O E TO DO IT ALL.
The Hyundai i30N was the new kid on the block when first released in 2017, having many individuals from around the globe eager to get behind the wheel, since it was Hyundai’s first proper attempt at a hot hatch to compete with the likes of the already well established Honda Civic Type R, Volkswagen Golf GTI and Renault Megane RS to name a few.
To be competitive the N-Division at Hyundai gave the i30N a 2.0L inline four-cylinder turbocharged engine; producing a respectable 202kW’s of power and 353Nm of torque (378Nm overboost) all being sent to the front wheels through a limited slip differential, which is necessary to reduce any inherent torque steer.
Automotive journalists after experiencing the new high-performance version of the i30 hatchback for the first time ended up having nothing but praise for it, both on public roads and the race track it exceeded expectations. Consequently making it very clear to the other manufacturers that they had a serious new competitor on their hands in the hot hatch segment thanks to Hyundai’s N-Division.
The team responsible for the i30N is run by Albert Biermann, who you may have heard of before if you know a little about BMW’s and their M-Division, since he was previously the M-Division’s Vice President of Engineering over at BMW prior to joining Hyundai in 2015 to Head their new N-Division.
Biermann clearly knows what he is doing when it comes to making a performance car, he was such a big part of BMW for 32 years and was even coined as the ‘father’ of the E30 M3 race car - The irony of coming from the E30 and going to the i30.
Knowing who Biermann is, it was no fluke that the i30N was to be as shockingly good as it is. A few notable M-Division like details can be found throughout the i30N, such as; LED rev counter warm-up lights, heavy sport+ steering, drive mode customisation and adjustable seat squabs, most of which i’ll touch on after looking into what the ’N’ actually stands for.
BMW M3 E30 Race Car
The all-important letter ’N’ wasn’t chosen by accident and their are a few reasons as too why. The Nurburgring of course would come to the forefront of any petrol-heads’ mind first and this would be partially correct since the Green Hell is indeed home to Hyundai Motor’s European test centre where the car was further developed after having the majority of testing done prior in Namyang, which is home to Hyundai Motor’s global R&D centre in Korea. Combined both the Nurburgring and Namyang create the overall foundation of the ’N’ and what it stands for. In addition to that when looking at the ’N’ logo itself you can see that it resembles a chicane, which too adds to the idea of performance and a brand that is specifically targeting those who love to drive.
Then of course there is the fact that ’N’ comes after ‘M’ - which is ironic and definitely more of a coincidence.
The i30N I got the chance to drive was actually a Fastback variant (with the Luxury trim and a sunroof). The Fastback was first released later in 2019 and does have a few noticeable differences to the hatchback version. On the inside the Hatchback has blue stitching around the cockpit whereas the Fastback has red, the sunroof on the Fastback is about half the size due to the way the roofline comes down rather than staying flat like on the Hatch, I also believe the boot space is larger on the Fastback. On the exterior the differences are obvious (as you can see in the images provided) and come down to a personal preference on which style you’d prefer. Performance wise, the Fastback originally had the slightly more compliant suspension (has since been changed on the Hatchback too), the Fastback also does have the better aerodynamics due to its unique body shape.
Fastback
Hatchback
Now that you’re all up to date lets get on to my experience behind the wheel of the hot hatch. First off, its worth mentioning that I cannot compare the i30N to the aforementioned competitors since I haven’t personally been more than a passenger in them, but don’t think that takes away anything from what I say about the car since I have of course previously owned two front wheel drive cars (’97 Celica and ’02 Integra Type R) and driven many others, therefore have some experience with the layout.
Taking a seat inside the i30N Fastback I was greeted to a very comfortable and well bolstered synthetic suede and leather sports seat which had plenty of adjustment (12 way) and a two-seat memory system. The Luxury Pack also features many things, such as; push button start, heated front seats and steering wheel, wireless charging pad, power folding mirrors etc. The leather steering wheel was rather a nice size and felt rather premium among a lot of black plastic elsewhere. The plastics didn’t bother me though, the interior is still well put together and copies that of the lower models just with extra amenities, features and N logos which is how a hot hatch should be, because by definition it is just a high-performance variant of a regular hatchback. While waiting for the car to warm up before taking it for a spin I noticed some orange coloured LEDs lit up from 5500rpm to the redline, these lights would slowly start to disappear as the car warmed up to show how far you could safely rev the car out, a really cool feature which has been utilised by the M-Division at BMW for years - thank you Mr. Biermann.
Its worth the mention too, that the sunroof works remarkably well and all off of the one button (both tilt and slide), it would be a no brainer for an extra $2000 - I had it open the entire time.
Driving off in the i30N I was pleasantly surprised at the heavy steering in the sport+ setting, to which I had everything set to begin with. Coming from a front-wheel-drive background I can honestly say this was the best steering feel I’ve ever had in one, extremely responsive to all steering inputs and had a similar weight to my Toyota 86, which is a huge compliment to give a front-wheel-drive hatchback/fastback. You’ll notice right away too that the clutch is extremely light and very forgiving, it has a high pick up point though so you aren’t accidentally putting your foot through the firewall after driving almost any other manual car. The shift feel is solid and rather notchy which gives you a feeling of precision, it’d make a perfect daily driver as far as manual transmissions go.
Once driving for a while I reached the twisty roads recommended to me by the dealer, this is where the car in ’N’ mode really showed its true identity. The i30N rode over bumps on the road with ease and no bump steer to mention (an issue I had in my Type R), the steering was very confidence inspiring even on the worst surfaces and under load. The brakes were extremely responsive and easy to modulate, making later braking possible on the twisties.
The i30N has sufficient power too with the torque slightly pulling the steering wheel to either side when going flat out in first or second gear, but it was nothing that two hands on the wheel for a moment couldn’t solve. While spirited driving, the i30N didn’t have the torque steer issue and had the perfect amount of punch to keep the drive entertaining between corners. Entering each corner it would stick to the road on turn in with no noticeable understeer and a tiny bit of oversteer bias, which is very unique coming from a car that powers using the front wheels - very easy to control and correct though and only really happened when going hard into the tighter corners. The Fastback truely inspired confidence with no lack in grip also, thanks to the Pirelli P-Zero tyres.
Interestingly, there were times that the car actually felt like it was going slower than it truly was; you’d think you were doing 60kph for example but looked down and it would display 75kph. Its as if you’re obliged to push the car a little further to get the same feeling of excitement that you would from my 86 at the same speed for example. Nonetheless, this is not to say that the i30N isn’t playful on the street, cause it definitely is, with that lively exhaust note and beautiful sense of confidence on turn in and tremendous throttle response on the exit - it’s a blast on the twisties.
Now, the exhaust. The pops and crackles had begun to make themselves heard the most by the back roads, echoing off of nearby rock walls.
Before driving the i30N I was under the impression that each pop and crackle would happen rather systematically, but was proven wrong, at times I was expecting a pop or two from the exhaust but nothing happened and other times I was pleasantly surprised by multiple at random times, this makes it feel a little more organic even though it is actually programmed. Hyundai have done a great job with the exhaust, it creates an extra layer of excitement for the overall driving experience and coming factory on a car makes the entire package that much cheaper and more appealing if you ask me - a major selling point no doubt.
As good as the exhaust note is for an inline four-cylinder (which it is THAT good), at times I’m sure it’d loose its novelty, at which point you press the ‘Drive Mode’ button on the steering wheel (can even be done while driving) to close the exhaust valves and have the car sounding like a regular i30.
Not only are there various drive modes available to select from, but you also have the choice to go through each option one-by-one and select what you want activated and deactivated. For example; if you were on a spirited drive down the mountains where the surface was quite uneven you could have everything still set in ’N mode’ except for the suspension, which you could have in a softer setting so that the car wouldn’t be bouncing around too much - this is done in ’N Custom’. This ’N custom’ drive mode can be setup any which way you see fit and you’ll see the dash light up purple in colour rather than red in ’N’ mode, green in ‘ECO’ mode and grey for both ‘Normal’ and ‘Sport’ modes. In the price bracket where the i30N sits ($40k - $50k AUD) there is nothing that offers as many drive modes and especially not one that you can individually customise, which is another serious selling point of this car.
Another cool feature is the auto rev-matching, the feature causes the car to blip the throttle itself on downshift. While it did work work surprisingly well, when owning a manual I find much more satisfaction doing it myself and thats what I did other than testing out the feature. Even so, it is cool to have such a feature for either learning or the track and is very accessible to turn it on/off at anytime by the push of the ‘REV’ button on the steering wheel.
Heading back to the dealership I momentarily put the car in its ‘Normal’ drive mode where it serious felt like a regular i30. The suspension, steering and throttle response became a lot less urgent, making the car a lot easier to live with on a daily basis, like when in town or stuck in traffic. It seriously felt like a different car, its a car you can drive each and every day to work with ease and on the weekends put it in ’N’ or ’N custom’ mode and take it for a spirited drive or a track day. If I was to own just one car and didn’t have all the money in the world, the i30N would have to be that car because it can do it all. To sweeten the deal it also has 7 years of warranty and that includes a special track warranty, therefore showing just how confident Hyundai is in their product.
So the i30n is a great performer in all areas you can think of on the road, has great on-board tech, a solid powerband, 5-seats, a long warranty period which includes the track and comes in at under $50k AUD. This car is seriously amazing value for money and would be the perfect choice for a car to do it all. I think there may even be a Performance Blue Hatchback with my name on it in due time.
