s arguably a more interesting place to be than either of those, only the shiny stalks betraying Hyundai’s budget brand origins.

Fragments of metallic brightwork may clearly be painted plastic but they’ve been carefully chosen and the floating spines that frame the centre console are stylish and neat. Fit and finish from the Czech factory is excellent and the soft-touch textures on offer around the dash show a lot of better established brands how it should be done.

The dials are clear, the buttons large and easy to use and almost everything falls to hand nicely. There’s a neat integrated 7-inch colour touchscreen for sat nav and infotainment on top versions that’s as good as anything you’ll find from a premium brand. And evidence wherever you look of really careful design. The way, for example, that the ventilation and audio controls have been moved further up than they would normally be so that they fall to hand more easily and free up extra storage space in front of the gearlever. There are plenty of other cubbies and compartment for clutter too, including decently-sized door pockets that will each take a 1.5-litre bottle.

Out back, the rather poky boot of the MK1 model i30 was here enlarged, 38-litres bigger at 378-litres. If you need more and want to push the rear bench forward, you’ll find that, instead of the backrest merely flopping onto the seatbase, the cushion flips up properly to facilitate an almost flat load bay with up to 1316-litres of fresh air. If you need more space, there’s the option of a Tourer estate version.

What To Look For As owners have indicated, the i30 is an extremely reliable car. This MK2 model only improves the breed further, with any initial production issues at the Slovenian plant by now well and truly ironed out. Hyundai’s comprehensive five year warranty offered original buyers excellent peace of mind and any car you look at should have been serviced on the button. The only real things you’ll need to look out for are parking knocks and scrapes and any damage to the interior caused by kids.

Overall When it introduced this second generation i30 model in 2012, Hyundai was in the unfamiliar position of having to replace a car that was already pretty good in the first place. It was a nice problem to have. The market expected a smartening of the styling. An improvement in running costs. An addition of hi-tech equipment. And an extra dose of quality. All of which were duly delivered in a MK2 model i30 that’s predictably good and makes a lot of sense as a used buy.

It’s not the most dynamic choice you could make and some other brands seem to offer higher quality cabins or slightly greater efficiency. Add together all the things you actually need from a car of this kind though and it’s hard not to conclude that this i30 provides an awful lot of them. Here at least, the i’s seem to have it.