Hyundai i30

As mistakes go, it was a rather big one. Not a monumental cock-up, like allowing the people who brought us Paris Hilton, the Olsen twins and country music to control the world's economy, but at least as bad as giving Jason Donovan a recording contract, for example.

The problem? Hyundai didn't bring enough diesel models to the launch of the new i30cw wagon. Normally the thought of specifically requesting a diesel triggers my gag reflex, but in the case of the Koreans' fantastic little city car, it is the only palatable choice.

We've currently got an i30, powered by the 85kW, 1.6-litre turbodiesel, in the office garage and we've sprouted compliments about it on these pages in the past, so I was quite looking forward to being impressed by the wagon version.

But I wasn't. Not on the 314km drive route. Nor on the rest of the elaborate launch, which included a scenic flight in an old plane that looked better suited to a Columbian drug runner and a urine-inducing hot air balloon flight 2,000 feet above the Hunter Valley.

This is because I was lumbered with the 2.0-litre petrol version of the wagon which, while putting out a supposedly respectable 105kW, is blessed with the almost comical ability to scream like a freshly speared rhinoceros when the gas pedal is mashed, without actually moving any faster. The engine was paired with a four-speed automatic box that strained impossibly hard on the ambitious and bendy drive program, which didn't help.

It wasn't until we returned to Sydney that I finally weaselled my way into a manual, diesel version for the drive back to Top Gear Tower. And the crappy roads linking Hyundai's headquarters in Sydney's suburbs with the CBD proved the best driving experience of the previous 24 hours.

The difference is staggering. This car is built around the low-end torque of a diesel - and the 1.6-litre's 255Nm is plenty to pull the car around town. Anything else feels heavy and lethargic, like an over-fed elephant, or Kyle Sandilands, in comparison.

Despite my concerns about the petrol version, there's little doubt the Koreans are onto another winner here. The i30 hatch was Australia's fourth best-selling small hatch in February, and now Hyundai will throw in the extra space of a wagon for $1,500 more than the standard car - or $20,890 total for the base model

Space in the backseat has been increased and the boot is substantial, without being massive. Meanwhile, the interior quality rivals that of its European competitors with soft-touch plastics covering the dash with Hyundai's usual swag of shiny knobs and shiny buttons to keep the Gen Ys amused.

But please, for the love of God, stick with the diesel.

Andrew Chesterton