A leading German car magazine recently tapped Hyundai Motor Co.‘s i30 hatchback as the second-best car in the compact passenger vehicle segment based on its economy and environmental impact, sources said Sunday.

Auto Zeitung, a highly respected auto magazine, compared the Hyundai i30 to similar offerings from Volkswagen (VW), Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Ford, Renault and Peugeot.

It said the i30 only trailed VW’s very popular Golf in overall points.

The Hyundai i30 received 3,040 points out of a possible 5,000, the magazine said. The Golf got 3,105.

The news outlet checks the overall vehicle body, comfort, powertrain performance, dynamic driving and economy of the cars to make its judgment.

Besides the overall economy of the vehicle, the Hyundai hatchback ranked high in the areas of body design and driving comfort. It also said the i30 had an excellent steering feel and was well-tuned.

The good score received by the i30 follows on the laurels the hatchback received from other German publications like AutoBild.

“The fact that the i30 scored high even among tough rivals is testament to the car‘s market status,” a spokesman from Hyundai Motor’s said. (Yonhap)