The Hyundai i30N Review - Part 1: It's Good, But...

The #Hyundai #i30N is a masterpiece. Everyone keeps saying how good it is. So good is it, that it has taken many months of trying to convince Hyundai to lend theirs to me.

Finally, I got my hands on one - so let's see just how good it really is.

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[callumsaunderson]

Owned one since March, it still manages to put a smile on my face 2700 miles later 😁😁

[syd_jzx]

I own this car and I am blown away at Hyundai's first attempt at a genuine hot hatch. A couple gripes include a mediocre stereo system and a boring interior- particularly the doors and front dash. Also no rear AC vents or USB charge points or an extendable centre console. Other than those minor gripes, this car is phenomenal. Genuinely surprised at how well it handles corners and how composed and refined it is. The car feels solid and planted, barely noticeable wind or tyre noise from inside and the exhaust is great, turns heads constantly. I bought mine in Polar White fully optioned, including the panoramic sunroof (highly recommend). I 100% agree with the steering and comparing it to the Golf GTI which I've driven, it is definitely better. I wish to get it tuned in the coming months.

[arniewheeler]

30 shirts in 1 shirt, that's brilliant...

[wightangel]

I have owned one for a couple of years now. It is the most fun I have had driving a car since I drove the original Mini back in 1982. The handling is out of this world. I took a bend(30%) at around 60-70 miles an hour and it did not even hint at losing grip. I am too chicken to push it any further as if i smash it up, then its me who loses out. I recommend it so much. One thing if you are not familiar with LSD, then you will soon enough when you go round a tight corner. There are two stories going around about the meaning of "N". One is Nurburgring where it was tested and the second is that it is the first letter of the Korean city that is the home of Hyundai.

[googleuser]

Fabulous cars. I've had mine for 6 months now, put 6, 000 miles on it and it's been brilliant. So much fun to lob down a good bit of road, and inspires bags of confidence. Albert Biermann knows what he's doing.

[bat.]

I've recently test driven the i30N and the salesman is a Silverstone racing instructor with loads of racing and instructing experience he has even worked as an instructor at the Nürburgring and he made several points about the suspension setup. Road driving use normal and leave it alone, some UK tracks you could use the sport setting and Silverstone is smooth enough for N mode damping. If you were lapping the Ring though leave it in normal. Also the softer LSD setting is helpful in road use as it gives a bit more steering feel but either is fine.

[LukeEvans]

Did I read correctly that the i30N pops and bangs are actually part of an anti-lag system as in rally cars? If true that's pretty cool that they're not just engineered for the sake of sound

[BradGrove]

"I don't know what 'N' stands for"... really, WTF! You didn't do much research before making this video... did you?

[harrirhys-jones]

Regular, solid content! This channel is getting seriously good 👍🏼

[joebrown]

For.. N mode.. selecting N mode 😳 on the home interface.. to get the N settings.. makes sense to me 🤔

[madwalker]

Do you review and do not know what N means? Namyang - Nurburgring! Namyang is Hyundai R&D Centre in Korea and Νurburgring where the i30 N was further developed and tested.

[albrightonthenight]

Good review but Sport+ suspension is absolutely brilliant for fun driving...do not listen to that nonsense 😂 IF you actually push the car hard enough, you can chuck it around most country road bends at 60mph no issue...KEEP IT IN NORMAL SUSPENSION AND YOU'LL BE IN A BUSH. Same with the steering. If you have it in Normal mode, every crack and dip in the road will throw you off. Keep it in Sport + and it doesn't react and keeps the car aligned. (Sorry but it really annoyed me that he said it ruins the car if you use N mode)

[leokal]

It is just incredible how amazing they did at their first attempt! The golf needed 30 years to get this good and they just nailed it

[TheVeljam]

Pressing the N button without varying any specific settings is primarily for track use. Which the factory warranty covers conditionally.

[robertrishel]

Another good review, of a car that has recently appeared on my radar. Really love the pops and bangs. I’m childish I know, but it’s the little things in life.😉

[rickstaricksta]

Your comments on the exhaust sounds are 100% correct in my opinion.

[follyfour]

Nice review Jay you've made me feel good about owning one. My biggest gripe though is the MPG it is very poor but insurance premiums are silly low . Swings and roundabouts come to mind .

[perfeet]

I own the i30N. Reviewer pretty much nails how the car feels. By the way, you can turn of the pops and bangs ang keep the Sport+ exhaust sound, by setting Engine Response to SPORT.

[mikeypv]

The colour is called N Storm and the N stands for Nurburgring as that is where it was developed and they built a HQ there

[vladen]

1. No you can not only choose the paint, there are 2 basic packages to choose from and you can choose to have a panoramic roof or the strut brace in the trunk. The 2 packages are a navigation pack (bigger screen and so on) and a comfort pack (leather seats, alcantara elements).
2. N stands for Namyang and Nürburgring.
3. There is a "premium sound option" just not in the configurator but in the accessories section. If you order this car you can tell the dealer to install the pack, which costs 400€.
4. The "N-setting" is a setup for a track, not for bumpy, broken roads, that's why there's Custom. Eventho I have to disagree you can very well drive in N-mode if your road is intact.