2019 Hyundai i30 Fastback N Review | carsales

Oh mate, I could do this all day long.
The Hyundai i30 Fastback N is the cooler,
more stylish brother to the i30N Hatchback.
There’s no denying there’s a strong European
influence in the exterior design, but one
thing that hasn’t changed is that ripsnorting
engine.
The two litre turbo engine is an absolute
firecracker.
It makes all the right noises, but best of
all, there’s power right across the rev
range, so you’re always going to have that
torque to blast you out of corners.
Speaking of which, let’s go find some.
Out on the open road, this swoopy slink-mobile
is a delight to drive.
Compared to the hatch, it has a stiffer body,
but slightly softer front suspension.
Translated: it tips into corners with a bit
more precision now.
But it’s no perfect.
Look, some of the dash plastics are a little
average, and the glaring omission – an automatic
gearbox.
The standard equipment list is very good,
but if you want wireless phone charging and
leather seats, you’re going to have to pay
extra.
Cost of ownership is very tidy as well.
There’s affordable capped price servicing,
and the car comes with a five year warranty
for road and track.
Which begs the question: is this a bona fide
track weapon, or just a pretender?
I mean, it’s a longer car now, it’s got
a bigger

boot, it’s a more practical vehicle,
and it’s going to appeal to a more mature
buyer, so who’s actually going to take this
on the race track?
I guess I am.
Hyundai has softened off the suspension, and
that’s supposed to aid tip-in a little bit,
and make it a bit more playful at the rear,
and to a point, yes, these two elements do
show up in the way it drives, but being slightly
softer does give it a little bit more body
roll, and I’m not sure that I like that quite
as much as in the hatch.
This is no Porsche 911 GT3RS, and after half
a dozen laps of repeated punishment, the brake
pedal goes soft, and the anchors begin to
fade.
Now, considering there’s no Brembo brakes,
no Ohlin suspension and no Sparco seats, this
car does very, very well on the track.
One of the cool little track features for
this car is the F1 style LED lights at the
top of the dash, so you don’t even need to
look down at the taco to know when to change
gear, you just see those lights going white,
orange, red, time to change.
This car is hard to fault.
For $42,000, this uniquely styled performance
car, that will do 200 kilometres an hour without
even breaking a sweat is an unmitigated bargain.
Probably the only challenge this car will
face is stiff competition from the likes of
the Golf GTi, Civic Type R and Renault Megane
RS.
After all, badge value still counts for a
lot in the hot hatch market.
But tyre-frying versions of the i30 Hatch
and now the Fastback demonstrate that Hyundai
is not content just to play ball.
If this is a sign of what’s to come, Hyundai
will soon be a force to be reckoned with.

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