Hyundai has released a short clip teasing its first “N” Performance model, which is based on the i30 hatchback. All across the internet people claim it’s a victory, but really, it’s just a bit silly.
To my ears, Hyundai is just taking a page out of Mini’s John Cooper Works handbook and sort of intensifying it to a ridiculous level.
I recently drove a JCW through a city—windows down, sport mode engaged, constantly down-shifting back into second gear to get all the pops and quibbles I could out of the exhaust just to see the reactions of people around me. And it was fun, but I did feel silly.
According to this video, the i30 is only exaggerating on the garbling exhaust noise. Considering it looks like a Hyundai i30 and probably goes like a “quicker” Hyundai i30 (so not that quick), I can’t really take it seriously sounding like an underwater fireworks show.
But it does still seem fun.