Driven. Hyundai i30N Premium Hatch – Motorsport Review
- 32 minutes ago
- 7 min read
Building a vehicle that’s capable of the school drop off enroute to a day on a racetrack isn’t a basic task. It takes an understanding of the rigours of motorsport to know where focus and effort should be applied.
But before such details even become an engineering imperative, there needs to be a willingness to build such a car. This is what’s most impressive about Hyundai’s N Division; the skunkworks if you will, of the Korean mass market manufacturer.
While various brands have stepped away from building cars that excite at a grass-roots level, Hyundai has bucked the trend and double down on it. Not only does it build the cars, but it propagates an Nthusiastic (see where I did there!) community to surround these hero models.
It’s something to be proud of as a brand. It’s also something for all motoring enthusiasts to be thankful for, given the rather large black hole of choice otherwise.
That statement could be deemed rather pessimistic, as one respondent to a social media post put it. I was reminded of Toyota, who over the last decade or so have seen the light; returning to their roots with models such as the GT86 and Supra, along with the Corolla and Yaris GR. Honda also has the Civic Type R, a very special vehicle on all accounts, and Subaru almost still has a WRX. I say almost because a CVT has no place in a performance vehicle. Ever.
These are undeniable truths which had me thinking, for a moment. You see, I’ve asked these brands for permission to review in a motorsport capacity. The answer from those broached was a no. That’s fine, there are various reasons why these sorts of activities aren’t allowed.
But Hyundai Australia would have the same challenges. The difference is they told me to come back mid-loan period to fit Pirelli Trofeo semi-slick rubber. Cue the static as the mic hits the ground.
It’s not the first time I’ve reviewed an N-offering in a motorsport capacity.
It wasn’t that long ago that I took an i30N sedan to both Sydney Dragway and Luddenham Raceway. That’s the reason why I chose the exact same venues to undertake testing in this, the Hyundai i30N Premium Hatchback.
The basics are covered in the road review, but ultimately being a hatchback means a completely different visual. It’s stocky and well proportioned, but the devil is in the detail when it comes to performance.
i30N Hatch | i30 Sedan N | |
Length (mm) | 4340 | 4675 |
Width (mm) | 1795 | 1825 |
Height (mm) | 1445 | 1415 |
Wheelbase (mm) | 2650 | 2720 |
Wheel Track F/R (mm) | 1573/1564 | 1854/1579 |
Minimum ground clearance (mm) | 136 | 135 |
Weight (tare mass - kg) | 1478 | 1471 |
In essence, the hatchback is smaller across most attributes other than heights, where both roofline and ground clearance are taller. The most surprising difference, however, was the extra weight born by the hatch.
Those Trofeo’s were mounted to lightweight OZ Racing forged wheels too; each available directly through Hyundai at a cost. The tyres themselves were not new, so the burden of bedding them in was not one to be born during the test.
Nor was the challenge of rain at a Sydney Dragway Friday Night Lights event. With rain shutting down the regular weekly Race 4 Real Wednesday night event, it was by chance that this Friday night event was also scheduled.
The positive was the stickier tyres were mounted, and a lower Elapsed Time (ET) limit was available on the night; not that we were ever going to need that. It’s facilitated by a treated track, which promised better traction at launch.
I was resultingly confident in bettering the 13.68 second ET at 103mph I had set in the Sedan. Although at that point I was also blissfully unaware of the negative weight differential, assuming I had a far stronger positive advantage against the sedan.
Creeping the i30N through the tunnel I took a moment to ensure "N mode" was selected, traction control was off and launch control was set at 2700rpm. The intention was to cycle through to find the best combination of launch revs and other settings including traction control, suspension stiffness and use of the "N Boost" mode.
The first run was in late afternoon sun, with no burnout to warm the tyres up. Some will argue given the stiff sidewalls of the Trofeo’s, the drivetrain stress wouldn’t be worth it anyway. I however, obliged. The first pass netted a 13.86 at 99.62mph; short of the sedan Personal Best (PB). What was immediately apparent was the way the hatch hooked up off the line. None of the tramping in the sedan presented, regardless of the launch rpm selected.
Given this, I left all suspension settings at their firmest settings. The second time I upped the launch revs to 3000 RPM and lined up at the burnout patch to humour myself with some tyre smoke. This is where the traditional cable handbrake became an asset, and once cycled through to 3rd gear, it was released as I approached the staging lights.
Unfortunately launch control didn’t activate on this run, netting a 13.98 at 99.05mph. The 3rd pass with launch control set to 3000rpm with warmed tyres netted the best ET for the night, a 13.71 at 101.94mph. All future runs at higher or lower rpms revealed diminishing returns.
It’s a miniscule variance to the sedan, but ultimately slower. I put part of the issue down to atmospheric conditions. On reflection, testing of the sedan was at the beginning of spring, meaning cooler and likely drier air.
Testing here was on a hot and humid day – a plausible explanation, given the ultimately small differential in time and speed at the traps. Whilst weight was not on our side, I deem a 7kg difference negligible.
But a front-wheel-drive hatch was always going to be better suited to circuit work than drag racing; so, an early morning run out to Luddenham Raceway in western Sydney was in order. I’ve always liked this track. It’s not super high speed and with plenty of technical corners and elevation change, it’s more suitable for a smaller vehicle like the i30N.
It’s a shame that the track isn’t loaded into the onboard timing, which has a variety of circuits from around the country. Thankfully with a transmitter mounted to the car, timing wass available via the speed hive app.
The opening 2 or 3 laps on cold Pirelli Trofeo’s revealed the tail-happy nature of the chassis. Granted, the tyres had seen quite a few heat cycles, but I was surprised with how long it took to warm them up. The sedan had exhibited nothing of the sort on road rubber, with a softer, more compensating overall suspension feel than the hatch.
Once the tyres were at operating temperature, a familiar sure-footedness became evident. The trick e-LSD in the front was just as clever too – it’s incredible how well it tidies things up regardless of how messy the entry or poor judgement of mid-corner speed.
Coming off the throttle was relatively benign unless being ham-fisted, or really trying to make significant adjustment to attitude. Once the front end was pointing at the desired exit point, it’s a matter of getting on the throttle and letting it pull you out.
It was nimbler and more knife-edge than the sedan, which added a layer of excitement to the experience. Nowhere was this more evident than at the corkscrew in the back half of the track, where shifting direction was crisper and more willing in the shorter wheelbase. This was despite the extra height and assumed higher centre of gravity.
What I didn’t like as much was the way the seat felt higher in the cabin. I found myself bracing against the footrest a lot more than I’d like.
My first session saw me better my best time in the Sedan by 3 tenths, with subsequent sessions netting a half second improvement down to 55.705. Unfortunately, rain cut the day short and took my opportunity to chase more time with it.
But the numbers are only part of the i30N Hatch story. In more competent hands I’m certain there would be a couple of seconds over the sedan, given the rubber in board. It’s not the point though, because the fullness of the car-guy cup on the way home can’t be quantified.
Hyundai have truly done something special with their N cars. It took a beating across two motorsport activities and was still willing to stop at 7/11 for a slushy on the way home.
No changing tyres, no trailering, no doubt. Just fuel and a willingness to get out there and push it to the limit, with smiles for miles along the way.
The future is an unknown, with more electric variants joining the N lineup. I certainly hope they find a way maintain the formula. I won’t be alone either.
Like
Ready for a beating out of the box, exciting dynamics on track, the LSD
Dislike
Seating position too high
Car Guy Rating – 9.5
Many words can be written here, but ultimately if anyone can find a car that comes off the showroom floor with the capability and warranty coverage to head out and push on track, I’m all ears. Just don’t forget that it needs to come in at or under $60,500. I won’t wait – because you won’t find it. Would buy!
With huge thanks to Sydney Dragway for letting us on track to review free of charge
Dragway Images Courtesy of Scott Matthews
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