Hyundai i30 N Performance: PH Fleet
Our time with Hyundai's 275hp hot hatch is finally up - and we're rather sad about it
The muscular tone of that 2.0-litre four-pot up front and the gargle of the twin-pipe exhaust behind - sadly it's all a distant memory now. The i30 N is gone. Flawed, fantastic and now much missed with the winter setting in. No car left on the PH fleet is quite so good at turning the commute home into a night time rally stage. Or burrowing under the skin when all the day needed was pops, crackles and growls at the end of it.
No less lovable than its Sport+ mode was the ability to flick it all off again. It was brilliantly fun when the circumstances were right - like when you're faced with mile upon mile of traffic-free B-road - but in other scenarios, the car's quietened 'Normal' setting ensured that the i30 N never seemed like a one-trick pony. It made for a rather nice place to be - stuck in traffic or not.
If that makes it all sound a bit Golf GTI-like, then so be it - certainly that was the connection we were inclined to make upon receipt of Hyundai's first ever (proper) hot hatch back in the summer. But now, after a much longer relationship, it's clear this car is a quite different proposition to the perennial class leader from Germany. Its talent is just as broad - thanks to its maker's endless benchmarking - but this is far more adept at indulging the silly end of the spectrum.
For starters, the i30 N never fully shuts up like the Golf. So wound back is a GTI in Comfort mode that it'd be easy to confuse it for a base TSI. The i30 N never stoops so low. Were you blindfolded and in ski gloves, you'd know you were certainly not in a stock Korean hatchback. The burly engine note and always-weighty steering ensure that. The difference is that the i30 N is a sports hatch that's easy to live with, rather than a family hatchback with an attitude.
True enough, there are downsides to this approach. The car never exactly proved frugal, for example. Averaging 29mpg on a sedate motorway journey is fairly awful in a modern context. It made us think twice about taking it on some journeys - and that's a demerit in the big book of hot hatch excellence. On the other hand, it always felt like it was only a squeeze of the throttle away from becoming a five-seat touring car again - like it was Usain Bolt in a pair of loafers. And that's rather lovely.
Which leads us to the loafer-less elephant in the room: N Mode. It's been censured elsewhere, and, had we not done a track day, we'd be heading in the direction of the same opinion. No road surface delivered by the UK's topography is worthy of the damper's stiffest setting, that's true. But as soon as those Performance Pack 19-inch wheels and Pirelli P Zero tyres met the asphalt of Silverstone's GP circuit, it all made sense.
N Mode is sublime on track, as it was intended to be. You get motorsport-rigid body control and, in turn, immense confidence - even into very, very high speed corners. Without it, not only would the lap time be slower, the input from behind the wheel would be greater, meaning you'd have less capacity to really wring the car's neck. Most importantly, N Mode makes the whole track day experience that much more exhilarating. Which is kind of the point, no?
For us, the foibles were of a more personal nature. Yours truly, at a not exactly lofty five foot eleven, never found a seating position you'd call spot on, and mostly everyone who drove it felt just that wee bit too high up (save for Nic, of course, who's about four foot nine). The engine, too, is not quite the paragon of hard-edged performance its rivals can claim to feature. Volkswagen's EA888 and Honda's VTEC unit are faster revving and ultimately more sophisticated turbocharged motors than Hyundai's try-hard effort - certainly you get the feeling that Albert Biermann and his miracle workers have wrung everything possible from the powerplant they were handed.
Ultimately, it is their hard work which has paid off. We miss the i30 N already. Excellence across the board was required to top the class (something it didn't quite manage) but it is not needed to convince us of the car's calibre as a proposition for ownership. We'd recommend the N wholeheartedly to anyone, but in particular to someone looking for something a little different - and dead set on having a good time. Because that's what we've taken away in retrospect: on the fun factor Richter Scale, the i30 was an 8.9. Not devastating, or life changing - just a riot when it needed to be.
FACT SHEET
Car: Hyundai i30 N Performance
On fleet since: August 2018
Run by: Sam Sheehan
Mileage: 14,476
List price new: £28,010 (As tested £28,895 comprising £300 for winter pack and £585 for metallic Clean Slate paint).
Last month at a glance: Our hot hatch-cum-wannabe touring car has departed - and we miss it!
Previous reports:
The i30 N joins the fleet
A holiday with a Hyundai
On track at Silverstone
i30 N vs hot hatch royalty
At least the Golf interior is a really pleasant place to be....and that makes a difference as a daily driver....it’s not all about track performance which the i30 does have as an advantage....albeit on that most owners will rarely or never experience.
As long as the seats are comfy and hold you reasonably well and I can see the dials with the steering wheel set right I’m good
I guess if you spend a lot of time in traffic jams it becomes something you ponder on
As long as the seats are comfy and hold you reasonably well and I can see the dials with the steering wheel set right I’m good
I guess if you spend a lot of time in traffic jams it becomes something you ponder on
As long as the seats are comfy and hold you reasonably well and I can see the dials with the steering wheel set right I’m good
I guess if you spend a lot of time in traffic jams it becomes something you ponder on
I like these cars but I don’t like that launch colour.
I'd find that fuel consumption really irritating though, particularly coming from an M140i which has more of everything engine-wise, averages 30 mpg, and regularly gives me low 40s trip average on a journey with a lot of motorway miles in it.
"No less lovable than its Sport+ mode was the ability to flick it all off again. It was brilliantly fun when the circumstances were right - like when you're faced with mile upon mile of traffic-free B-road - but in other scenarios, the car's quietened 'Normal' setting ensured that the i30 N never seemed like a one-trick pony. "
At least the Golf interior is a really pleasant place to be....and that makes a difference as a daily driver....it’s not all about track performance which the i30 does have as an advantage....albeit on that most owners will rarely or never experience.
We went to buy an Volvo XC40 a while ago and wanted the blue exterior colour with the orange interior. They said that we couldn't have it as a colour combination! No explanation.
The i30N is a breath of fresh air where it doesn't take itself too seriously in a saturated segment. I'm looking forward to the coupe version coming out.
I'm more interested in it as a used proposition though. If the PCP GFV being quoted on the Hyundai site is any indicator, you'll be able to pick up a 3 year old one with 36k on the clock for somewhere in the order of £12k. Still with 2 years of warranty left on it as well. That is a lot of car for the money.
Based on the reaction I've had from an admittedly small sample of friends I've talked about the car with, the badge is going to make these a cracking buy after a few years because a lot of people simply don't want to drive a Hyundai, however good it is. People do however want to drive a VW, Audi, BMW etc, arguably however bad it is.
- new, it's an interesting proposition
- used, and properly cared for, it's likely to be a value-for-money juggernaut
and either way:
who isn't interested in a characterful modernist that refutes the usual? this car builds anticipation at what Hyundai and the N series can become over the next couple of years
pity I'm on the wrong side of the Atlantic for this one!
I wouldn't buy one of the N's new but 2 years old it would be a brilliant, solid used buy, and on my list for when the kia warranty runs out at 100k.
Everyone will have a reason as to why they bought or won't buy any car. Everyone is different otherwise it would be a boring world, but I can honestly say the Hyundai N Performance is a great car that can be used everyday transporting the kids around, doing the shopping and the everyday stuff but then can be an absolute riot with the right buttons pressed.
vs
Honestly i don't see either as brilliant but not so far as being anything but a good place to be if you are having a hoot.
As for the comments about the fact it always feels on it rather than off/on. Maybe if you were doing 40k a year it might get tiresome. But there are plenty of cars that are raw all the time but do multiple jobs quite well. Yes the AMG Mercs have all the power and all the presence and all the comfort but they also come with all the price tag.
Give it a couple of years i know which used bargain i will be looking at.
Personally, I love the i30N and like to, instead of comparing it to every other hot hatch out there from brands that are tried and tested, remind myself this is new from a company that lets face it made your moms commuter cheap SUV or city box for the last god knows how many decades. If that is their first foray into a proper drivers car hot hatch then i look forward to seeing what some feedback, money and future development could bring. More so than bl**dy golf and yet another GTI that looks and feels much the same. IMHO.
Old school, slightly raw, and yes, a bit shouty. I love it.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff