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Hello from France – i30 N FL 2021 (6MT)
- Thread starter xavier
- Start date
Thanks!
I’m actually based in Meurthe-et-Moselle, in the east of France near the German and Luxembourg borders.
My car actually comes from Germany — I imported it because Hyundai doesn’t officially sell the i30 N here in France anymore due to the very harsh CO₂ penalty (“malus écologique”), which made it almost impossible to sell profitably here. The facelifted i30 N was never offered officially in France because of that (The tax for my 2021 version is €3,953. For a 2024 version, it's €22,094 !!!
)Even here, N cars are still quite rare — spotting another one always feels like a small event
If you ever come back to France and hear an i30 N, it might be me !
Thanks!
Yes, it’s a 2021 facelift, imported from Germany. When I bought it, the car had 67,000 km.
The total cost was €35,900, all included. That figure includes €3,953 of CO₂ malus and €1,020 for the registration (carte grise) in Meurthe-et-Moselle. I also used a broker, as I don’t speak German and the import and administrative process in France is far from simple.
I deliberately chose the 6-speed manual. I wanted a manual gearbox anyway, but it also makes a big difference for the CO₂ figures: the manual is rated at 182 g/km, while the DCT is at 191 g/km.
https://www.hyundai.com/eu/en/driving-hyundai/information/wltp.html#i30-n
For comparison, the same car with the DCT would have meant €6,207 of malus and about €1,020 for registration, so the gap becomes significant very quickly.
https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/simulateur/calcul/cout-certificat-immatriculation
Even insurance was a bit tricky — I’m insured with one of the biggest companies in France (M...F
), and they didn’t even have the i30 N FL in their system.
There is also no official owner’s manual in French for the facelift. I asked both Hyundai France and my local dealer — it simply doesn’t exist.
That’s actually how I ended up on this forum: I found a translated version of the manual here.
Yes, it’s a 2021 facelift, imported from Germany. When I bought it, the car had 67,000 km.
The total cost was €35,900, all included. That figure includes €3,953 of CO₂ malus and €1,020 for the registration (carte grise) in Meurthe-et-Moselle. I also used a broker, as I don’t speak German and the import and administrative process in France is far from simple.
I deliberately chose the 6-speed manual. I wanted a manual gearbox anyway, but it also makes a big difference for the CO₂ figures: the manual is rated at 182 g/km, while the DCT is at 191 g/km.
https://www.hyundai.com/eu/en/driving-hyundai/information/wltp.html#i30-n
For comparison, the same car with the DCT would have meant €6,207 of malus and about €1,020 for registration, so the gap becomes significant very quickly.
https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/simulateur/calcul/cout-certificat-immatriculation
Even insurance was a bit tricky — I’m insured with one of the biggest companies in France (M...F
), and they didn’t even have the i30 N FL in their system.There is also no official owner’s manual in French for the facelift. I asked both Hyundai France and my local dealer — it simply doesn’t exist.
That’s actually how I ended up on this forum: I found a translated version of the manual here.
By the way, the car already had part of a Maxton Design kit when I bought it — I honestly didn’t notice it at first on the German dealer’s photos 
It has the rear diffuser, rear sde splitters, side skirts and a spoiler cap.
I don’t have the front splitter, as I later found out the front bumper had been replaced and the splitter was missing. I suspect the car had a minor impact at some point, but the chassis and mechanical parts were not affected. I also have one slightly bent wheel with winter tyres, which probably fits the same story
I hesitated about removing the Maxton parts at first, but in the end I actually like the look, so I decided to keep them
It has the rear diffuser, rear sde splitters, side skirts and a spoiler cap.
I don’t have the front splitter, as I later found out the front bumper had been replaced and the splitter was missing. I suspect the car had a minor impact at some point, but the chassis and mechanical parts were not affected. I also have one slightly bent wheel with winter tyres, which probably fits the same story
I hesitated about removing the Maxton parts at first, but in the end I actually like the look, so I decided to keep them
and I thought the UK's tax rules were bad... €22k just wow!
i30N here is "standard rate" for tax so the same as most non-hybrid cars; but I think when I got my mustang in '16 I paid £4k tax on first registration + £500->£750 per year (they raised it a lot per year) on the 7.5 years I had it.
i30N here is "standard rate" for tax so the same as most non-hybrid cars; but I think when I got my mustang in '16 I paid £4k tax on first registration + £500->£750 per year (they raised it a lot per year) on the 7.5 years I had it.
It’s obviously not simple at all… when it comes to taxes in France, we’re kind of champions at building very complex systems
In short, the French “malus” is a CO₂-based tax applied when a car is first registered in France. The important point is that the malus table used is always the one from the year of the car’s first registration, not the year it is imported.
In my case, my i30 N was first registered in 2021, so even though I imported it in 2025, the 2021 malus table applies.
For used imported cars, the malus is then reduced depending on the age of the vehicle, with a percentage reduction applied year after year. The reduction increases with age and reaches 100% after 15 years, but for recent cars the remaining amount can still be very high.
This is why importing a relatively recent performance car can still be extremely expensive in France.
Just to give a very concrete and accessible example:
in 2025, a new Ford Mustang GT V8 (around 275 g/km of CO₂, price ~€59,000) would immediately hit the maximum malus of €70,000.
In that case, the tax alone costs more than the car itself, which is exactly why Ford no longer officially sells the V8 Mustang in France.
For 2026, the tax starts at 108g (€50) and the maximum is 192+ (€80k)
To simulate the impact of the penalty : https://www.simulateurmalus.fr/index.html
Just for fun (or to cry about): A simulation on the official government website (not my i30N ) : https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/simulateur/calcul/cout-certificat-immatriculation
) : https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/simulateur/calcul/cout-certificat-immatriculation