Hatch a real catch

A GIANT killer from South Korea has been named this year’s News Corp Car of the Year.

The i30 N is Hyundai’s first attempt at building a high-performance hatchback and it has managed to leapfrog revered names such as the Subaru WRX and Volkswagen Golf GTI.

The hatch has a race-car style set-up, allowing you to adjust the car’s suspension, steering, throttle response and exhaust note on the run.

It’s the type of tech you see on high-end German luxury performance cars with six-figure price tags, but the i30 N starts from less than $40,000 plus on-roads.

“If BMW did a front-drive performance hatch, it would be like this,” judge Bill McKinnon said.

That’s no coincidence, as Hyundai poached the head of BMW’s performance division a couple of years ago to develop a range of sportier cars.

The i30 N was developed in Korea but honed on Germany’s famed Nurburgring race track.

It’s a watershed moment for the Korean maker, which started out in the ’80s as cheap and cheerful transport for the budget buyer and came of age when the standard i30 hatch won our Car of the Year award in 2007.

“It’s a car that will still be talked about in 10 years’ time,” judge Iain Curry said.

The i30 N beat a highquality field of nine other finalists, narrowly edging the excellent Subaru Forester SUV in the final vote. The Mazda6 was third.

This year’s field was dominated by SUVs, which accounted for six of the 10 finalists, reflecting the trend away from traditional hatchbacks and sedans. SUV sales overtook passenger car sales last year and the gap has widened since. Their popularity has led to fierce competition among the 50 or so car brands and buyers are reaping the rewards.

In the first year since the shutdown of the local car industry, this year’s Car of the Year was a cosmopolitan affair. South Korea had the most entrants in the field with three, while Japan had two. Sweden, France, Germany, Czechoslovakia and the United States had one each.

A tie-breaker was needed to separate the i30 N and the Forester, with its world-class safety features.