Hyundai i30 N Line
FIRST DRIVE Newcomer offers hot hatch looks without the running costs
Family five-door gets hot-hatch looks without the running costs
THE fast-and-furious i30 N has transformed Hyundai from a bitpart family car maker into a serious performance contender. Keen to capitalise on its success, the brand has just launched this: the i30 N Line.
Positioned beneath its flagship stablemate, the N Line is a semiskimmed rival to Ford’s ST Line cars and Volkswagen’s R Line alternatives. It blends sporty styling with more modest engine options, for lower running costs and more affordable insurance premiums.
The i30 is the first Hyundai to get the N Line treatment. There are two trim levels and two gearbox options, linked in every case to a 138bhp 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine. Here, we’re testing the pricier dual-clutch transmission in top-spec N Line+ specification.
Visually, there’s no denying the N Line tweaks give the slightly dowdy i30 a more aggressive personality. All cars get sportier bumpers, twin exhausts and bigger, 18-inch wheels; far from a poor man’s i30 N, it looks every bit the racy hot hatchback. Yet despite the aesthetic enhancements, a quick drive reveals it’s more Masala than Madras.
Superior
True, the chassis revisions, updated suspension and superior brakes ensure the N Line handles sweetly, but the engine feels overly restrained next to its beefier brother. Power delivery is smooth, especially when teamed with our car’s DCT box, although there’s a lack of urgency on anything other than full throttle. It’s a shame, because the Golf’s 1.5 TSI feels genuinely quick in comparison – despite boasting only 10bhp more. We’ve yet to try a manual N Line, but we expect that car may feel faster and more involving.
Don’t let this detract from the fact that the Hyundai is a genuinely capable and well-resolved family hatch. The tweaked suspension hasn’t upset the compliant ride, nor do those big wheels seek out ruts in the road. The steering doesn’t offer much feedback, but it’s far from unpleasant, sending the i30 through tight corners with decent accuracy.
Take things a bit more gently and the i30 N Line is perfectly refined. The engine is hushed around town and settles down nicely on the motorway. We’d have no reservations about spending several hours behind the wheel – especially given the sculpted and supportive sports seats.
In fact, the interior is a real highlight; it’s a little dark in the back, perhaps, but all cars are well equipped and Hyundai’s excellent infotainment set-up is one of the most intuitive systems on the market. Perceived quality isn’t far off that of the i30’s ‘premium’ rivals, either.
N Line+ cars cost £2,000 more than standard N Line models, although they bring LED headlights, electric seat adjustment and a heated steering wheel. Sat-nav is a £250 add-on regardless of trim, but we’d avoid that and stick with the capable smartphone-based Apple or Android mapping systems.
However, those extra costs pale into insignificance when you consider that for a mere £755 more (£25,010) you can buy a bog-standard i30 N – with 247bhp and nearly 400Nm of torque. Granted, the cost difference is bigger if you compare apples with apples; the manual N Line+ is £1,000 less than the pricier auto tested here.
Wring the N Line’s engine and you’ll find economy doesn’t differ too wildly, either. Hyundai says our car should return nearly 50mpg (compared with the N’s 40.4mpg), but a figure in the high30s is more likely in day-to-day driving.
“We’d have no reservations about spending several hours behind the i30 N Line’s wheel”