Best Sports Car under $50,000
The Hyundai i30 N has undergone years of development to suit Australian road conditions – now, the hard work has paid off with the title of Best Sports Car under $50,000 at this year’s Australia’s Best Cars awards.
What sets it apart from the rest
With a starting price of $39,990 for manual, there are few in the category that can match the i30 N price-wise and still be quality-built.What’s it like to drive
The i30 N remains glued to the road, and it’s just as difficult to dislodge through a series of sweeping corners. At the heart of the i30 N is a 2L turbocharged, 4-cylinder engine, which pumps out 202kW of power and 353Nm of torque. What’s more, an extra 25Nm is available with the over-boost function, which allows the engine’s turbocharger to force more air into the engine for short periods, producing a boost of extra power. But, rather than neck-snapping surges of power, the i30 N’s engine gets to almost 5000rpm smoothly.
The i30 N remains glued to the road.
What it’s got
- Electric power steering unit mounted to the steering rack.
- Seven airbags.
- Hyundai SmartSense – a safety system that includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, forward-collision warning and driver-attention alert.
Is this the car for you?
Visually, the i30 N doesn’t look like a typical sports car, but change the drive setting and it’ll produce just the sort of noise from the exhausts that’s music to your ears. That’s why this ride is one for the rev-heads.How the finalists fared against the Hyundai i30 N
Photos: Shannon Morris