The fast show
with 271bhp and making it capable of the 0 to 60mph sprint in 6.0 seconds with a 155mph top speed. There’s also 34.0mpg average fuel economy and 178g/km emissions. Encouragingly, though, two things in particular indicate that the engineers behind this i30 Fastback really know about driving. Firstly, the purposefully small leather steering wheel contains buttons to switch between Eco, Normal, Sport and N drive modes that are very easy to find.
Plus, you don’t even need to look at the rev counter when driving fast – shift lights gradually illuminate at the top of the instrument binnacle, before flashing just before you hit the rev limiter. Your eyes need never leave the road ahead.
The Fastback also weighs just 12kg
LOGBOOK LOWDOWN
£29,995 Petrol – 2.0-litre, turbo
0 to 60mph in 6 seconds, 155mph top speed
Power: Average fuel economy: CO2 emissions range: Rivals:
34.0mpg
178g/km
VW Golf GTI, Renault Megane RS, Mercedes-Benz CLA 8/10
Rating:
more than the hatchback and is just a shade softer in its suspension – though soon these changes will be rolled out to the hatchback too. Perhaps the steering feels a shade lighter and the ride smoother than we remember but fundamentally the Fastback drives just like the brilliant i30N.
Even at low speed it feels serious: the clutch is butch, the steering quite weighty, the exhaust note purposefully gruff and the suspension firm. It might feel a bit frisky at times but none of this should really count against a highperformance model and it’s far from overbearing. On a challenging road or racetrack too, it truly comes alive.
Hyundai calls it a “corner rascal”, which initially sounds laughable until