The new Hyundai i30 N has finally (officially) hit the market in South Africa, with the South Korean firm’s local arm confirming its price.

Of course, if you’re a regular reader of CAR magazine, you’d know the hot hatch took part in Performance Shootout 2020, which was published in our January issue (watch it take on Renault’s 205 kW Mégane RS280 Cup in a drag race and tackle Aldo Scribante with Deon Joubert at the wheel).

Interestingly, since that issue went to print, Hyundai Automotive SA has been able to claw back the local price slightly, from the originally supplied figure of R699 900 to a marginally lower R679 900. Still, that’s quite a bit more than the DSG-equipped Volkswagen Golf GTI (R568 600) and the aforementioned Mégane RS280 Cup (R589 900) but some R20 000 less than Honda’s 228 kW Civic Type R (R699 900).

From what we understand, the i30 N will be offered in “limited numbers” in SA, although we suspect more units could be brought in depending on how well the newcomer is received by local buyers. It is expected to ship standard with a five-year/75 000 km service plan. The i30 N will retailed through just 14 of the local distributor’s 100+ dealerships dotted round the country, though can be serviced at any Hyundai dealer.

As a reminder, the i30 N (which was revealed as long ago as July 2017) employs a 2,0-litre turbocharged engine offering 202 kW and 353 N.m to the front axle via a six-speed manual gearbox. That’s enough, says Hyundai, for a sprint from zero to 100 km/h in 6,1 seconds and a top speed 250 km/h.

Interesting standard features include an electronic limited slip differential, launch control and a set of high-performance tyres. The hot hatch features five drive modes as well as a variable exhaust valve system on the Performance Package model offered locally (the standard 184 kW model seemingly isn’t on the cards for SA)...

Original article from Car