Hyundai i30 N Performance

Cherry-picking from the bewildering array of driver settings makes the most of the Korean’s star qualities

‘“Ingram mode” switches everything to its sportiest setting apart from ESC, suspension and steering’

LAST MONTH I INTRODUCED OUR i30 N with the promise of delving into the car’s driving modes and settling upon a custom set-up – one that brings out the best in the car without going full ‘N’, which can prove a bit extreme, particularly on roads slick from springtime rainshowers.

Driving modes come up frequently in evo office conversation, usually in frustration when a particular car fails to offer the perfect combination for a person’s personal taste. At this point, someone will invariably don their rose-tinted spectacles and pine for the days when buttons were things you used to fasten a Caterham’s roof into place and to make a car feel sportier you simply selected a lower gear.

But if we’re to have driving modes then you might as well do things properly, and Hyundai’s N division – headed by EX-BMW M man Albert Biermann, remember – has done. The choice of variables borders on the obscene: three engine modes, four rev-matching levels, two settings for the E-LSD, three exhaust modes, three settings for the dampers, a trio of steering weights and three stability control options. Altering these gives you an ‘N Custom’ mode, accessed with a press of the little chequeredflag button on the steering wheel. Two presses actually, as this button is also used to engage the hardcore ‘N’ mode, which itself is one of four base driving modes (the other three being Eco, Normal and Sport, which are accessed via another button on the opposite spoke of the wheel). The good news is that the rest of this report should be a great deal simpler, because my own ‘Ingram mode’ involves switching everything to its sportiest setting apart from the suspension, steering and ESC. That’s it.

Oh, you want more? Well, there’s sound logic behind it all. The engine, naturally, should be in its most responsive mode (Sport+) for quick throttle response, and if you’re going to do that then you might as well match it with the Sport+ exhaust mode, too, which gives you the full WRC crackle-fest. I’ve also opted for Sport+ for the rev-matching setting, for one fewer thing to concentrate on when braking into a turn – and because the i30 N’s pedals are a bit awkwardly sited for the DIY method anyway, so the auto-blip makes even more sense. You only get two modes for the E-LSD, and while the Sport setting means a bit more wheel-tugging, it also provides great traction.

Chassis now, and this is where I’ve toned down the aggression. There are Normal, Sport and Sport+ options for the dampers, and since I’m yet to find an on-road situation where Normal feels out of its depth, I’ve stuck with that. Ditto the steering – the Sport and Sport+ settings promise ‘increased’ and ‘maximum road feel’, but as with many such systems this confuses feedback with weight, so I’ve left it in the Normal (already meaty) setting, which also makes the car feel lighter on its toes.

Finally, ESC. One or two colleagues keep switching this off entirely, but frankly I’ve got my 106 Rallye if I want to experience lift-off oversteer. I left it in Sport for a while – ‘allowing some oversteer’, according to the menu – but after experiencing some oversteer on a cold, greasy corner I’ve since left it in Normal, and may relax it as the weather improves.

The end result of all this is a car that doesn’t sacrifice driveability for performance, making the most of the N’s fantastic drivetrain and chassis – and it’s only a button-press away.