Hyundai i30 Fastback N Performance – Hot hatch by Hyundai

Dear car enthusiasts… ahem. This review will be mainly about feelings and impressions, and therefore a little different from the others. I will not discuss the design, the practicality of the case or the storage spaces for PET bottles here. Let’s leave that for the classic Fastback test.

Today we have a car from the Hyundai car manufacturer, and it is the spiciest and reddest that could be put to the test. Beautiful i30N in Fastback version in the most powerful Performance version. ” N ” ko can be imported with 184kW (250k) and 202kW (275k) with the same amount of newton meters (353Nm), which can be inflated by twenty in overboost. In Engine Red color, properly covered by press weeklies – what more could you wish for?!

The car was subjected to a stress test with me by all the neighbors (even those I didn’t even know about because “it has two exhausts!”) and enthusiasts of other brands. A Ford supporter was ecstatic (we still don’t know if from the Korean or his 25-year-old Escort Pseudocosworth, which we heard about all the way), a Peugeot 308SW GT owner would welcome a diesel in the test car (otherwise he won’t buy it!) and the last participant is at pre-retirement age (read: over 30). He praises his indestructible atmospheric six from Hiroshima, and since he is already old and his eyes are no longer useful, he named the tested car “Huňady”. And that stayed with him for the whole week…

It is no longer the case that the most powerful hothatch automatically equals the best. Actually, it was never even true (with exceptions). This was proven, for example, by the Mégane RS in the last generation, which was embellished by the Renault Sport racing division in such a way that it destroyed most of the 400-horsepower cars on the circuit, and at the same time it spun with joy in the entrances to corners, so that you got out of it sweating until ass. And he didn’t need a lot of power to do it.

The sharpened ” N ” has a slightly different character. It’s more or less raw, but it can bite just the same, and when you set out to break your own records with it, it can really punish the person sitting behind the wheel. Especially in places with a lightened rear, it requires a lot of caution and (sympathy) with the gas pedal. But what makes it a better hothatch than, for example, the new Leon Cupra, or the current descendant of the aforementioned Megane RS?!

Chassis! Incredibly well-functioning adaptive chassis, tireless brakes and steering that is close to perfection in its communicativeness. It’s also a 6-speed manual transmission, the individual speeds of which fit almost exactly the same, and it’s also the complexity of the expression, when you can drive the car at full speed for two hours at a time and at the same time you feel that you’re not harming it at all. And believe, as Hyundai believes, that it is so. The ” N “-ko even has a transmission with a reinforced clutch and carbon synchronization rings. The Internet is full of news about how owners had their ” N ” bikes tested on cylinders and got numbers over 285k and 400Nm. In the series.

But why actually favor the “Huñadys” over competition that has a history, a fan base and disdainful views? On the board of other brands, there is a little lack of passion, some enthusiasm for illegal driving in districts with exhaust firing. They are too “civilian” and over-technological. And I found the exact opposite of this in the i30 N Performance. It may not be as fast and ultimate, but every ride in it was definitely much more fun. And say hello to other ” N ” cars at intersections. Always!

Although it wants to die at every second intersection, and even in normal chassis mode you have to be very careful not to sweep the sunken channel with the low-profile 19s. When you want to show off by blasting your exhaust, you’ll be the only one who suffers for the joy of everyone else, because in ” N ” mode you should probably only drive smooth circuits, or even better – a race circuit. Honestly, only once in my life have I driven a car with such a range of stiffness adjustment of adaptive shock absorbers. It had four rings and by no means cost as much as the ” N ” one, which currently costs just over €30,000. In the highest equipment available for this model.

With the special tires that Pirelli developed just for this model (you can recognize them by the nickname HN), the car also has a decent amount of traction that you can use on all roads. A minor weakness is said to be the wet road, but fortunately I did not have the honor to try it during the test.

In addition, thanks to the front electro-mechanical self-clamp, you can load the car before the apex of the turn, and instead of going out on the front wheels, it will simply turn. Under ideal conditions, the car won’t bounce even a millimeter and the tires will transfer so much energy that your brain will bleed in the corners. Just don’t jerk the steering wheel and you’ll forget what front wheel understeer is. In extreme situations, on the other hand, oversteer occurs, which in some ways resembles the already mentioned Megane RS.

I can’t forgive a bit of criticism for the sharp N mode on the gas pedal, which is simply set too soft. Because the entire car, the steering and gearshift is stiff, the gas pedal is set completely against the logic of the matter. But this is not the worst thing about ” N “. This is, of course, consumption…

All it takes is a little more brisk driving and we are immediately talking about 12-13L per 100 kilometers. You don’t buy a Hyundai i30 N to drive it slowly, but one tank will be enough for approximately 250-300 kilometers, and that’s very little. I drove about 1,000 kilometers with Huňady myself, and a total of 3 tanks fell during that time. When you recalculate it, you will spend money that you simply don’t want to pay for weekly operation. However, there is also an ECO mode – I didn’t have it turned on ONCE! But I believe that I would reach the 8.3 in the combined cycle… no, I don’t believe it. Because there is the ” N ” mode and strong will is my weak point!

I somehow suspected that the i30 N Performance would be a good car. Its developers improved literally everything that was possible. But one would not seriously expect him to settle on the imaginary Hothatch throne. This category is currently incredibly busy, and to succeed in it for a car company means that it has to shock, impress, or at the very least – offer a great product. And that’s exactly what the South Korean automaker succeeded in doing.

The Hyundai car company simply made a “racer” out of an ordinary car. If the BMW M division ever built a stripped-down front wheel, it would make this car. We don’t have to go far for a simple comparison with the competition: the Hyundai i30 is certainly not a better vehicle than, for example, the current Skoda Octavia. It welcomes you on board with inferior materials, its control is not so intuitive and it loses all the way from the point of view of practicality (of course, I am now comparing the i30 Fastback variant). But what if you sharpen this pair? The Octavia RS TSI is just pretending to be a sports car, and the i30 N Performance really is! This can be confirmed by all those owners who had a tendency to stick the ” N ” on their ass almost every time…

It’s a district weapon of mass destruction! When I think back on it – happiness is not enough. With the exhaust open, you feel like you’re eighteen and a new driver’s license in the city, and every take off from an intersection is filled with a very addictive blast from the exhaust. However, the i30 N Performance is not a gentle car that will lead you by the hand – you have to hold it by both necks. He can forgive a small mistake, but he is waiting for your immediate correction and when it doesn’t come… he will show you what life on the edge is like. On the edge where you feel that you are living fully at that exact moment.

And finally, some numbers:

Photo by: Michal Novotný ( @mnovotnystudio )

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