For many years Hyundai has been left out of the market when it comes to the hot hatch. While this part of the automotive world has only begun to grow in recent years, the team at Hyundai has finally found a way to respond and begin to show up with what should be a dynamic vehicle lineup for us to enjoy. They have named a new sub brand the “N” performance sub brand and this brand will be the new face of the hot hatch along with other vehicle types to give us some exciting and fun models to drive for the future.
One of the most talked about models that will come from Hyundai is the i30 N but this won’t be the model we see in North America, at least not at first. When the new N brand comes to the market we will have a performance version of the Veloster, which makes perfect sense because the Veloster was supposed to be a performance model from the start. What we might see from the Veloster is already being presented in the i30 N and this car gives us an indication of what we should expect.
The i30 N uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged GDI engine to give this little hatchback 246 horsepower and 260 lb.-ft. of torque. There is a Performance Package option which allows the car to be boosted to 271 horsepower. This power is pushed through to the front wheels using a six-speed manual transmission with rev-matching which can give this car the ability to reach sixty mph in 6.4 seconds on the standard models or 6.1 seconds with the Performance Package. There is a five mode drive select system to allow for the choices of Eco, Normal, Sport, N and N Custom modes.
Using the drive select system this car can allow you to change the engine, traction control, e-diff, exhaust, adaptive steering, and rev-matching parameters. Using the Performance Pack will add an active exhaust system, 19-inch wheels, Pirelli high-performance tires, larger front and rear brakes with red calipers and more. The inside offers a large N steering wheel with buttons that are easy to find for when you’re on the track. The seats are high-performance sport seats and you can choose either leather or suede to have them covered in for the ride. The standard screen is a 5.0-inch touchscreen with an 8.0-inch model offered. Both of these will have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto offered as standard fare.
The official unveiling of the i30 N will take place in September at the Frankfurt Motor Show but we might not see what the Veloster N will look like or what it will have in regards to performance until it hits our market later in the year. Hopefully, the Veloster N will be an exciting enough model to allow us to be ready to drive this car and have what we want on the road and at the track which might make Hyundai decide to bring the i30 N to our market as well.
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