Hyundai i30 N Line sedan 2021 Review

Forget ho-hum passenger sedans. Hyundai genuinely wants to spice up a languishing segment with the introduction of the new 2021 Hyundai i30 N Line sedan.

It’s no secret traditional passenger cars are increasingly on the nose to SUV-savvy consumers. The sales say as much.

The i30 N Line sedan has hit Aussie showrooms bearing a distinct sporty flavour, one that provides a positive portent for the forthcoming slew of new fully-fledged Hyundai N imports.

The i30 N Line sedan also complements the existing Hyundai i30 N Line hatch, offering more interior space and the benefits of a booted body style.

Let’s get to it.

The seventh-generation 2021 Hyundai i30 sedan is built on Hyundai/Kia’s K3 platform and has a longer wheelbase, wider stance and lower roofline than the previous Hyundai Elantra that had been on sale in Australia since 2016.

An altogether different, American-bred vehicle compared to the Euro-focused Hyundai i30 hatch – which has just received an overhaul – the new sedan has been brought into the i30 stable by Hyundai Australia to boost sales and potentially even win bragging rights over the Toyota Corolla as the nation’s biggest-selling small car.

The six-variant 2021 Hyundai i30 sedan line-up opens at $24,790 plus on-road costs for the Active, while at the top of the range the three-tiered N Line range starts at $30,290 plus ORCs and finishes with the $37,290 N Line Premium.

The sedan starting price is $1370 more expensive than the cheapest i30 hatch and the flagship is $1070 higher.

Differentiating the i30 N Line sedan from garden-variety models is a sports suspension tune, multi-link rear suspension (swapped from a torsion beam) and a more powerful turbo-petrol engine.

The regular N Line comes with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch auto option, the latter adding $2000. The Premium tested here is auto-only.

The i30 N Line is fitted standard with LED headlights and tail-lights, 18-inch alloys, dual-zone climate control, a leather-appointed interior, 8.0-inch infotainment screen and partially digital instrument cluster, a rear camera and rear parking sensors, wireless (Qi standard) smartphone charging and wireless Apple CarPlay and corded Android Auto connection.

The N Line Premium has a larger 10.25-inch touch-screen, digital instrument cluster, sunroof, front parking sensors, a heated steering wheel and 10-way power-adjustable, heated and ventilated front seats with position memory.

Oddly, the N Line Premium misses out on the regular version’s wireless Apple CarPlay system because it adopts a larger screen.

Hyundai is pushing safety upgrades for the i30 sedan, which include camera- and sensor-based autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection and a junction turning function.

However, as carsales has reported separately, the i30 sedan is a rare mainstream new small car on sale today without a rating from the independent crash testing authority ANCAP.

Other key safety features include six airbags, driver assistance warning, lane keep assist, lane follow assist, adaptive cruise control (auto only), blind spot collision avoidance, rear cross traffic alert and parking collision avoidance.

The entire N Line range is backed by Hyundai’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty and is offered with $299 capped-price servicing intervals that are spaced across more frequent 12-month/10,000km intervals than the i30 sedan’s non-turbo engine.

The 2021 Hyundai i30 N Line sedan measures 4650mm long, up 30mm on the previous model and stretching much further from end to end than the hatch (4340mm).

It rests on a longer wheelbase – 2720mm compared to the previous 2700mm and the hatch’s 2650mm – and boasts improved front and rear legroom (at 1074/954mm) and luggage space (474L) over its predecessor and its five-door stablemate.

Despite being bigger, the i30 N Line sedan is in fact lighter than the equivalent hatch – 1385kg versus 1436kg.

As with all i30 sedans, N Line variants receive Australian suspension tuning.

The i30 N Line sedan’s engine is in fact different to the hatch as well, even though they share the same output. The latest Smartstream engine has a different turbocharger, different bore and stroke and a different spread of power and torque, reaching peak figures from 6000rpm and 1500-4500rpm respectively.

All told, Hyundai claims the automatic i30 N Line sedan can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 7.6 seconds.

The 2021 Hyundai i30 N Line sedan’s sporting pretentions present more or less from the moment you lower into its front bucket driver’s seat.

The interior is a pleasant mix of contemporary digital displays, nice-to-haves and comfort, with soft-touch materials and tasteful racy cues, like the black headlining and contrasting red elements.

The button-style gear selector system has its own idiosyncrasies, and the hard-wired buttons on the centre fascia arguably aren’t as intuitive as they could be – positioned underneath the screen rather than around it.

Elsewhere, soft-touch materials adorn the front contact points, there is ample odds-and-ends storage and charging is facilitated via three USB ports, a 12-volt outlet and wireless phone charging.

The second row begins to reveal elements of the i30 sedan’s build price, with harder contact points, a relatively flat bench and no rear power outlets.

However, space is commensurate with the sedan’s 4.65-metre length – good for a couple of adults or children, notwithstanding a shortage of foot space under the front seats – and there are rear air vents and split-folding seats.

The 474-litre boot area is also a boon, even if the boot arms impinge on space.

With that said, our main gripe in the N Line Premium extends to the positioning of the driver’s seat: the electric adjustment doesn’t allow you to fully lower into the cabin. It means you never feel fully immersed in the cabin.

On the road, there are no such problems getting to speed with the N Line. It’s a user-friendly and, for the most part, comfortable daily driver, but it has a broader performance envelope than you might anticipate.

The ride on 18-inch wheels errs on the firmer side of the ledger. Small-amplitude bumps tremor their way through the chassis – though never to the point of distraction – while larger obstacles are met with a firmness that does without crashing or jarring.

Road noise is another ever-present feature, especially on coarse-chip sections.

The sweetener is a ride and handling package that is quite comfortable on a mountain pass or through a set of higher-speed twisties.

The i30 sedan’s front-drive underpinnings aside, there is a playful demeanour to the N Line thanks in large part to its multi-link rear suspension, which endows the flagship with newfound precision and agility.

Mid-corner grip on Goodyear Eagle F1 tyres is admirable given the N Line’s ‘warmed over’ positioning, and even when there is lateral movement it is usually well metered and predictable.

The key controls are similarly minded in their weighting and precision, while also being soft enough for the daily commute.

The engine, too, offers its own sporting wares in the form of a bassy burble, albeit in conjunction with some initial hesitation from the dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Those traits are soon overcome by a linear power curve, with peak torque materialising from 1500rpm, and smooth, concise shifts from the DCT. The engine’s mid-range is quite pleasant, offering useable spread of power and torque ideal for overtaking manoeuvres and getting up to highway speed.

The engine ultimately doesn’t reach the lofty crescendo or theatre as the much more convincing i30 N, with uninspiring vocals and a strain towards its 6500rpm cut-out.

But given the i30 N Line sedan’s desire to balance comfort and performance, it feels like a fitting powertrain.

Consumers are better off for the introduction of the 2021 Hyundai i30 N Line sedan.

Not only does it offer more choice in a crowded SUV market, it adds another layer of depth to Hyundai’s N portfolio.

Ultimately, if your heart is set on the fiercer i30 N sedan, we reckon it will be worth hanging out for.

If a warmed-over everyday sedan is more your style, the i30 N Line four-door makes a compelling argument – and it does so in a shrinking marketplace.