Over 2 million for a hot hatch from Hyundai. Is it a lot or a little?
Where are you, those happy times, when the Russian buyer was offered a whole scattering of powerful and fast hatchbacks of a golf class for every taste and color? Irrevocably sunk into oblivion. But once the choice in this very specific class was very extensive. At various times, we could buy VW Golf GTI and even R, Renault Megane RS, Opel Astra OPC, Ford Focus ST and even RS, as well as the fast Korean Kia cee’d GT. Replacing the latter in some sense can be considered a new ProCeed station wagon, which has a 200-strong version. The rest of the moment in this segment is an absolute vacuum. So from this point of view, we can assume that the Russian division of Hyundai got to the point: the 249-horsepower i30 N simply has no competitors (after all, as an alternative, you can also take the option with a capacity of 275 hp). And the presence of a sports unit and a similar car raises the company’s image strongly. But do many of us need a golf class hatchback for 2.2 million rubles?
What is the Hyundai i30 N?
The child of the second, second sub-brand Hyundai (the first, as you remember, was the luxury Genesis) has a very impressive list of improvements compared to the standard i30, which, by the way, has not yet returned to the Russian market. The power of this hatchback really inspires respect.
Even the usual Hyundai i30 looks great and certainly much fresher and more expensive than its predecessor. Version N – even more taut and “evil.” Pay attention to the abundance of small strokes: red “eyeliner” on the bumpers with the original aerodynamic elements, red calipers, a large spoiler on the fifth door, the “double barrel” exhaust and pseudo diffuser
On the racetrack i30 N looks quite harmonious. In profile, he has perfect proportions for the hatchback. The diffuser at the rear is a sham, immediately behind it is the transverse “bank” of the muffler. But the rear wing on the rear door is real and really reduces lift at high speeds
Such a price for the Hyundai i30 N in the initial version of the Sport explains not only its unprecedented power characteristics, but also foreign production – all “charged” Hyundai will be brought to us from the Czech plant of the company in Noshovice. The more powerful 275-strong version of Ultimate, of course, is even more expensive – 2,350,000 rubles. By the way, in Germany such an i30 in terms of rubles costs even a little more – 2,375,000 rubles (having cut down some options and having agreed with the Czech plant, the Russian representative office managed to set a quite adequate price). Nevertheless, over the first two months of sales in Europe, more than 1,700 copies of the i30 N were sold (which is 150% more than the plan), although the price is not lower there than in class luminaries such as the Volkswagen Golf GTI or the Ford Focus ST. And the Australian quota of 500 cars is understated, they say, many times. We are sure that there will be connoisseurs with us. But is it really that cool, this new i30 N?
Why n? And who is in charge here?
The answer to the first question is very simple: the Hyundai research and development center is located in the Korean city of Namyang. Since 2015, this department has been headed by a very famous person in the automotive world – Albert Birman. For those who are in the tank, this guy otpahal 31 years at BMW, leading the development team of the sports department M. So that he knows how to build fast cars. You look, the word Enka will soon come into use!
Albert birman
Albert Birman tuned the handling of a huge number of M-car suspensions, and at the helm of the sports department of a Korean company he could not overlook this important parameter. The i30 N has a “short” steering wheel with an electric booster on the rail (2.1 turns from one stop to another), other springs and electronically controlled shock absorbers, more rigid engine and gearbox supports (only 6-step reinforced “mechanics” with modified gear ratios and Rev Matching peregazovka function), 18-inch wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport tires and struts in the engine compartment (masked under the upper bar) and behind the rear seats. The Ultimate version is additionally equipped with an electronic imitation of an eLSD differential lock of its own design, more powerful brakes (front wheels – 345 mm), 19-inch Pirelli P Zero tires (marked HN – that is, they are “welded” specifically for Hyundai) and an exhaust system with a special a valve that, at the driver’s command, allows the i30 N to sing loudly or, on the contrary, to quiet down. ESP on a hot hatch can be completely disabled, there is even a Launch Control system!
During the test Hyundai i30 N ran 10,000 km in combat mode on the most demanding race track of the world – the Nurburgring.
But the main feature is, of course, the same 2.0-liter turbo engine, so even with two levels of boost. Where did he come from? Well, for example, the same power unit is under the hood of the top GT modification of the Kia Optima sedan – Theta II T-GDI.
