Hyundai i30 manual axed

You can no longer buy a manual Hyundai i30… unless it’s an N-car.

Following last week’s release of the facelifted 2024 Hyundai i30 hatch, every non-N i30 variant offered in Australia now comes standard with either a continuously variable transmission (CVT) or dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The decision to ditch the traditionally more budget-friendly and involving transmission almost entirely from the Korean brand’s small-car portfolio hasn’t been justified in great length by Hyundai Australia, but it has confirmed manual i30 sedans were axed globally as part of the model’s mid-life facelift late last year due to slow sales.

We’re still waiting for an official explanation as to why a manual version of the new mild-hybrid i30 N-Line isn’t available Down Under despite its ongoing availability in Europe, though it would seem the DIY transmission choice fell out of favour with consumers, with just 5.2 per cent of all non-N i30 hatches sold last year being manuals.

For comparison’s sake, just 4.7 per cent of all non-N i30 sedans sold last year were manuals. The manual-less facelifted version arrived in October.

Performance fans needn’t worry though, because Hyundai Australia is adamant the six-speed manual will be sticking around in the N portfolio, with both the i30 N hatch and sedan set to retain their stick-shift option until the end of their respective lifecycles.

“Manuals are here to stay on N models,” a local Hyundai spokesperson told carsales, reinforcing a stance it first announced in 2021 in the lead-up to the release of the i30 N Sedan and Kona N.

Hyundai Australia was so committed to manuals at the time that it even took on some of the development costs of the i30 N Sedan to ensure local customers the same options as i30 N hatch buyers.

The 2023 sales breakdown reveals a much larger portion of the i30 N hatches delivered last year were manual (21.3%) compared to the i30 Sedan (8.5%).

Regardless, the core i30 line-up’s move away from manual transmissions officially marks the death of the manual-equipped mainstream small car (aside from the Ns and their rivals including the Honda Civic Type R, Subaru WRX, Toyota GR Corolla and, for now, the Renault Megane RS).

Every single one of the i30 hatch and sedan’s rivals transitioned to an auto-only arrangement well before this year, leaving the Kia Picanto micro-car and the Mazda2 and Suzuki Swift light cars as the last compact mainstream models available with a manual transmission (apart from the Abarth 695, Toyota GR Yaris and Hyundai i20 N hot hatches).

A few manuals can still be found in the mainstream SUV ranks – Suzuki Ignis, Hyundai Venue, Mitsubishi ASX, Suzuki Vitara, Kia Sportage – but their numbers are also dwindling and they’re exclusively offered at the bottom of the range.

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