Hyundai has urged enthusiasts to judge the new i30 N on its merits, adding that it is aware it has “no heritage in the hot hatch segment”.
Hyundai Australia’s public relations manager, Bill Thomas, made the comments to CarAdvice.
“We are aware that we have no heritage in the hot hatch segment, so we are also aware that we must enter the game at the highest level possible and let the customers decide,” Thomas told the Australian publication.
“Some may never accept that a high-performance hatch with a Hyundai badge can be best in class or even close to it, no matter how many independent comparison tests they read in which the N car has done exceptionally well or beaten its more fancied opposition.
“We aren’t interested in appealing to those people. We want to attract true car enthusiasts who can understand and appreciate a car on its merits. They will judge whether the i30 N is good enough, and they may decide to own one. We truly hope they won’t be disappointed with that choice,” Thomas added.
The five-door hot hatch is positioned to do battle against the likes of the Volkswagen Golf GTI, and is powered by a 2,0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine delivering 184 kW (in the standard model) or 202 kW (in the Performance Package derivative) to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox.
While the new i30 N has not been officially confirmed for South Africa, the Korean brand’s distributor earlier told CARmag.co.za that it was compiling a business case for the i30 N, with being able to import it at the right price at the top of the list.