Hyundai i30 N Performance Pack
Under the direction of long-time BMW M division guru Albert Biermann, the Korean firm has unleashed its first hot hatchback
Hot hatch is a hit
It’s not every day, year or even decade that a marque with a ticket to the World Rally Championship launches its first hot hatch. The i30 N, then, is something to be taken very seriously indeed.
That Hyundai’s objective has been to cram in as much performance for the least possible outlay for buyers should also have your ears firmly pricked up.
Why now? Well, the brand is on something of a roll, recording an 87% increase in European sales in the past five years. To build on that success and translate rally podiums into profit, it is launching a new performance arm: N.
Enter Albert Biermann, the long-time chief engineer of BMW’S performance arm: M. He’s the kind of man who expects the ‘ESC off’ button in a car to actually mean ‘off’ (in the i30 N, it does) and yet recognises that in 2017 a five-door hot hatch needs to be useable to be a hit in showrooms. This machine is very much his baby.
The fundamental i30 N package is nothing out of the ordinary – it’s a five-door hatch with a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine driving the front wheels. What is rather unusual is the level of hardware on offer for modest outlay, with the £24,995 base model getting 247bhp and three-way adaptive suspension.
An optional Performance Pack increases those figures to £27,995 and 271bhp, and adds not only an electronic limited-slip differential but also a variable-valve exhaust system. As for pace, the standard car hits 62mph from rest in 6.4sec while the Performance Pack
shaves 0.3sec from that time. Both will reach 155mph and manage a claimed 39mpg combined.
The five-door bodyshell is the same as that used for the standard i30, Hyundai claiming it to be already adequately stiff (the N gets underbody strut braces, nevertheless). Wider wheel arches have been grafted on and the N-car sits up to 8mm lower. Aggressive bumpers with deep intakes at the front, a red pin-stripe on the splitter and a triangular brake light positioned within the gloss-black rear spoiler are other identifiers, though perhaps none are as conspicuous as the N’s rather lovely – and unique – signature colour, Performance Blue. There’s also a choice of 18in wheels (shod in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres) or 19in options (bespoke Pirelli P Zeros).
Unlike for so many rivals, names such as Brembo, Quaife and AP Racing are notably absent from the spec sheet. That’s because components for the car’s upgraded brakes, fettled engine, toughened-up six-speeder, reinforced clutch and sophisticated suspension are all either built in-house or supplied by Korean firms with which Hyundai has a close relationship. It might have been developed at the Nürburgring, but the i30 N’s physical form is refreshingly home-grown, and that’s helped it undercut the competition.
The car is also highly configurable, with settings for the e-differential, engine map, exhaust, suspension, steering and ESC. All in all, there are 1944 combinations, though by default they’re grouped into Eco, Normal, Sport and a hardcore N mode. There’s also an N Custom mode, with which you can deploy your favourite combination at the touch of a button. How very M-division.
Inside, all Uk-spec cars will get the optional 8in touchscreen as standard (a 5in unit also exists). You get Apple Carplay and Android Auto, as well as readouts for power, torque, turbo boost pressure, lap times and – sure to go down well with the local constabulary – acceleration. Performance models get a removable brace that stretches across the boot floor. How about that for intent?
The i30 N makes good on that intent too, right from the get-go. This comes as surprise given that, in just 30 months, the project has gone from being an entry on the Hyundai board’s wish-list to a product you can buy from dealerships complete with a five-year warranty.
Perhaps most impressive is that it gets the fundamentals right. The seats are decently low and supportive, and there’s plenty of adjustability in the steering column. In our left-hand-drive test car, the pedals were slightly offset to the right but still well spaced for heeland-toe shifts. Factor in the quick, tactile throw of the gearstick and the short-travel clutch and you’d swear Hyundai had been building this kind of car for several generations. The i30 N also feels robust to its core, though material quality is a step below what you’d get in a VW Golf GTI.
On the move, the 2.0-litre engine is supple enough to take a higher gear and you can carry eye-widening speed through corners by leaning hard on the superbly damped chassis. Alternatively, drop a cog or two and get familiar with the 6000rpm sweet spot. Either way, throttle response is refreshingly crisp for a turbocharged unit, and while there’s no great climax to be had as crank-speed rises, there’s plenty of character here, particularly with the off-throttle pops and bangs from the exhaust (as is de rigueur) in N mode. The Performance model also features an overboost function that delivers 279lb ft for up to eight seconds at a time.
It’s difficult to overstate what a brilliant job Hyundai has done with this car’s chassis. The most severe mode, Sport+, is useable – preferable, even – on most roads, and gives the driver a supple-yet-sturdy canvas. The Sport setting beneath it does well to quell flares of wheelspin that rougher surfaces precipitate. Normal
mode calms proceedings to the extent that you might forget you’re at the wheel of such a potent hatch. The burly engine and feelsome steering are merely the supporting cast.
Qualms? There aren’t many. The i30 N is not a car that will suck you into an apex regardless of your entry speed in the style of, say, a Vauxhall Corsa VXR with a Drexler diff. Neither does it change direction with the brusque conviction of certain French rivals – in fact, it can feel quite nose heavy if you’re even a little bit ambitious on turn-in. The ABS also seems a tad sensitive, although that could be a consequence of the blistered Italian rat-runs used on the car’s international launch.
First impressions suggest that track-day regulars might also want a more mobile rear axle. Biermann admits a Renault Sport Mégane is the sharper tool in this regard but insists the i30 N is the more versatile proposition and better device for learning. He’s probably right too.
As for aesthetics, call them ‘tame’ if you like, but Hyundai prefers to use the word ‘timeless’. We’ll give it the benefit of the doubt on this one. There’s a refreshing lack of chintz to the i30 N that imbues it with an elegance reminiscent of the Clio 197 and original Focus RS. No bad thing.
The hot-hatch market has never been so competitive, but newcomer Hyundai has two things to help it hit the ground running: top-level motorsport experience and the right personnel. So has that worked out?
On the evidence of this first drive – some of which was undertaken on surfaces that would make the average UK B-road seem like the most fastidiously kept stretches of autobahn – you’d have to say it has. Hyundai has pulled off some feat in delivering a car that feels so intuitive and enjoyable – not to mention heroically fast when the moment arises – and yet will happily play shopping cart when necessary.
Moreover, at £27,995, even the higher-spec Performance Pack N-car undercuts the likes of the Honda Civic Type R and, remarkably given the kit on offer, the entry-level Golf GTI. That it’s arguably a better allrounder than both of them should at the very least guarantee it your consideration. Bravo, Hyundai.
It might have been developed at the ’Ring, but the i30 N’s physical form is refreshingly home-grown