Hyundai has officially revealed its updated i30 N hot hatch.
The updated i30 N gets the same new front-end styling as the rest of the facelifted i30 range, so there's a new grille, sharper-looking lights, and a general freshen-up. There are N logos everywhere, and around the back there's a new boot spoiler, a triangular high-level brake light, and two big exhaust pipes. Colour-wise, you can have your new i30 N in Performance Blue; Polar White; Engine Red; Sunset Red; Shadow Grey; Dark Knight; or Phantom Black.
Lighter 19-inch wheels
18-inch alloys are standard, but you can upgrade to new forged 19-inch rims, which combined save you 14.4kg off the unsprung weight of the car. As standard, the i30 N comes with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres, but the ones fitted with the optional Performance Pack get specially-made Pirelli P-Zeros.
Inside, there's a new instrument pack, which features analogue dials and the rev-counter has a variable redline (picked out in LED lights) that varies according to how well warmed-up the engine is. Optionally, you can spec the i30 N with new high-performance lightweight bucket seats, that are 2.2kg lighter than the standard chairs and come with premium leather and Alcantara suede.
The updated 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine comes, as before, in two power outputs. There's a standard model with 250hp, and 353Nm of torque. Or, you can go for the Performance Pack version, which now gets 280hp (up by 5hp from before) and 392Nm (up by 39Nm). That 280hp engine offers what Hyundai calls 'flat power' which aims to give you more low-down power and torque. Both versions have a maximum speed of 250km/h, and the new i30 N with the Performance Package can go from 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds, an improvement of 0.2 seconds.
New DCT dual-clutch gearbox
There's also a new eight-speed DCT dual-clutch automatic gearbox available for the first time on the i30 N. It comes with paddle shifters behind the wheel, and a series of different settings. The first, N Grin Shift, is activated by a button on the wheel, and allows the turbocharger to overboost and offer a bit more power for a 20 second burst.
N Power Shift cuts in automatically when you're accelerating hard, and minimises the torque interruption when upshifting. Finally, N Track Sense Shift senses if the car is being driven on track, and adjusts its shift programme accordingly.
As before, the overall 'N Grin Control System' allows drivers to choose from various modes for the car, including Eco, Normal, Sport, N and N Custom. The driving modes adjust the parameters of the engine, the suspension, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), N Corner Carving Differential (Electronically-controlled Limited Slip Differential), exhaust sound, steering, and transmission to optimise them for a variety of driving conditions. In the N Custom mode, drivers can select from Eco, Normal, Sport and Sport+ settings for each of these components to match driving preferences and road conditions.
Updated suspension and limited slip diff
The new i30 N gets updated suspension tuning, and if you go for the Performance Pack model, then you get the N Corner Carving Differential, an electronically controlled limited slip differential (eLSD), and bigger front brakes (up from 345mm to 360mm).
The new i30 N has been upgraded to include more Hyundai SmartSense active safety and driver assistance features. Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist has been upgraded to include pedestrian detection (FCA-P). Lane Following Assist (LFA) works to keep the vehicle centred in its lane even before the vehicle begins to drift to one side. The hatchback version of the new i30 N with N DCT comes with the option of Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA-R). This function can activate the brakes to prevent a collision when switching lanes on the highway or when exiting a parallel parking spot. Similarly, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA), also available on the hatchback with N DCT, can activate the brakes when an obstruction is detected directly behind the vehicle and the car is in reverse, such as when exiting a normal parking spot.
Inside, there's a new 10.25-inch touchscreen which comes with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and the new Hyundai Bluelink connectivity system which includes smartphone connection, sat-nav hand-off, and live parking information.