Hyundai i30 Sedan N 2024 Review

How much does the Hyundai i30 N sedan cost?

Pricing for the 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N starts at $52,000 plus on-road costs, a mild $1800 increase over its predecessor.

Choosing the variant is easy as there’s only one, with options limited to one of seven colours (premium paint $595) and a sunroof ($2000).

Rivals at this price point are essentially non-existent. European offerings in the same vein like the Audi S3 sedan (from $74,000) and the BMW M235i Gran Coupe (from $83,800) are much more expensive and it’s a similar story with hot hatches such as the Honda Civic Type R ($72,600 drive-away) and Volkswagen Golf R ($70,590 plus ORCs).

The Subaru WRX RS (from $51,490) is a close competitor conceptually, though a previous comparison showed the pre-facelift Hyundai to be the superior car, so perhaps the Cupra Leon VZx (from $61,690) and Toyota GR Corolla GTS (from $64,190) are also tempting you?

As mentioned, the only option on the 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N is a sunroof so it comes stacked with standard equipment.

The sports seats are leather, the fronts are heated and ventilated and the driver’s is powered (10-way) with memory and easy-access functions.

There’s a heated steering wheel, keyless entry/start, LED lights front and rear, ambient lighting, dual-zone climate control and an eight-speaker Bose stereo, while the 19-inch forged alloy wheels have a new design and are lighter than before.

Externally, there’s revised lighting and a redesigned front-end, a new front bumper for better cooling, a more aggressive rear bumper and black badging inside and out.

Hyundai’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty applies, including non-competitive track use, while servicing is $1795 over the first five visits, required every 12 months or 10,000km.

There’s no official safety rating for the 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N and the brand’s recent track record means a five-star rating isn’t necessarily a fait accompli.

That said, the car’s body structure is stronger than before, there’s plenty of airbags and all the active safety equipment you’d expect, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, lane assist and departure warning, rear cross traffic alert and more.

Unfortunately, the calibration of the lane-keep leaves a bit to be desired and the incessant bings and bongs from various systems are very irritating. Thankfully, they can be turned off quite easily but this needs to happen on every journey.

Well, doesn’t need to, but it makes for much more relaxing progress.

The giant widescreen display that incorporates both the infotainment and digital instruments is familiar from other models but still has plenty of wow factor in the 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N.

The infotainment is relatively easy to navigate though there are quite a few menus within menus within menus. Wired smartphone mirroring is standard in addition to sat-nav, digital radio, voice control and the like.

It also includes the excellent N Mode which offers all sorts of telemetry and performance data as well as activating launch control, fiddling with the many vehicle settings as well as a lap timer with most Australian circuits already loaded in – just hit a button and it’ll not only record your laps but compare them to your best, too.

The digital instruments are very easily navigated, offer various screens and glow a fiery red when you select the sportier drive modes.

New gear includes a USB-C port, a larger wireless charging pad and Hyundai’s Bluelink connected services, allowing stolen vehicle tracking, automatic emergency services contact in the event of an incident and remote vehicle monitoring via smartphone.

The powertrain remains untouched in the 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N, so you’re left with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder producing 206kW/392Nm – no bad thing at all.

An eight-speed dual-clutch is standard, with a six-speed manual a no-cost option.

Hyundai doesn’t claim official 0-100km/h figures but based on previous testing expect low-5s for the DCT, with the manual a few tenths slower.

Official claimed fuel consumption is 8.3L/100km for the 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N dual-clutch and 8.5L/100km for the manual.

As ever with this sort of car, it’ll be frugal on a highway cruise and decidedly not-frugal when using its performance.

Having had the opportunity to explore the new 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N’s limits on track this section will concentrate on its behaviour at more sedate speeds. And the verdict is very, very good.

As mentioned earlier, some of the active safety systems are overzealous, there can be significant road noise on certain surfaces and there is the occasional hesitation from the dual-clutch – par for the course with this sort of transmission – but in general this is an exceedingly polished car.

Of particular note is the ride quality. Mechanical changes to the new i30 Sedan N are very much of the fine-detail variety – updated steering components here, redesigned upper engine mount there, new bushings – but revisions to the damper tune have paid dividends, presumably aided by the lower unsprung mass of the new 19-inch wheels.

A rethink in philosophy thanks to lessons learned during IONIQ 5 N development has resulted in dampers that can react much more quickly than previously. As such, in Comfort mode there’s still excellent control, rather than the floppiness that sometimes results in slackening off the suspension, and while there is a degree of firmness this is a comfortable car.

Likewise, the steering is on the weighty side but pleasantly so, at least in Normal rather than Sport that adds extra heft for no discernible benefit.

It’s a pleasant, easy car to drive with plenty of pace for the occasional squirt should the mood take you, but there’s another side to its personality.

It is truly incredible how capable and comfortable the 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N – a sub-$60K sedan on road – is on track. And I don’t mean comfortable in a luxury sense, rather the fact that it feels completely in its element.

How much better is it than its predecessor? Unclear. Hyundai claims the new car is much sharper but the old one was great and without one on hand to directly compare, quantifying that is difficult.

What isn’t difficult is identifying how and why the i30 Sedan N is so good. The engine is super-strong, the revised 2.0-litre that arrived with the facelifted hatch possessing a huge midrange with a very aggressive soundtrack – it’s one of the better four-cylinder engines around.

Transmission? Take your pick. The dual-clutch is probably ultimately quicker – its ratios are certainly better suited to Winton – but the manual is very good, too.

The brakes are fantastic and remain rock-solid lap after lap after lap, there’s great traction from the electronically controlled limited-slip diff, but it’s the chassis that is again the highlight.

Turn-in is immediate, resistance to understeer strong but the chassis has been set up to allow plenty of rear-end involvement. This keeps you on your toes in long, faster corners like Winton’s sweeper as the rear-end is constantly threatening to edge wide, but it still sticks and helps keep the nose always pointing where you intend it to.

Trail the brakes into a corner and the rear-end will float into oversteer; give it a flick at the same time and lurid slides are yours for the taking. It’s confidence-inspiring and incredibly enjoyable.

Despite sharing a name with its hatchback sibling, the 2024 Hyundai i30 N sedan’s interior is radically different.

The cabin is supremely driver-focused and the larger screens and fancier switchgear give it a more premium vibe than the hatch.

The driver’s seat is set perhaps a fraction high but otherwise it’s easy enough to find a comfortable position.

This is also the case in the rear thanks to a remarkable amount of room for what is considered a small car.

Even with the driver’s seat set virtually all the way back there is still ample legroom and plenty of headroom.

Amenities include air vents and a pair of USB-C ports but that’s about it, with only one mesh pocket on the passenger side and no fold-down arm rest for coffees or similar.

The boot is a handy size at 464 litres; not as convenient a shape as a hatchback, perhaps, but with space more akin to a medium SUV.

The one downside is that the rear strut brace sits in the way if you fold the rear seat down, but that pin-sharp handling doesn’t come for nothing.

As you’ve probably deduced by now, the 2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N is a fantastic car.

While this certainly won’t be a big seller, if it at all suits your needs you’re likely to be very pleased with it.

Tremendous performance, great dynamics, loaded with equipment, comfortable and practical for not a huge amount of money.

This facelift isn’t transformative but it makes an already talented car sharper and more comfortable, which is quite an achievement.

A great car for the driving enthusiast.

2024 Hyundai i30 Sedan N at a glance:
Price: $52,000 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 206kW/392Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual/Eight-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 8.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 189g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested