Road test review: Hyundai i30 N Fastback DCT

Monday, 4 July 2022

Watch the Hyundai i30 N do fast things at a race track.

HYUNDAI I30 N FASTBACK DCT
Base price: $69,990 (RightCar estimated Clean Car Programme fee: $1,897.50)
Powertrain and economy: 2.0-litre turbo petrol, 206kW/392Nm, 8-speed dual-clutch automatic, FWD, combined economy 9.5 litres per 100km, CO2 219g/km (Source: RightCar).

Hyundai has given the hot i30 N a dual clutch transmission. And it’s a good one too.

Vital statistics: 4455mm long, 1419mm high, 2650mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 436 litres, 19-inch alloy wheels.
Safety: Not tested
We like: Plenty of performance, sounds incredible, easier to live with than the manual

The i30 N’s interior is showing its age, lacking a lot of the tech and digital displays of newer models.

We don't like: Missing a few expected safety features, bit heavy on fuel, better as a hatchback

Hyundai launched the i30 N about three years back as a hatchback with a manual transmission. Now you can have the high-performance Hyundai as a fastback with a dual-clutch automatic, the typical transmission of choice for the modern buyer. And, spoilers, it’s really good.

The i30 N’s engine has been slightly massaged, with a small bump in power and larger bump in torque.

OUTSIDE

Hyundai gave the i30 N a few stylistic tweaks when the dual-clutch was introduced in 2021, which included new-look headlights featuring sharp arrow-shaped DRLs, a slightly different grille and corner intakes and redesigned taillights along with 19-inch forged allow wheels fitted with specially-developed Pirelli P Zero tyres.

‘N Grin Shift’ might be a very silly name, but it does fantastic things to the car.

**READ MORE:

* First drive review: Hyundai i20 N

Those big drainpipe exhausts hanging out the back mean business.

* Hyundai confirms Kona N pricing and launch date

* Hyundai has given the i30 N more power and a dual-clutch transmission

The i30 N is ready for any track day you care to throw at it.

* Hyundai Elantra N debuts as i20 N, Kona N priced in Australia

The fastback body style certainly is distinctive, but we prefer the hatch.

Otherwise, it looks identical to the older car, with the same subtle flicked-up bootlid and pair of drainpipe exhaust tips poking out of the rear bumper.

INSIDE

There are even fewer changes inside the car, aside from the obvious gearshift swap. The steering wheel now has a button that says NGS on it, for N Grin Shift, and the infotainment screen is larger than before, with a wireless charging pad nestled below.

The dials are still analogue, which you’ll either find refreshing or behind the times, and there’s a small digital readout screen between them. Kind of weird Hyundai hasn’t given the i30 a digital dash, because the smaller i20 N has one…

UNDER THE BONNET

This is where the biggest change lies. The engine is still a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, now making 206kW/392Nm (up from 202kW/353Nm), but there’s one fewer pedal to push because this car has a dual-clutch automatic on gear selection duties. Don’t worry, you can still buy the manual if you want… For now.

Going automatic adds $7000 to the going price, but you pay around $100 less in Clean Car fees. The Fastback here is the most expensive on offer, starting at $69,990.

But back to business. The DCT gets Hyundai’s new N Power Shift, which “mitigates any reduction in torque by using upshifts to deliver maximum power to the wheels.” Sounds like marketing, but it really works. Going flat out, the power delivery is almost seamless, each shift nudging the car forwards, as if the transmission is egging it on. It’s brilliant.

There’s also N Grin Shift, which spices things up for 20 seconds at the press of a button. Might be a funny name, but it livens the car up quite a lot.

You can let the computer do the shifting, and it’s pretty damn good at it, or you can bang away at the paddles behind the wheel. Either way, you’re going to have a good time.

ON THE ROAD

In Normal mode, things are fairly relaxed. The suspension is adaptive, and soaks up most undulations about as well as you’d suspect from something like this. But shift it into Sport or N mode and things get much rougher. Best to tweak the N Custom mode and dial back the dampers while keeping the powertrain straining at the least.

Because once you’ve sorted that, it’s hard to find this level of fun for the price.

Hyundai seems to have simply ignored sound regulations because those massive exhausts aren’t just for show. The two-litre engine makes an absolute racket, banging away on a trailing throttle more than the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S. It’s brilliant and belligerent, and every performance car needs to have it, damn the rules.

The steering is sharp without being too heavy, and despite having a limited slip differential on the front axle, will lean into gentle understeer if the conditions are anything but dry. Traction control does a good job of keeping things under control but remember that the standard N mode reduces electronic interference.

Weirdly, the i30 N still does without a few increasingly standard safety things, like adaptive cruise control, but gets others like lane-keeping assist. It’s also quite thirsty, registering around 12L/100km over the course of a week (although constant backfires probably didn’t help…), there isn’t much headroom, and rear visibility isn’t the best.

VERDICT

The i30 N was always a brilliant car that would inevitably be hamstrung in the sales department by the fact that it catered to enthusiasts first with a manual transmission. By giving it a dual-clutch auto, and a brilliant one at that, there’s really no excuse not to consider it if you’re in this sort of market.

The only thing I’d suggest is getting the hatch over the fastback. Can’t help but feel a fastback should have all-wheel or rear-wheel drive…