Autocar UK – 28 August 2019

HYUNDAI i30 N

FASTBACK

SIMON DAVIS

Surprised by just

how much I warmed

to this blimp-shaped

fastback. For sheer

entertainment

value, this is the car

I enjoyed most after

the MX-5. For me, it

easily felt like one of

the more expressive

cars here.

KNOCKOUT ROUND BBADC 2019

28 AUGUST 2019 AUTOCAR.CO.UK 51

Price £29,995

Engine  4 cyls, 1998cc,

turbocharged, petrol

Power  271bhp at 6000rpm

Torque  279lb ft at 1750-4200rpm

(overboost)

Gearbox 6-spd manual

Kerb weight 1441kg

0-62mph  6.1sec

Top speed  155mph (governed)

Economy  34mpg

CO 2 , tax band na

HYUNDAI i3 0 N FASTBACK

existent on a typical B-road because

of the stiffened-up Cup chassis.

Davis likens the robust spring rates

a nd r e s t le s s s t e e r i n g t o c hu gg i n g

back a quadruple-espresso: “The

hyperactivity is entertaining for

a time but it ultimately leaves you

feeling a bit rough and broken.”

Saunders, though, reckons that in

years gone by, you’d have put up

with the brutality underfoot for the

‘perfect’ Renault Sport hydraulic

steering and a chassis of almost

mid-engined poise.

But for me, it isn’t an indefensible

c a r. T he s e c u r it y pr ov ide d b y t he

Recaro buckets and pared-back cabin

a mbie nc e i s s e c ond on l y t o t he Hond a

in its intuitive, ‘are you ready to go

fast?’ feel. The four-wheel steering

can feel clumsily calibrated but

equally I’m not sure any car here can

match its Swingball apex speed, at

least on track. I’m in awe of the agility

this chassis can generate and enjoy

the levity of its 296bhp 1.8-litre turbo

engine. On these cambered, variously

dry, damp and outright wet Welsh

roads, you need to drive around the

Renault’s flaws, anticipating the

understeer you sometimes get with

an ultra-stiff front axle but allowing

the rear to alter your trajectory

onc e t he no s e i s t u r ne d i n. Dav i s i s

absolutely right: it’s exhausting. But

it ’s a l s o e xc it i n g a nd r e w a rd i n g, i f not

to quite the high standards Renault

Sport has met in the past.

After two days on road and track,

the five testers deliver their top three

from the confines of the drivers’

br ie f i n g r o om at L l a ndow. Ea c h one

of the judges has the name of either

the Honda or the Mazda somewhere

on their top-three shortlist. I happen

to think the Civic Type R is a more

impressive realisation of what a front-

driven machine can ultimately be

than the MX-5 is for team rear-wheel

drive, but they’re both fantastic cars

and easily through.

Davis has the Hyundai in third,

mainly for its road-going competence

and unexpectedly expressive track

handling. There is also talk of the

Golf GTI TCR, as rounded as a

wave-worn pebble and now quick

enough to front up to anything in

this class. But no, everyone else has

the Focus on their final shortlist.

With handling genetics recognisable

f r om t he Fie s t a ST, it ’s si mpl y t o o

a c c ompl i she d t o not b e pa r t of t he

f i n a l r e c k on i n g. But i s it go o d e nou g h

to beat the Honda and Mazda?

Saunders adjudicates overleaf. RL ◊

Golf and Leon ST are

close relatives with

different characters

Cupra means a squared-off wheel and Alcantara sport seats

Abarth’s fascia appears as busy as the car sounds and feels

There’s a pleasing sense of material richness in the Golf GTI

Mini’s retro-nuanced look gains sporty details in JCW guise