Hyundai's Off Hunting Civics with the 2020 i30

Hyundai is off to hunt Honda Civics (at least in Europe) with the i30. The Korean carmaker’s compact car has been updated with a new design, better connectivity features, and an available 1.5-liter turbocharged engine.

Available in three body styles—hatchback, fastback, and wagon, the biggest change to the i30 is with its exterior design. The front takes a cue from the Sonata with its wider, accentuated grille. Sandwiching it are slimmer headlights with LED technology and V-shaped LED DRLs. The same lighting tech is found in the back, while a new bumper design there was developed specifically to improve aerodynamic performance. The sportier N Line ups the ante with an even wider grille upfront, and a built-in diffuser in the bumper out back.

Inside, the i30 receives more modern…air vents. Yeah. That’s it.

For 2020, the i30 gets a new 7-inch digital cluster and a 10.25-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. What’s more, wireless phone mirroring will be arriving later.

For engines, the i30 is powered by a 1.0-liter turbocharged engine with 120 horsepower. Moving up, there’s a 136 horsepower 1.6-liter diesel with a mild hybrid system. Finally, there’s the 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine making 160 horsepower also with mild hybrid technology. All engines are available in either manual (6-speed) or automatic (7-speed dual clutch) flavors.

The enhancements are capped off by improvements to Hyundai’s SmartSense advanced safety package. This includes lane follow assist, rear collision-avoidance assist, and leading vehicle departure alert.

This Limited Edition Hyundai i30 N Project C is Lighter, But Not Significantly Faster

The world took notice when Hyundai unveiled the i30 N two years ago. But while it was designed and built to take on the world’s best hot hatches, there were still a few skeptics. Well, Hyundai just went a step further and created this, the i30 N Project C.

Limited to just 600 units worldwide (sadly, all are destined for Europe), the i30 N Project C pushes the limits even further. By dabbling in carbon fiber reinforced plastic and slapping 19-inch forged OZ racing wheels at each corner, this car sheds 50 kilograms.

More than just a diet, Hyundai engineers worked to recalibrate the i30 N’s suspension. It drops 6 mm closer to the ground while new internal calibrations for the existing dampers, shorter higher stiffness springs, and rear cargo zone stiffer complete the changes.

Outside, the i30 N Project C is finished in a dark matte gray with the carbon fiber parts finished with an exposed, high-gloss weave. Inside, it has Alcantara highlights as well as Deep Orange highlights.

Power remains the same as the standard i30 N and with that, it has a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine making 275 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 353 Nm of torque at 1,450 to 4,700 rpm (378 Nm on over boost at 1,750 to 4,200 rpm). The sole transmission is a 6-speed manual. Maximum speed is at 250 km/h, while its 0-100 km/h time stands at 6 seconds flat. This makes it 0.1 seconds faster than its regular i30 N counterpart and about 0.2 seconds faster than the Golf GTI. The Subaru WRX is still faster though at 5.2 seconds.