Hyundai i20 N ready to rumble

We’ve already driven a prototype of the new Hyundai i20 N and can report that it’s an absolute riot, and now the hot hatch’s visual style is coming into focus.

Launching in Australia next year, the new Hyundai i20 N is a sharp little number with an angular face, large lateral air dams and grey 18-inch alloy wheels all designed to convey its performance potential.

Expected to be priced from around $32,000 plus on-road costs, the Hyundai i20 N will be the only i20 model available in Australia, similar to the strategy taken by Ford with the new Fiesta ST ($32,290).

The Korean hot hatch will also rival compact hotties like the Volkswagen Polo GTI (from $32,890) and Renault Clio RS (from $30,990). The new class benchmark, the Toyota GR Yaris, is also in the mix, albeit on a higher level in performance and dollar terms (currently priced at $44,950 drive-away).

Featuring a roof-mounted wing, side skirts, new-look front and rear bumpers, unique grille (with obligatory N logo) and a wider stance, the Hyundai i20 N has a suitably sporty look, enhanced by a lower ride height and revised suspension compared to its donor car.

There will also be seven exterior colours available, including the N division’s signature ‘Performance Blue’.

Elsewhere, the Hyundai i20 N gets bigger brakes, a launch control feature, rev-matching for the six-speed manual gearbox, a mechanical limited-slip differential and a bi-modal twin-outlet exhaust system that delivers a “cracking” acoustic based on our first track test.

Although you can’t see them in these photos, the slick new hatch comes with performance seats with integrated head restraints, sports steering wheel, metal pedals and a digital instrument cluster.

Power comes from a 150kW/275Nm version of Hyundai’s 1.6-litre TGDI turbo-petrol engine, which has been tweaked to deliver more torque than Hyundai’s Veloster sports car and i30 N Line models that carry the same powertrain.

The Hyundai i20 N’s four-cylinder mill also bangs out more power but less torque than the VW Polo GTI (147kW/320Nm) and Ford Fiesta ST (147kW/290Nm).

While the VW Polo is offered with an automatic gearbox, expect the Hyundai i20 N to get a self-shifter in due course.

The all-wheel drive Toyota GR Yaris continues to be the class benchmark. Its potent race-bred 200kW/370Nm 1.6-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine outclasses all rivals, but the ticket to entry is expected to settle at the quoted $49,500 (plus on-road costs) retail price once the early batches are all sold.

The first 1000 examples of the Toyota GR Yaris sold out in less than a week at a specially discounted price of $39,950 drive-away, then another 100 units at $44,950 drive-away were added, showing there’s plenty of interest in small-but-powerful hot hatches in Australia.

Read our first drive of the 2020 Hyundai i20 N here.