The i30N hits New Zealand - All Black ;)

[I30NFastback2020]

Nice one, did you purchase the one from Greenlane Hyundai?
I'll wave out and yell 'snap'..., mines shadow grey too.

I purchased from Manukau Hyundai, they hurried it from the ports as I had a test drive booked - I initially wanted the Hatchback but when I saw the Fastback I instantly fell in love haha. I’ll be on the look out for your Shadow Grey one too then!

 

[IMLAYT]

I purchased from Manukau Hyundai, they hurried it from the ports as I had a test drive booked - I initially wanted the Hatchback but when I saw the Fastback I instantly fell in love haha. I’ll be on the look out for your Shadow Grey one too then!

We got ours from Winger Pukekohe in October, we held out for the fastback once we heard they were coming in, the first shipment was just 6 vehicles.
Initially only 1 black, 1 white and 4 Shadow Grey came in, I think.
Was yours on a second shipment or part of the first?

 

[I30NFastback2020]

We got ours from Winger Pukekohe in October, we held out for the fastback once we heard they were coming in, the first shipment was just 6 vehicles.
Initially only 1 black, 1 white and 4 Shadow Grey came in, I think.
Was yours on a second shipment or part of the first?

Second shipment I think as mine had only been in the country for 2 weeks before ending up with the dealer for my test drive, dealer told me that I’d have one of the first ten fastbacks into the country apparently there is another shipment currently on the way and the dealer told me that there were no fastbacks in the shipment so I was lucky that I was able to grab the one I got as no guarantee on a next shipment

 

[Tomnz]

hi i pick up mine from ch ch 2020 shadow grey fastback with 1200 on the clock ex demo drove to auckland fab trip,have had it for 5 months and it get better ever day ,on Friday 26/02/2021to ok it to Pukekohe for a track day my first one the car was fantastic the best i could do was 182 in fifth gear on the back straight neve been on a track in my life,great car,ps/the n/p is MYNxxx

 

[Carlos]

Ordered a i30N Series II in 6MT, arrives in 2023 down here in Tauranga.

It was the result of a lot of new car research after Subaru dropped the "New" STi that never made it to production as my first choice, I mean you couldn't go past that promise of 400Hp could you ? They kept me waiting and wasted my time for well over a year.

Next up was the Toyota GR Corolla and it was starting to feel quite familiar. In the end from what I could see you wouldn't actually get your hands on one until 2024. Fully expecting it to be a NZD$70K car as well so more expensive than the i30N and way down of specifications. I ended up with a list of some 20 things that GR lacked.

Out of the blue came Hyundai and after initially ruling out a FWD only car, the likes of the E-Diff and a test drive did it for me. The engineering and the spec for the price is hard to beat.

Very hard to get a AWD manual hatch in New Zealand. Shame about the Golf R, its available in this exact format in North America only. VW really need to get their act together.

 

[Stray Kiwi]

Very hard to get a AWD manual hatch in New Zealand. Shame about the Golf R, its available in this exact format in North America only. VW really need to get their act together.

GR Yaris/GR Corolla and WRX Premium are your only choices.

I looked at buying a second hand v7 Golf R a couple of years ago and manual versions were very hard to come by, it's not surprising VW stopped selling the manual option here. The VW DSG is pretty slick but ultimately unrewarding to drive.

 

[Carlos]

GR Yaris/GR Corolla and WRX Premium are your only choices.

I looked at buying a second hand v7 Golf R a couple of years ago and manual versions were very hard to come by, it's not surprising VW stopped selling the manual option here. The VW DSG is pretty slick but ultimately unrewarding to drive.

Yes its a great shame about the manual but the reality is now that 70-80% of all new cars sales would still be DCT for say even the i30N Hatch.

Short of a Porsche the performance segment with a manual is now very limited. BMW has a nice RWD manual option but I doubt they will even import it and the cost is just crazy.

Should be pretty happy with the i30N Hatch in Engine Red and the 6MT, last of a dying breed of car. Definite hints of BMW/Euro design in the car, I really like it, they didn't try and "redesign the wheel" to try and be different, they just continued with some great stuff.

 

[Stray Kiwi]

There are manual options in RWD like the Supra and 370Z. But I did the RWD thing last century and am not interested in going back. Considering the wet weather we've been experiencing recently I'll be sticking with AWD for the foreseeable future. Now if only Hyundai would produce an AWD i30N like they've been teasing since 2018...

 

[Carlos]

There are manual options in RWD like the Supra and 370Z. But I did the RWD thing last century and am not interested in going back. Considering the wet weather we've been experiencing recently I'll be sticking with AWD for the foreseeable future. Now if only Hyundai would produce an AWD i30N like they've been teasing since 2018...

Yeah but if you drill down in the specs the AWD no longer has as big an advantage as it once had.

My Second car is a Subaru 3.0R wagon in 6MT and I will probably not sell it but the E-Diff now on the i30N coupled with the lighter weight, simplicity and lower cost of FWD kind of kills the AWD, I mean would you be prepared to pay another $5000 to $10000 for an AWD i30N ?

Watch the following, no longer the real need for AWD over here, maybe in the South Island in the snow but just have a second ol banger Subaru worth a few grand to go up the mountain, why use a new car ?

 

[R Veloster N]

Yeah but if you drill down in the specs the AWD no longer has as big an advantage as it once had.

My Second car is a Subaru 3.0R wagon in 6MT and I will probably not sell it but the E-Diff now on the i30N coupled with the lighter weight, simplicity and lower cost of FWD kind of kills the AWD, I mean would you be prepared to pay another $5000 to $10000 for an AWD i30N ?

Watch the following, no longer the real need for AWD over here, maybe in the South Island in the snow but just have a second ol banger Subaru worth a few grand to go up the mountain, why use a new car ?

Most certainly if power was adjusted for it. Just as with the Audi TTRS, and Porsche Carrara 4S to name few.

There’s simply no comparison with AWD vs FWD and AWD‘a ability to maintain traction well above that of a RWD and FWD on and off road. This was and is proven in very substantial ways with the original Audi Quattro road race Trans Am and WRC cars several decades ago. Even today, as most saloon cars are equipped with AWD.

To maintain the viability for other manufactures in the series’s, Audi was penalized by weight to slow them down. Every time they won, rules were modified and more weight was added to the Audi’s cars. They still proved more than other manufactures could handle.

Sorry mate, It’s demonstrated further by the use of AWD in WRC even today. No comparison mate, none at all. One video doesn't prove anything. AWD is far more efficient and provides superior traction then FWD in every way.

 

[Carlos]

Depends on how you look at it, I'm comparing FWD now with FWD cars 30 years ago.

Sure if you compare the latest AWD if it has torque vectoring, but the old school AWD no longer has the big advantage it once had.

Short of appalling road surface conditions that I would not want to be taking my new car on anyway, there is no longer the advantage in AWD. Added weight, added cost and reduced fuel consumption, much improved tire technology over the years and the advent of the E-Diff have all added up to me returning to FWD.

Feel free to ignore an actual video tho, your choice.

 

[R Veloster N]

And I’m not comparing but simply saying, “AWD 30 years ago and today is a better choice than any current or FWD or RWD.”

What you posted above, is a direct comparison between AWD and FWD.

Yeah but if you drill down in the specs the AWD no longer has as big an advantage as it once had.

My Second car is a Subaru 3.0R wagon in 6MT and I will probably not sell it but the E-Diff now on the i30N coupled with the lighter weight, simplicity and lower cost of FWD kind of kills the AWD, I mean would you be prepared to pay another $5000 to $10000 for an AWD i30N ?

Watch the following, no longer the real need for AWD over here, maybe in the South Island in the snow but just have a second ol banger Subaru worth a few grand to go up the mountain, why use a new car ?

I disagree with what you’ve stated and will demonstrate further, as FWD has no advantages whatsoever over AWD. Nor given the same conditions perform as well.

Weight is nominal with the newer AWD systems for example; the Kona FED vs the Kona AWD;

Kona FWD; 3161 lbs curb weight
Kona AWD; 3327 lbs curb weight

166 lbs difference with the same performance ratings for the 1.6T and 2.0 NA. However, the AWD can go where no FWD can and navigate some of the worst road conditions a FWD cannot.

I can make other direct comparisons with both on and off the track performance for Audi and several other manufacturers in Road race and WRC configurations but above will suffice to provide a viable response.

Don’t worry, I did ignore the video. One video is not substantiated proof that even todays FWD can compare to an AWD then or now.

You can choose to ignore the obvious differences in traction and all out performance between the two but they will still be there no matter. What it all comes down to is, price point for Hyundai which are the low end of the retail automotive market.

Hyundai chose not to produce the N-Performance cars without AWD or RWD for; price point and additional complexity with the new wet clutch DCT. Not because FWD performance was on par with AWD, no matter how much you chose to fantasize about it.

Good thing as well, with the current mechanical and electronic issues developing with the DCT.

 

[Carlos]

Lets just agree to disagree.

Technology has basically made FWD all you need for the road. If where you are never snows or ices up or you have no gravel roads, the AWD is now redundant.

My 2004 Subaru has fixed AWD and its probably feeding 70/30 to the front/rear anyway. The chances of loosing grip on both the front wheels of the i30N while actually in motion, i.e. normal road speeds in the dry or even the wet to the point AWD wouldn't have helped you anyway is my point. Basically all I'm saying is that improvements in tech has largely made the absolute need for AWD redundant.

Fact my 2004 Subaru has an open rear diff which in effect makes it WORSE than a FWD with torque vectoring. Sure something AWD with full on torque vectoring is better but look at the price and look at the weight penalty so if traction is not a problem then it has no advantage at all.

It's all relative isn't it, the new i30N will out handle my Subaru on wet or dry roads, its has better wheels, tires, adaptive dampers and its like 300kg lighter so its going to corner better regardless. If you are choosing a car that's "Less likely to crash" then a new i30N is better than older gen AWD. You cannot compare the i30N to a new Audi, its at a totally different price point. What I'm saying is the huge difference between FWD and AWD no longer exists and if the i30N is as good now as older gen AWD, then that's good enough for me.

Trust me I'm the biggest AWD or RWD fan in the past and was totally rubbishing FWD only 6 months ago but that's all changed, the E-Diff on the i30N has changed everything.

 

[Thapom]

Hi NZ peeps, Is anyone keen to meet up and bring some of these stunning cars together? Maybe there's already groups meeting up I can be a part of? I'm central North Island so can meet anywhere in the North Island.

 

[Deltamike10]

Anyone from Welly here?

 

[Carlos]

Not a whole lot of these cars driving around in New Zealand.

Seen plenty of the Kona's down here in Tauranga but yet to see a single i30N.

Relatively few being registered every year if you look at the stats, only 247 total of the "i30" for all of 2022.

New Zealand Fleet

New Zealand Fleet

www.carjam.co.nz

Doesn't look like the separate the i30N from the i30 so you can probably count the number of new i30N sold on one hand.

Wouldn't hold out much hope for a "Meet up Drive" with so few of these on the road.

Kona tops the list by miles.

 

[Stray Kiwi]

On my recent drive up to Auckland and back I saw on the road two i30Ns (polar white and performance blue) one i20N (intense blue) and a Kona N (cyber grey). I really like the look of the i20N, looks way better in the flesh than it does in photos or video. N cars used to be very rare but now people can buy DSG I see more of them around.

 

[ncjem]

Not a whole lot of these cars driving around in New Zealand.

Seen plenty of the Kona's down here in Tauranga but yet to see a single i30N.

Relatively few being registered every year if you look at the stats, only 247 total of the "i30" for all of 2022.

New Zealand Fleet

New Zealand Fleet

www.carjam.co.nz

Doesn't look like the separate the i30N from the i30 so you can probably count the number of new i30N sold on one hand.

Wouldn't hold out much hope for a "Meet up Drive" with so few of these on the road.

Kona tops the list by miles.

I've seen one i30N in Tauranga, a grey car in the hospital car park.

As for numbers, you can download a csv file containing the NZ fleet data from https://nzta.govt.nz/resources/new-...ics/new-zealand-vehicle-fleet-open-data-sets/

This separates the i30Ns from the i30s - search for "I30 N". Last year there were 49 i30N's imported, 31 hatchbacks and 18 fastbacks. The data also includes colour, manual/dct, location etc.