JUST five years ago, the concept of a Hyundai ‘N’ performance model line would’ve sounded a bit like the product of a marketing, ahem, ‘exercise’. Yet the notion of that not just becoming a reality but also a raging success – both critically and commercially – would’ve been even more wacko.

We’d experienced a few semi-decent hottish Hyundais up to that point – the moderately entertaining Veloster SR Turbo and the mixed-blessing i30 SR – though 2017’s third-generation i30 and Elantra SR Turbo showed that deep inside Namyang (and at Hyundai Motor Company Australia), someone knew what they were doing.   

But not even the most enthusiastic i30 fan could have imagined that 2018’s i30 N would be such a cracking hot hatch, for such a great price. Guided by some of the world’s finest automotive engineers, finally Hyundai had nailed it.

So it’s with much anticipation that we approach the first product from ‘phase two’ of Hyundai’s N roll-out – the facelifted 2021 i30 N hatch.