A Hyundai executive says the Korean firm plans to continue to offer “purists” the option of a manual gearbox in their hot hatches as other brands eschew the stick-shift.
Speaking to motoring.com.au, Hyundai product planner Howard Lam said the company wanted to keep the manual-equipped hot hatch alive, even if automatic-equipped variants would likely make up the majority of sales.
“Where possible, we would continue to like to offer buyers the choice of a manual transmission for purists or the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission,” Lam said.
“It’s hard to say what growth we will achieve, but we understand that our competitors who offer an automatic have achieved significant mix with those transmission.
“We’ll just have to wait. I would say more people will buy the auto than the manual,” he added.
While the i30 N was launched in manual guise, the hot hatch’s upcoming facelift is slated to bring the option of the aforementioned eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
In addition, Hyundai is expected to soon unwrap its new i20 N hot hatch, which will surely be offered with a manual cog-swapper, too.
