Oppa Namyang Style

Hyundai’s i30 N is a rip-snorting hot hatch that undercuts the establishment on price. But can it deliver an involving drive?

THE discreet N badging around the cabin tells the real story of the Hyundai i30 N.

That’s N for the famed Nurburgring – and Namyang.

If the latter is alien to you, it is to Hyundai what the Skunk Works is to Lockheed Martin – a place where seriously potent weapons are developed.

The Germans, longtime Hyundai targets, have been crushing the company in the hot hatch stakes, and the company has had nothing to hit back with but with a stable of sedans, MPVs and SUVs.

What better way to beat the Germans – than to hire a German?

That thinking resulted in erstwhile BMW M head Albert Biermann being spirited away from Bavaria to help the Koreans conduct their own blitzkrieg.

The competition is fierce. Volkswagen has its finessed GTI, Honda’s Civic Type R wipes the floor with its 306hp monster of a VTEC engine and the Renault Megane RS is a bewitching drive.

But the i30 N’s $140,999 price tag makes it a compelling value proposition at nearly $30k-40k less, and its 247hp is nothing to sniff at either.

It’s striking in trademark baby blue, but I reckon it looks better in white with red accents and blacked-out wheels.

Low profile 18-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sports and (somewhat questionable) stripey decals on our test car complete the aggressive look.

Sporty touches sparsely dot the rather plain cabin – two blue mode buttons and a balltype shift knob are basically all the eye candy you get.

What you do get lots of is lightness: there are no electrically adjustable seats or rear air-con blowers.