They’re really not mucking about with their performance cars. Since Albert Biermann, former head of BMW’s M division, came into power at Hyundai’s N division, they’ve produced purposed-built sportscars with the i30N hatchback and the Veloster N.
Heck, even their Elantra Sport, a model we have locally, was brilliant to drive!
Now they’ve developed a new fibre of muscle to flex with the extremely alluring all-new i30 Fastback N. Who would’ve thought the words “extremely” and “alluring” would be said consecutively in the same sentence, about a Hyundai?
Before, if you wanted or even mildly thought about performance with regards to Hyundai, your only option would’ve been the Coupe, the Veloster or if you’re in the States, the over-300 hp Genesis Coupe.
Despite the horsepower deficit, the all-new i30 Fastback N should still run rings around latter. With the i30N hatchback, Hyundai experienced a completely unexpected success story – 3,000 units sold in first half of 2018 while 100 units of its First Edition was sold out in Germany within 48 hours!
This one should help spike their sales charts like the heartbeat of an expecting father. Under the hood rests a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine mated to a 6-speed manual delivering 250 hp and 353 Nm to the front wheels while a Performance Package bumps horsepower figures to 275 hp with torque output remaining the same.
An overboost function however, activated when reaching maximum torque, squeezes out a little more torque with a total of 378 Nm. 0 to 100 km/h takes just 6.4 seconds (250 hp), and just 6.1 seconds in the 275 hp version. Top speed is claimed to be 250 km/h.
Would you have ever thought that a Hyundai would ever posses Golf GTI-beating performance? They’ve even developed a sense of wittiness too – calling their drive selector the “N Grin Control” system with five different drive modes – Eco, Normal, Sport, N and N Custom.
Inside,you get to select between two different types of infotainment system; operated through an 8-inch touchscreen display. Both offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
The specific N mode screen menu also offers customisable settings for the engine, Rev matching, exhaust sound and Performance Package settings.
The all-new i30 Fastback N features Hyundai SmartSense active safety and driving assistance technologies that includes Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Driver Attention Warning, Lane Keeping Assist, High Beam Assist and Intelligent Speed Limit Warning.
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