Overview
ELECTRIC performance cars can quickly make you forget that there’s more than just velocity that captivates your emotions.
They’re exhilaratingly quick, eerily quiet and have a powertrain so smooth that it insulates almost completely the driver from the under-bonnet action.
Which is why, diametrically, Hyundai’s i30N Premium auto sedan tested ($53,000 + ORC) is such a breath of fresh air.
This thing barks. From morning start up to being garaged in the evening, it’s a thoroughly fun piece of mobility that puts a smile on the face and through its exhaust burble and mechanical symphony, makes it a joy to drive to work.
It competes with other sporty sedans including the Audi A3 quattro ($65,800 plus costs); Mazda3 2.5 ($43,310 plus costs); and Subaru WRX which is $50,690 plus costs for the automatic. Buyers probably couldn’t pass over the Golf GTI ($59,890 plus costs) even though it’s a hatch.
But in sedan-land, only the AWD Sooby WRX can share the kick.
Power comes from a turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol four cylinder rated at 206kW (213kW on over boost) with 392Nm of torque driving the front wheels in the test cars case via an eight-speed dual wet clutch transmission.
The 0-100km/h sprint passes in a claimed 5.3 seconds with premium unleaded disappearing from the tank at a combined average of a claimed 8.5-litres/100km.
On the safety front, the i30 hasn’t had a crash test since 2017 when it was rated as a five-star car. The dated result can’t really be applied to rival sedans in today’s market.
However, the i30 has a decent safety kit, starting with seven airbags (one for the driver’s knees), autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitor, lane departure warning, lane keeping and lane follow, rear cross-traffic alert, and seatbelt warnings.
Included in the recent upgrade is the addition of forward collision avoidance for cyclists and a speed sign recognition program which, unfortunately, missed out on Hyundai’s much-appreciated over-ride feature that allows the driver to manually cancel the warning beeps.
It has a reverse camera but doesn’t have the 360-degree monitor that’s now fitted to most cars. It also misses out on active cruise control, so won’t decelerate ahead of a slower car. That responsibility is now back to the driver.
Inside is starting to show its age in terms of equipment and also in trim. It’s a pleasant cabin, bathed in black – including the headliner – to add to its sporty demeanour.
Last year’s update brought new seats, now with a deeper dish for the front buckets to give better body support while – thanks to materials – increasing eye appeal.
There is also a 10.25-inch screen for driver information (replacing a previous binnacle) that abuts the 10.25-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system.
Other upgrades include three USB-C ports (two in the back) and automatic wipers.
The boot size is 474 litres which is bigger than some hatchbacks. There’s no spare, with a puncture repair kit included in the back.
Hyundai has a five-year, unlimited distance warranty but that stretches to seven years if the car is annually serviced at a Hyundai dealer.
The capped-price service program costs $1160 for three years, $1606 for four years and $1978 for five years.
Hyundai has a 12-month roadside assistance program that automatically renews for another 12 months after the car is serviced at a Hyundai dealer. Under the same terms, you also get free map updates.
Driving Impressions:
Despite the implication that it’s a performance car first, the i30N sedan has a degree of practicality and an oft unseen docile nature that makes it perfectly suited to enduring CBD traffic, freeway crawls and open-road touring.
It’s also stylish. When the i30 N sedan first appeared in 2018 it looked straight out of Europe (where, incidentally, it was particularly designed) and today that sharp nose, broad bonnet and high tail with spoiler still demands attention.
And oh that beautiful noise. The i30N still talks in a dying language of guttural roars and burbles, shrieks and roars, that’s slowly leaving the automotive vocabulary.
The i30N sedan mimics the hatchback version’s powertrain with lots of layers applied to the electronics – working in concert with the driver’s demands – to monitor and adjust the differential, power delivery, time the gear is held, suspension settings and so on.
There’s even the N button to dial up all the ‘sports’ tuning, and the NGS – the N Grin Shift that is a red steering-wheel button that boosts power for a max of 20 seconds, drops one gear lower, and basically makes you grin.
Once you finish, the car requires a cool-down period (40 seconds) which is not enough time to wipe away that grin. It’s a car with a lot of these little surprises and one that makes the journey so much fun.
As mentioned above, the sedan will run to 100km/h from rest in 5.3 seconds (using launch control) which is almost a second faster than the manual transmission equivalent, indicative of the reason the brand selected the wet dual-clutch gearbox over the conventional torque converter box now standard on the non-N models.
In many ways, Hyundai took a hard look at the Golf GTI (and/or R) for its N models. There’s a lot of similarity – size, price, engine specs, output and that gearbox – but the two don’t feel much alike on the road.
The Hyundai is also easier to drive and connects with the driver better, thanks to its reduced use of touch buttons and more logical dash layout.
But the Golf rides better. If there’s one main complaint with the i30 N, it’s the firmness of the ride and the way irregular bitumen makes it feel like the suspension had failed.
On a smooth-ish road, it’s fine. Most buyers will cop that firmness in favour of the roadholding – an area where the i30 N simply shines.
A lot of this limpet grip the sedan has on the road comes down to the low seating position and the sense that the driver is cocooned in a sports-car environment with a small steering wheel, enveloping seats and low side-glass outlook.
The chassis is taut so feels controlled through the bends, while the sharp steering accentuates the nimble character and all this is backed by that seamless engine delivery and the way the gearbox has the ability to predict the right cog.
Overall, there’s not much wrong with the cabin and the dashboard layout and feature list. The manual switchgear for HVAC and the simple steering-wheel controls are logical and easy to use. It’s pleasing that there’s not much need to dive into the touchscreen for ancillary functions.
The compactness of the cabin may make tall and more portly drivers a bit disappointed. Cabin room is limited, mainly because of the low roofline and the centre ‘tunnel’ that limits rear-seat occupancy to two adults.
As already mentioned, there’s a lot to love about this car. It’s docile and very user-friendly (although that ride can hurt) and it goes like a rocket while the test car’s fuel consumption average went as low as 7.5 L/100km (on a slow day in the suburbs and on the freeway) which shows that it truly has a sensible side.
Is the next step for the i30 N sedan to become a more desirable model, one that may join the classics in the future?
Sedans are slowly coming back into vogue, and the body style is spreading to EV brands. This particular car is a good way to keep the dealers, and the owners, happy.