► First pics of refreshed hot i30
► Tidied up design
► Eight-speed auto or six-speed manual
Hyundai has revealed a fresh, facelifted version of its i30 N hot hatch – and among the changes for this year is a new, eight-speed auto ‘box. There’s not a great deal of difference elsewhere, but considering just how engaging the outgoing car is, that’s no bad thing.
What’s different?
Not much on the outside. It still looks like an i30 N but get close enough and you’ll notice a new grille mesh, which Hyundai says helps to improve engine cooling. Headlamps with new ‘>’ shaped DRLs sit either side of the new grille, and the front and rear aprons have been tidied up.
Interestingly, many of the outside changes apply to the standard car and not the Fastback.
What about the engine?
Hyundai has retained the same vocal 2.0-litre turbocharged engine as the previous car, though it’s had a slight tune. Power is 247bhp for the standard car, but the Performance pack gets 276bhp – 5bhp more than before. The latter is up to 289lb ft of torque, too – all of which makes for a 0-62mph sprint of 5.9 seconds – 0.2 faster than the previous car. Top speed is a limited 155mph.
Gears?
The big news is the inclusion of an eight-speed DCT box, which can be operated with driver-mounted paddles. The new transmission is only available in place of the six-speed manual on the Performance model of the i30 N – though that’s the only model on sale in the UK, anyway.
Still, new auto ‘box comes with new N Grin features; including N Power Shift, N Track Sense Shift and N Grin Shift. The first two make for more aggressive gear selection, while the latter allows turbocharger overboost and maximum transmission response for 20 seconds.
Hyundai says this’ll give the car a PDK style ‘kick’ upshift, though it’s a shame it lasts for just 20 seconds…
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