Hyundai i30 N Line launches

Hyundai has finally launched a range-topping i30 N with an automatic transmission… well, sort of.

The Korean car giant has unveiled its first N Line model in Europe -- the Hyundai i30 N Line, a vehicle that looks like the hard-core 202kW tyre-shredding i30 N but isn’t.

The big wheels, sports body kit, perforated leather steering wheel and gearshifter -- not to mention suede sports seats with N logos -- are all there, providing a new product offering unlikely to cost as much as the full-bore $40K Hyundai i30 N – a vehicle that beat the Golf GTI and Civic Type R in our recent comparison test.

Hyundai Australia has not yet confirmed the model for Australia and so any speculation on price, positioning or launch timing are moot points at present.

But if it does come to Australia, we’d suggest the Hyundai i30 N Line will be priced between the 2.0-litre i30 Premium auto ($32,790) or 1.6-litre turbo-petrol i30 SR Premium auto ($34,490) and the i30N manual ($39,990), and that it might arrive here as part of a future mid-life facelift.

"We’re looking at the i30 N Line," said Bill Thomas, Hyundai Australia’s PR general manager. "It’s on our radar but we’ve got nothing to confirm at this point."

The Hyundai i30 N Line doesn’t have the massive 19-inch alloy wheels or dual exhaust outlets of the i30 N, but it does get similarly styled 18-inch alloy wheels and a tidy dual-tip exhaust system.

The front and rear bumpers and side skirts of the Hyundai i30 N Line are almost identical to the i30 N's which add plenty of visual impact and there’s a few mechanical upgrades too.

The N Line model benefits from bigger brakes, sportier suspension and a recalibrated engine tune for more response, all of which are claimed to "add extra spice to the regular i30 five-door".

Grippy Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres are also part of the N Line package, which will probably deliver more overall performance gains than any other tweaks made to the warm hatch.

However, Like all Hyundai models sold in Australia, the i30 N Line will be fettled by Hyundai Australia's black-ops suspension engineers to ensure they're well suited to Aussie roads.

In Europe the Hyundai i30 N Line is equipped with a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine (103kW/240Nm) hooked up to a seven-speed DCT automatic.

While the Hyundai i30 N Line is highly likely to appear in Australia eventually, it’s not clear whether the new engine will be added to the list or whether the warm hatch will get the i30 SR’s more powerful 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine (150kW/300Nm), which is also hooked up to the seven-speed DCT.

Either way, shoppers looking for a sporty Hyundai hatch wearing ‘N’ badges now have the option of an automatic transmission, as the $39,990 Hyundai i30 N will remain a manual-only proposition for the next couple of years.

The Hyundai i30 N Line will not be the last N Line model either, with a red hot Kona N SUV and Kona N Line expected to filter through in future.

It’s also possible that models without a fully-flavoured high-performance N variant could also get the N Line treatment, such as the Santa Fe, Elantra and Accent.

The strategy could eventually see Hyundai offer a new N Line version of every model in its range.

But where this leaves Hyundai Australia’s sporty SR model variants remains unclear, given the potential for customer confusion with two semi-sporty sub-brands.