Dual-clutch auto lined up for i30 N | Update

Hyundai has announced a new eight-speed automatic for the Veloster N. Expect it to be shared elsewhere...

The Hyundai i30 N’s exclusive use of a six-speed manual has only ever added to its enthusiast appeal, but in a world where DSGs and EDCs outsell their equivalents, the introduction of an automatic has always seemed an inevitability. The Veloster N in America has just received its first auto option, suggesting that three years into its life the hot i30 will also soon be given a two-pedal setup – probably the same eight-speed dual clutcher that’s gone into the Veloster.

Hyundai has made no secret of its intent to add such a transmission to the i30 N – everyone up to R&D boss Albert Biermann having confirmed it – but it is a surprise that it’s taken this long. Perhaps the brand had some technical difficulties mating the 275hp turbocharged T-GDI motor with a dual-clutch ‘box, or maybe it wanted to cement the N brand’s enthusiast focus before adding this paddle shift version.

Either way, the talents of 21^st century gearbox tech mean the NDCT car will almost certainly be quicker off the mark, more fuel efficient and cleaner than the manual. Dual clutch ‘boxes are notoriously heavy, so we can expect a slight increase on the i30’s 1.4-tonne kerb weight, but with eight speeds to the manual’s six, the auto should hold an advantage for overall pace. As shown by lesser Hyundais with autos, the Korean brand also knows how to tune refinement and comfort into its transmissions, so a more broadly talented package ought to give the Golf GTI a closer run for its money.

Setting the i30 N auto apart from its rivals will be the car’s N mode, which we already know from the manual to have one of the most antisocial exhaust notes on sale. Expect Hyundai’s N division boffins to maintain the gargles, crackles and pops in the auto, with the quicker shift times helping to enhance the car’s wannabe BTCC character even more. Don’t necessarily expect any more power from the engine, though, the brand having said at the i30 N Fastback’s launch that the i30’s evolution is to centre around chassis improvements instead.

Hyundai UK hasn’t yet been able to confirm to PH whether the auto option will be headed here for sure (it’s chasing an official answer from Europe HQ as you read this), but with Britain being one of the marque’s strongest markets, it does look to be an inevitability. And with the hard work of tuning a two-pedal setup for N division tastes done, you might imagine Hyundai will kick-off the launch of its next-gen i30 N – a car that’s already in the works – with both manual and auto options available from the get go.

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Original story: 15.10.2019

The Hyundai i30 N will be three years old next year (how time flies!) which means a mid-life facelift is due at some point soon; while we're expecting the usual minor tweaks here and there, there will also be some pretty substantial new additions beneath the skin. Top of the expected list is Hyundai's DCT automatic, which Albert Biermann has previously confirmed will make it to the i30 N. But there'll also be further tweaks to the chassis in anticipation of new rivals - another Golf GTI isn't far off, for example - and, somewhat surprisingly, it looks like a new exhaust system is coming, too.

Before we get to the prospect of that likely even more anti-social setup, the seven-speed DCT stands out as the most significant new arrival for 2020. For starters, it'll broaden the i30 N's appeal, while also slightly quickening straight-line performance and knocking a gram or two off the CO2 figures. And it means for the first time the i30 N can join the likes of Ford's Focus ST and VW's Golf GTI in coming with a choice of two transmissions.

The i30 N Fastback was given new bushes and slightly revised suspension settings to match when it launched early this year, improving ride comfort and refinement. Those tweaks will be added to the hatch in 2020, but we're expecting a second batch of chassis updates to accompany them - PH understands Hyundai is keen to rival the Golf's broad chassis talents so this has been high on the agenda during development. While it's not like the i30 N is far from stiff in normal modes (that excludes the teeth shattering N mode!), there's certainly scope for a slackened off comfort.

It won't all be about plushness, however, as illustrated by the new exhaust and wheels fitted to the spied test cars. The twin pipes are of bigger bore and those wheels look ever so racy, suggesting the 2020 i30 N might be even more vocal in its more focussed drive modes - and could be wearing aggressive new details under all that cladding. Such changes would certainly help extend the i30 N's USP against rivals; although it won't necessarily mean more power from the T-GDi 2.0-litre at this stage. Further into the future, however, we're still optimistic of a more powerful option - as previewed by the recent Time Attack carand its larger turbocharger...