Hyundai teases warm i30 Sedan N Line

HYUNDAI Motor Company (HMC) has teased a new warm N Line version of its upcoming i30 Sedan (read Elantra) in a 25-second YouTube video released on Monday.

Said to deliver a sportier design, more refined powertrain and improved chassis dynamics, the car shown in the video is adorned with contour-masking white camouflage though a few clues can be found along with the few details HMC has revealed thus far.

Visually, there seems to be little to distinguish the Sedan N Line from its regular counterparts other than black exterior mirrors and some more aggressive two-tone five-spoke alloy wheels.

On closer inspection however, there are a few other subtle differences at the rear of the car which hint at its warmer disposition, including a set of twin exhaust tips poking out of the right side of the bumper and the omission of any tail-lights on the boot lid – including the full-length brake strip.

While it’s hard to pinpoint many other visual changes due to the camouflage, it would be safe to assume a few other enhancements will be added to the production vehicles.

For reference, the current i30 N Line brandishes the same front fascia as the full-fruit i30 N – minus the grille-mounted N badge – as well as bigger wheels and more aggressive rear apron.

Due to arrive in Australia in the second half of the year, virtually no details have been revealed concerning the i30 Sedan’s powertrain options, let alone the N Line variant, although our money is on the 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol as seen in the current N Line.

Going on recent comments from HMC, it seems we may not be too far adrift, with the Korean giant saying, “the upcoming i30 Sedan N Line adds N brand specific design elements, chassis upgrades and a turbocharged engine to the recently revealed i30 Sedan”.

A rorty engine note can also be heard in the video, aligning closely with what we heard – and liked – during our week-long test of the i30 N Line hatch last year.

One thing we do know for sure however is the inclusion of a dual-clutch automatic transmission – most likely the seven-speed unit from the current i30 N Line – as the test pilot in the YouTube video can be seen operating a set of paddle shifters accompanied by brisk gear changes both up and down.

As previously mentioned by Hyundai, the N Line will boast sportier N brand chassis upgrades, the most pronounced of which will likely be an enhanced (firmer) suspension set-up given the N Line hatch rides 5mm lower than the standard models.

From the get go, all i30 Sedan variants will score a multi-link rear suspension arrangement – only seen previously on the current N Line hatch – meaning the i30 Sedan N Line could end up being the best handling of all the i30s bar the hi-po N hatch and corresponding Fastback N.

According to Hyundai Australia corporate communications and partnerships general manager Bill Thomas, the N Line nameplate serves as a middle ground between the normal models and the full N variants.

“N-Line models represent a step up in performance and capability from our standard non-N models, but without reaching the heights of fully-fledged performance you get with N,” he said.

“N-Line models will generally offer more capability and a more performance-oriented look both inside and out.”

Despite HMCA’s very public crusade to build an N Performance family Down Under, Mr Thomas would not be drawn into revealing if a fully-fledged i30 Sedan N was in the pipeline.

Last year HMCA managed to sell 28,378 i30s nationally, accounting for 18.8 per cent of the sub-$40,000 small car segment, enough to see it crowned the second best-selling vehicle in its class behind the Toyota Corolla (30,468).

That success and strong hold on second continued through the first quarter of 2020 with 6046 sales chalked up (18.5 per cent segment share) behind the Corolla’s 7702 (23.6 per cent).

Despite the ongoing effects of the coronavirus, the i30 was one of only a handful of models to stay reasonably consistent, slipping just 2.8 per cent compared to the same period last year.