RE: Hyundai i30 N | PH Used Buying Guide

RE: Hyundai i30 N | PH Used Buying Guide

Author
Discussion

ecsrobin

17,117 posts

165 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
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greenarrow said:
I've also wondered why the 308 GTI didn't get more praise and coverage, considering its usefully lighter than any other full fat hot hatch on sale and seems to do the business on road and track. I wonder if it is because the 308GTI was a very good car, but not class leading against something like the Civic Type R and the Renault Sport Megane 275 which was still on sale when it was launched and therefore always likely to be overshadowed by its illustrious class leading ancestors such as the 205 and 306 GTIs, whereas the Hyundai was a first effort from a marque with no history of building hot hatches and therefore considered more laudable and surprising as a result?

Certainly anyone considering an i30n should take a look at a 308GTI first.
GR Yaris is lighter and with AWD.

boozyjay

172 posts

66 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
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4BB7 said:
boozyjay said:
I ran a 308 GTI 270 for 3 years. It's a vastly underrated hot hatch and they go for silly money now, brand new and second hand. Mine never put a foot wrong, I even got used to the small steering wheel and the infotainment system. I'd have another no problem at all.
Hi. I'm looking to buy one next month, do you have an tips for things to look out for? My budget is 15k and there isn't many for sale at all at the moment. Plus there's the reality now that I might not be able to test drive before buying.

I've read about the pistons in the front calipers seizing, did you experience this? Anything else tk look for?

Any advice would be appreciated. Cheers.
Alcon brakes, discs and pads are expensive to replace so check if they have been changed or need to be changed. Extended Peugeot warranty is cheap and worth having for piece of mind. Glove box is tiny (really tiny!) but apart from that I fully recommend one. I sold mine a few months back and regret it, you won't see many about so they are a bit exclusive, I think I saw about 4 others on the road in 3 years of ownership. I had no real issues with the infotainment, the phone was tricky to use on the move so I really didn't dial out, but all the other controls are fine (sat nav is road only not postcode but is easy to use) I found the interior was well built. Seats are well comfy and they massage you too. it's economical, fast and I think the tax was about £200 per year.

Kev_Mk3

2,765 posts

95 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
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271 bhp not 275bhp (most rolling road just over 260bhp)

Performance blue peels off for fun with stone chips etc and the Pzero HN tyres are shocking.

4BB7

20 posts

51 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
quotequote all
boozyjay said:
Alcon brakes, discs and pads are expensive to replace so check if they have been changed or need to be changed. Extended Peugeot warranty is cheap and worth having for piece of mind. Glove box is tiny (really tiny!) but apart from that I fully recommend one. I sold mine a few months back and regret it, you won't see many about so they are a bit exclusive, I think I saw about 4 others on the road in 3 years of ownership. I had no real issues with the infotainment, the phone was tricky to use on the move so I really didn't dial out, but all the other controls are fine (sat nav is road only not postcode but is easy to use) I found the interior was well built. Seats are well comfy and they massage you too. it's economical, fast and I think the tax was about £200 per year.
Thanks for replying, I appreciate it.

That's really useful. How would I know if the brake calipers/discs had been changed? Will this be recorded in the service manual/log?

boozyjay

172 posts

66 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
quotequote all
4BB7 said:
boozyjay said:
Alcon brakes, discs and pads are expensive to replace so check if they have been changed or need to be changed. Extended Peugeot warranty is cheap and worth having for piece of mind. Glove box is tiny (really tiny!) but apart from that I fully recommend one. I sold mine a few months back and regret it, you won't see many about so they are a bit exclusive, I think I saw about 4 others on the road in 3 years of ownership. I had no real issues with the infotainment, the phone was tricky to use on the move so I really didn't dial out, but all the other controls are fine (sat nav is road only not postcode but is easy to use) I found the interior was well built. Seats are well comfy and they massage you too. it's economical, fast and I think the tax was about £200 per year.
Thanks for replying, I appreciate it.

That's really useful. How would I know if the brake calipers/discs had been changed? Will this be recorded in the service manual/log?
Depends who you buy from. I kept all my receipts for the new owner so don’t discount buying privately as the seller should know a fair bit about the history of the car. A main dealer would do checks on the pads and discs prior to sale as one of the checkpoints I would have thought.

4BB7

20 posts

51 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
quotequote all
boozyjay said:
Depends who you buy from. I kept all my receipts for the new owner so don’t discount buying privately as the seller should know a fair bit about the history of the car. A main dealer would do checks on the pads and discs prior to sale as one of the checkpoints I would have thought.
Okay great, thanks a lot!

WelshPetrolhead

670 posts

135 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
quotequote all
3 Years old in a few months, and 22k miles in. It's ace. No issues whatsoever. Servicing costs are reasonable. Mid 40s are attainable cruising on a long run MPG wise, most of the time I'm averaging mid 20s.

I'm terrible for changing cars but I'm most likely keeping this when the PCP is due up. Anyone who can't see past the badge is missing out on a cracking bit of kit. I've had 2 Audis and honestly cant see me going german again.



ecsrobin

17,117 posts

165 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
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Not forgetting head of the N division is German wink

Baldchap

7,631 posts

92 months

Monday 22nd February 2021
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Limpet said:
CG2020UK said:
5 door models leak, water pump will definitely fail,
These were both common issues 20 years ago on the mk4. Can't believe VW are still struggling with these.
They certainly didn't affect either Mk7 I had, nor the other one in my family.

greenarrow

3,588 posts

117 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
ecsrobin said:
greenarrow said:
I've also wondered why the 308 GTI didn't get more praise and coverage, considering its usefully lighter than any other full fat hot hatch on sale and seems to do the business on road and track. I wonder if it is because the 308GTI was a very good car, but not class leading against something like the Civic Type R and the Renault Sport Megane 275 which was still on sale when it was launched and therefore always likely to be overshadowed by its illustrious class leading ancestors such as the 205 and 306 GTIs, whereas the Hyundai was a first effort from a marque with no history of building hot hatches and therefore considered more laudable and surprising as a result?

Certainly anyone considering an i30n should take a look at a 308GTI first.
GR Yaris is lighter and with AWD.
A brand new GR Yaris is not a rival for a second hand i30n or 308GTI which we are discussing here! It is also in a different sector, being super mini derived rather than small hatch derived. Horses for courses and all that.

RB Will

9,664 posts

240 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Those commenting things like, heavy steering, harsh ride etc did you just jump in a whack the N mode button or have a play with the settings?

When I had a test drive I just stuck it in N and had a laugh, bought one and drove home in N. Got a little uncomfortably bouncy on a section of B road.
It was only upon reading the manual I realised that 2 presses of the N mode button got you into N Custom mode where you can configure about 8 settings to do with chassis and drivetrain. Unlike other cars Ive had changing the settings actually makes a massive difference, even my not at all interested in cars wife can easily tell the difference from the passenger seat.
My N Custom setting is softest suspension, lighter steering then everything else wound up to near max, engine response and rev matching toned down a tad as otherwise its a bit jerky when not on it.

culpz

4,882 posts

112 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
RB Will said:
Those commenting things like, heavy steering, harsh ride etc did you just jump in a whack the N mode button or have a play with the settings?

When I had a test drive I just stuck it in N and had a laugh, bought one and drove home in N. Got a little uncomfortably bouncy on a section of B road.
It was only upon reading the manual I realised that 2 presses of the N mode button got you into N Custom mode where you can configure about 8 settings to do with chassis and drivetrain. Unlike other cars Ive had changing the settings actually makes a massive difference, even my not at all interested in cars wife can easily tell the difference from the passenger seat.
My N Custom setting is softest suspension, lighter steering then everything else wound up to near max, engine response and rev matching toned down a tad as otherwise its a bit jerky when not on it.
I do the same with my Cupra and tend to leave it in that mode all the time, but i have the steering whacked up too, as the Comfort setting for that is so sloppy and vague. I know there's a lot more customisation on these though.

bungle

1,874 posts

240 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
Went for a walk this afternoon, and saw one for the first time in ages. Dark grey, looked really smart, sounded good as well.

ecsrobin

17,117 posts

165 months

Tuesday 23rd February 2021
quotequote all
greenarrow said:
ecsrobin said:
greenarrow said:
I've also wondered why the 308 GTI didn't get more praise and coverage, considering its usefully lighter than any other full fat hot hatch on sale and seems to do the business on road and track. I wonder if it is because the 308GTI was a very good car, but not class leading against something like the Civic Type R and the Renault Sport Megane 275 which was still on sale when it was launched and therefore always likely to be overshadowed by its illustrious class leading ancestors such as the 205 and 306 GTIs, whereas the Hyundai was a first effort from a marque with no history of building hot hatches and therefore considered more laudable and surprising as a result?

Certainly anyone considering an i30n should take a look at a 308GTI first.
GR Yaris is lighter and with AWD.
A brand new GR Yaris is not a rival for a second hand i30n or 308GTI which we are discussing here! It is also in a different sector, being super mini derived rather than small hatch derived. Horses for courses and all that.
I was addressing the very specific point you made that the 308 is usefully more lighter than any other full hot hatch on sale. Wether it’s from another class or not it is a hot hatch and competes for sales with the “full hot hatches” as you put it.

Cornish Pete

69 posts

87 months

Wednesday 24th February 2021
quotequote all
Wow. Didn't realise how well they're holding their value. Thought I saw some brand new discounted Fastbacks in the low £20k's last year so was expecting the hatches to have fallen further.

I'd certainly consider one of these. Sounds like a lot of fun. Even if only until the novelty of playing with the various settings wears off.

Sat in one a couple of years ago and did the usual prodding, poking and squishing. I was very impressed with how well built it felt. So disappointed to hear they have niggles.

BevR

682 posts

143 months

Thursday 25th February 2021
quotequote all
Cornish Pete said:
Wow. Didn't realise how well they're holding their value. Thought I saw some brand new discounted Fastbacks in the low £20k's last year so was expecting the hatches to have fallen further.

I'd certainly consider one of these. Sounds like a lot of fun. Even if only until the novelty of playing with the various settings wears off.

Sat in one a couple of years ago and did the usual prodding, poking and squishing. I was very impressed with how well built it felt. So disappointed to hear they have niggles.
Yup, they had a black Friday offer in 2019 that was somewhere around £23k, I was very very tempted.

RB Will

9,664 posts

240 months

Thursday 25th February 2021
quotequote all
BevR said:
Cornish Pete said:
Wow. Didn't realise how well they're holding their value. Thought I saw some brand new discounted Fastbacks in the low £20k's last year so was expecting the hatches to have fallen further.

I'd certainly consider one of these. Sounds like a lot of fun. Even if only until the novelty of playing with the various settings wears off.

Sat in one a couple of years ago and did the usual prodding, poking and squishing. I was very impressed with how well built it felt. So disappointed to hear they have niggles.
Yup, they had a black Friday offer in 2019 that was somewhere around £23k, I was very very tempted.
I only paid £26k for mine brand new in Autumn 2020 so IF its still worth £18-19K in 3 years I'll be well happy.

Limpet

6,309 posts

161 months

Thursday 25th February 2021
quotequote all
BevR said:
Yup, they had a black Friday offer in 2019 that was somewhere around £23k, I was very very tempted.
I was getting Carwow quotes in Jan-Feb 2020 (just before lockdown hit) of £23k on PCP for a Performance Blue N Performance model. There just wasn't (and still isn't) anything that gets even close new for the money, IMO . Had it not been for Covid, I would have gone ahead.

Having to stump up £19k for a 3 year old one doesn't seem anywhere near as good a deal, even if it does have 2 years of warranty left.

I have a lot of faith in the fundamental mechanical integrity of these cars. As well as Biermann's oversight, a fleet of these was serially abused all day at the Millbrook events by (and in front of) hundreds of prospective punters (one of the challenges was to simply rev the knackers off a stationary car and see how many decibels you could register, and another was a 0-60 challenge), but Hyundai's warranty also covers non-competitive track use. It smacks of a decent amount of faith in the product on Hyundai's part.

MG CHRIS

9,083 posts

167 months

Thursday 25th February 2021
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Wonder if the 5 year warranty is holding prices firm more people keeping hold of them so less 2nd hand ones out there.

WelshPetrolhead

670 posts

135 months

Thursday 25th February 2021
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Mine was £26.5k in May 2018, so I'm doing well I guess.
Dealer has called me numerous times trying to get me into a new one, including a dealer contribution, due to "lack of used stock". Probably part of their spiel though.