This design looks very familiar...
Hyundai's i30 N hot hatch is here
Hyundai's i30 N hot hatch is here
At last, we give you Hyundai’s first proper hot hatch. The i30 N has been teased for months – we’ve even driven a prototype – but at last we know all the numbers and have had a peek at how it looks.
The looks you may still be digesting, so here’s a run through the numbers. It’s front-wheel drive, with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo providing the power. There’s a base 247bhp tune, or a Performance Package car, which gets 271bhp. Both have the same amount of torque – 260lb ft – and both have a 155mph top speed. The Performance Package is 0.3sec quicker at completing 0-62mph, at 6.1secs.
But you do want the Performance Package. That’s because it also adds an electronic limited-slip differential, gets inch-bigger 19in wheels wrapped in very grown up Pirelli P-Zero tyres, rides a little lower and gets a variable exhaust system. It’s a hot hatch, so you want it to make a little noise, right?
Both cars come as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox – no paddleshift option – which gets launch control and rev-matching tech, so the car heels-and-toes for you on downchanges. The new Civic Type R also does that, but here you can simply turn it on and off with a button on the steering wheel. A more driver-focused process than the Honda…
Steering wheel buttons also switch the car through its various suspension and drivetrain modes. The N button is the one to press to put the i30 N in its toughest, feistiest modes. The stability control can be turned completely off, but also has a middle Sport mode for a bit of extra self-preservation.
The looks you may still be digesting, so here’s a run through the numbers. It’s front-wheel drive, with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol turbo providing the power. There’s a base 247bhp tune, or a Performance Package car, which gets 271bhp. Both have the same amount of torque – 260lb ft – and both have a 155mph top speed. The Performance Package is 0.3sec quicker at completing 0-62mph, at 6.1secs.
But you do want the Performance Package. That’s because it also adds an electronic limited-slip differential, gets inch-bigger 19in wheels wrapped in very grown up Pirelli P-Zero tyres, rides a little lower and gets a variable exhaust system. It’s a hot hatch, so you want it to make a little noise, right?
Both cars come as standard with a six-speed manual gearbox – no paddleshift option – which gets launch control and rev-matching tech, so the car heels-and-toes for you on downchanges. The new Civic Type R also does that, but here you can simply turn it on and off with a button on the steering wheel. A more driver-focused process than the Honda…
Steering wheel buttons also switch the car through its various suspension and drivetrain modes. The N button is the one to press to put the i30 N in its toughest, feistiest modes. The stability control can be turned completely off, but also has a middle Sport mode for a bit of extra self-preservation.