Wapcar Automotive News – Welcome to the first part of our latest long-term car review. After spending some quality time with a pair of Volkswagens (Golf R and later the Passat 206 TSI R-Line station wagon), this time we’re testing the newest and most advanced member of the Hyundai N Performance family – i30 Sedan N.
The four-door sedan joins the Hyundai i30 N hatchback, Kona N SUV and i20 N compact in the Korean brand’s current family of performance models. We chose the i30 Sedan N as our latest long-term project due to the popularity of these relatively affordable performance vehicles, as well as Hyundai’s aggressive efforts to show owners the full range of vehicles. the potential of these cars in the market.
One way Hyundai does this, aside from building a very fast, trackable vehicle, is with a ‘tracking warranty’ that covers any issues arising from ‘non-competitive’ use. This means owners can enjoy track day events without the fear of being stuck with bills in the event of a machine failure.
Another, more direct way to encourage owners to really explore their cars on the track is to organize their own race days. Hyundai has built a strong community of owners with its own social media program and regularly invites owners to local race festivals, culminating in the weekly “N Festival”. year – a big two-day event with track and field as well as other activities. to attract owners.
Our goal is to immerse ourselves in this lifestyle to try to give you, our readers, a thorough understanding of what it feels like to own a particular Hyundai N model and become one. modern “hot hatch”, more broadly like .
But before we get to all that in the sequels, here’s a quick look at “our car”. It’s finished in Dark Blue (rather than the WRC-inspired Performance Blue hero color) and had just over 5000 km on the clock when we picked it up.
Like all i30 Sedan N, it is powered by the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine as the i30 N and Kona N. Finally, it develops 206 kW of power between 5,500 and 6,000 rpm and 392 Nm of torque distributed between 2,100 and 4,700 rpm.
Although a six-speed manual transmission is available, our car is equipped with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission – officially known as N-DCT. This new transmission not only expands the appeal of the Hyundai N (car-loving Australians) range, but also comes with a host of features that we’ll be putting to the test, including N Power Shift, N Grin Shift and N Track Sense.
While we’ll go into detail in feature articles, here’s a summary of what each one does. N Grin Shift increases torque by allowing the turbocharger to accelerate for a short time (about 20 seconds); N Power Shift allows for faster gear changes on the trail; and N Track Sense Shift is actually a sport mode for the transmission, allowing it to keep gears and be more aggressive when conditions permit.
Certainly, in our early days with the i30 Sedan N, the combination of engine and transmission stood out. Get plenty of performance whenever you need it thanks to the new engine tuning, the transmission’s wide gear ratio and the ability to keep the engine in the ideal position.
Our first few weeks behind the wheel were limited to most everyday tasks, and the spacious four-door layout makes it a practical machine, but in the coming weeks and months we have interesting plans to test drive the i30 Sedan N in different scenarios. So stay tuned for more…
