Well done Cameron. I've not seen you previously but I thoroughly enjoyed your review. Looks like this car might be the eventual replacement for my Clio RS200.
Having driven both, the hatch feels like a much more practical daily car and looks much nicer at least in my opinion! performance wise on the daily I feel you’d barely notice a difference.. The Kona feels smaller than both internally 😂
Great review:) 👍 BTW that empty circle on the side of the dashboard is a phone holder mounting point. I've been using it that way. Great place to put the phone:)
Great review! I’m surprised you’ve mentioned that this is faster from 0-100 than the hatch as in the reviews I’ve seen of both, the hatch always comes up with faster times. Ive seen a 5.2 and a 5.0 for the N hatch both from Australian RU-vid channels.
Thank you! Strange, it's absolutely faster than the hatch on paper, maybe it's harder to replicate in the real world? I haven't drag raced the two side by side, so can't fully comment on that.
Without a doubt Hyundai N series appears to be a serious contender on track and on paper. I am planning at changing my 20 years old V6 manual Camry soon. And I’m looking at another manual. With very few choices left, I’m finding it very hard to choose the right one that will last another 20 years, with FORD recently axing their last two hot hatches. Corolla GR, Civic Type R, Renault Megane RS Trophy are out of my price range, so it only leaves me with two options: the new WRX which is an outstanding vehicle but I will definitely have to spend thousands more to get those black plastic fenders sanded and repainted, or the i30N hatch or sedan. However I’m still hesitant on spending $45K-$55K on either one. Will they last? How reliable are they? I was at my local dealership a few days ago looking at one and I was surprised and disappointed to see how easy it was to push down on the rear quarter panel a few times with my thumb and seeing it popping in and out 😰 Ooops lucky the dealer never saw me doing that. I find it very strange that nobody has ever mentioned anything about that in any online reviews. The panel and paint work are definitely not the same as a 1954 Hillman Minx, 1973 HQ Premier or a 1974 XB coupé. So are the N series really worth every penny or I’m going to regret it in 3-5 years time? See the following RU-vid ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_45rMWR4bcE.html
Hyundai's i30N has been out for a few years now, seems pretty reliable. I'm guessing those panels are like that more for crash safety standards more than anything. Absorbing impacts rather than that being translated to the interior. Nothing will match the V6 manual Camry for the long term, you'll be paying more for maintenance on these high performance cars. Hard to say what's better, but either the WRX and i30N seem like a fine choice as owners usually have less issues with these models for the most part.
I have a great deal of respect for the Korean people, so I'm going take the leap of faith. One thing that makes it a hard decision is the Korean's North American Dealerships. The Japanese (e.g WIENS), have their own dealership network here in North America and these dealership have master technician who are from Japan or trained by them. The Koreans need to do the same and have a place that can actually get the work done or their brand will never get as much traction as the Japanese.
Loving your reviews! What's your view on Hyundai quality? There's been headlines this year of them needing to commit $2B for recalls/fixes. Should we stay clear of the brand with exception of their 'N' performance line?
Cheers! Most cars are recalled at least once in their production lifecycle. It's not an uncommon practice, so nothing unusual if you ask me. I've been pretty impressed with Hyundai build quality across all of the cars they produce. If I was to buy a hot hatch, I'd put my money where my mouth is and happily purchase one. I wouldn't say there's a real reason to 'stay clear' of Hyundai.
Better value? I guess that's subjective. It's a lot of performance kit you're missing out on the with N-Line. The N has what? 25% more power and like 50% more torque, a better tranny(the 7 speed dry DCT is proper garbage IMO), adaptive dampers, properly good tires and the variable exhaust to go with all the customization you can do. Is that worth 10-15 grand more? I think to people who are looking at an N it probably is. Especially when you consider that the only other affordable option in the segment, outside of other Hyundai products, the Focus ST just got axed from Australia. The car undercuts the GTI, Megane and even the equivalent spec WRX tS by 6k+. That sounds like good value to me.
@@alritevegemite the DCT in the n-line sedan isn't garbage at all , it's been well tuned for this lineup.. it's not jerky at all like it was in the kona have a look the reviews on here, and like I said , if you don't need a car to take on track the n-line sedan is more than enough performance considering (decent 0-100 speeds) , better economy it's still got everything the N does interior wise as well as extra features like adaptive cruise and a easier to live more comfortable suspension. Even in comfort mode the n was harsh as fuck. The bodykit on the n sedan is also ridiculous.. looks like a kid designed it. The n-line looks atleast balanced but sure if you need that performance forking out 15k is probably nothing most don't. If I'm going to get a performance car for over 55k I'd get a 2019-2021 golf R which is more refined
@@alritevegemite honestly if the n-line sedan had a LSD it would be perfect. That's the biggest plus for the N sedan in my opinion, not so much the power. You don't need 50% more torque to have fun.
@@mharro88 Have to agree to disagree on this one. Drove an N-Line(as well as the Sonata N-Line - now that's an underrated car, imo) to see if I liked the ergo before getting my N Sedan and it felt, as expected, like a different class of car... but then I was never even looking to buy it, so probably biased. For the price it's a good deal, sure, but if you're looking for a hot-hatch type of car then settling for the warm variant isn't so appealing. Is the N 10-15k better? To me the answer was a yes. As for the Golf R, I checked out a 2019 one, it was nice but for roughly the same coin I chose to go with new and know the history of the car and have the full 5 year warranty.
I’m currently trying to choose between the sedan and hatch. The sedan seems like the better option on paper… but there is just something about the hatch and I’ve wanted one for ages. The hatch is better looking and has better wheels (tires better on the sedan) in my opinion. There’s a 12 month wait on the hatch as it’s build the Czech whereas the sedan is 3 months as it’s build in Korea. Not s huge deal for me as I’m not ready for a year or so anyway. I just can’t get over the look of the sedan. When you say it’s quicker, I assume on track you mean and not pure power in a straight line?
It's quicker in a straight line compared to the hatch, and would pump out a slightly faster track time since it's ever so slightly lighter. The hatch looks cooler tbh. If you can wait, I certainly preferred the light weight bucket seats and wheels in the hatch compared to the sedan. But the sedan is still an excellent choice if you prefer how it looks.
@@ProductReviewCars I’m not ready to buy for 12 months anyway so I can wait for the hatch. Just worries the sedan is quicker, more room and has a better interior. But as you say the hatch also has some benefits. To me the hatch looks much better. I didn’t realise straight line speed was different. I’ll look up the stats. I’ve seen the hatch do 0-100 in 5.3… not that 0-100 speeds matter that much.. just interested in comparing them in every aspect.
@@rover1374 we recently picked up a new Sonata N-Line, we are well into our sixties so hot hatches and noisy exhaust wasn’t high on our list of priorities 😂 The reason for the choice was simple, be honest with yourself and ask these questions. -How often will I be taking the car onto race tracks? -How practical is the vehicle for every day usage? -Will it be comfortable enough on long road trips? And the most important one… Will my partner be happy with it as well? Let’s face it, a few seconds difference going from 0 to 100 K’s that is… well how often can you do that, freeway on ramps? Country backroads? A torque’y well geared practical vehicle that can LEGALLY put a smile on your face is a winner in my book. Get the hatch, my daughter has the N-Line version and she loves it a lot.
@@markpaterson6024 I understand what you are saying but I am buying the N car for those very reasons and my wife is happy with that. I am into cars and racing and I’ve wanted an N for a long time, so to me that is my priority and criteria. I already have an Nline hatch and it’s nice and great value, but it isn’t an N and I can 100% tell the difference in every way while driving it… and those differences are pretty big. I’m not just looking for a torquey car that can do 0-100 in a fast time. People buy the N for the driving experience and engagement you get with the road/track.
@@rover1374 Good to see, you identified your usage needs first. 👍🏼 And if the N is your choice then go for it, I wasn’t implying you get something else, was just saying my daughter is happy with the N-Line variant.
Not really more practical than the kona n. Hardly stackable space, brace is easily in the way. Just something that's nit picked between the N models I suppose. Guess how you want to use the space though I guess. I've been in all and own the kona n.