Hyundai I30n Is The New Kid On The Block

Hyundai has recruited bmw’s top engineers to build a hot hatch. The result is astonishing!

- Pawan Dhingra

It’s been two years since the Hyundai I30N was launched in relatively small numbers and only now is it filtering through to the nether regions and across the vast oceans. Hitherto it has been idyllic smooth sailing for contemporaries like the VW Golf GTI and Renault Megane R.S., as well as for outliers like the Honda Civic Type R, A35 AMG, and BMW M140i. Does a Hyundai i30N really belong in this prestigious company, with some adversaries sporting more than a decade-worth of credentials under their belt and the sticker-smearing fanbases ready to defend them?

First appearances might be deceiving so I ask that you don’t turn to the next page in haste. The I30N comes into view as an underrated performance hatch but this is an appealing recipe that traditionally fares well when compared to the premium pricing. The I30N is practical in most of the right ways (chiefly five doors) yet retains an aura of exclusivity. Less polarising than a Civic Type R, probably lacking the panache of the Megane R.S. but the Hyundai I30N still packs twin pipes, meaty N brake calipers in red and a boot spoiler to help build trust between this start-up performance skunkworks and a new audience.

It drives well too. Hyundai’s catchphrase is “developed in Namyang, honed at the Nurburgring”. Interestingly (perhaps tellingly) they have never revealed its time around the ‘Ring. We drove it on road and track and it excelled in both environments.