Right about the time Hyundai was revealing its new Ioniq 5 N to the world at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, images of a very different hot Hyundai landed in our inbox. With all the attention being focused on the electric 5 N, we’d almost forgotten that the combustion-powered i30 N was being refreshed.
The current-shape i30 hatch is coming up to seven years old and although the N is a little newer, having been released in 2017, and both N and non-N variants received a minor nip and tuck in spring 2020, you’d think Hyundai would would be preparing an all-new car. But instead it looks like the existing third-gen i30 will have to make do with another mild makeover to keep it going a while longer.
We’ve seen spy shots of the facelifted 2024 i30 before, but in every instance the cars have been covered in bulky disguise panels or a heavy camo wrap. But this time the prototype is an N rather than a basic version, and it has dressed down so that it’s only concealing some of the nose and tail details. Okay, so they’re the bits with most of the interesting changes, but the disguise is so tight-fitting that we can make out the shape of the front grille and air intakes, and they appear virtually unchanged.
Related: 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Is The Fun-To-Drive, 641 HP EV We’ve Been Waiting For
What is different is the mesh pattern in the center of the grille, while the headlights will also be upgraded with a new design of DRL, and there’ll be a similar set of changes scheduled for the back. Wheels, oversize exhaust tailpipes and the gloss black roof spoiler appear to be carried over from the current car, but one other detail that has changed is the design of the side skirts, specifically the section around the Hyundai N badge (that engineers have taped over on this car). The skirt is also two-tone red and black, which would match the red trim line on the nose and tail of the current car, whose skirts are only black.
We can’t see the interior of this test car, but we imagine the infotainment system will be upgraded, while Hyundai might see fit to extract a few more ponies from the 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain. The current car is available in some markets with a 247 hp (250 PS) version of that motor mated to a six-speed manual transmission, or a 276 hp (280 PS) variant that can be equipped with either the manual or an eight-speed DCT.
Hyundai hasn’t revealed when we’ll see the facelifted i30 and i30 N or whether the fastback body style will also be offered for 2024, but our money is on a September reveal at the Munich Auto Show.
