Is The Hyundai i30N Interior Really That Bad? Honest i30N Interior Review
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- Опубліковано 26 січ 2024
- The Hyundai i30N is almost universally praised for its driving performance and capabilities.
But one area where it tends to fall short in professional reviews (and even many social media comments etc) is with respect to the interior.
Many reviewers claim the interior is average at best, and full of cheap plastics, a lack of detail/flair and is overall not a great place to be compared to some competing hot hatches and rivals (although the seats usually win praise).
But is the Hyundai i30N interior really that bad? In this 100% honest owner's review of the i30N Interior, I talk through the pros and cons with the interior of this excellent performance car to help you understand whether it is really as average as many people seem to make out.
I'll discuss i30N interior considerations, such as:
* Seat comfort
* Space
* Overall fit and finish
* How it rates compared with the competition
Like this video if you found it interesting, and subscribe for more i30N content!
![2022 Hyundai i30 N DCT | REVIEW on AUTOBAHN [NO SPEED LIMIT] by AutoTopNL](/img/n.gif)
I agree with you. Having owned several cars, including many ford fairlanes back in the day, the i30N is not quite as "premium", but I really love the balance of practicality, along with good design. I love the fact that there is a perfect balance of manual buttons for things like air con/temp, vents, lights, hazards, etc so you don't have to navigate a damned menu on a screen when driving. I love the steering wheel - all the "most used" functions are just 1 click away, and then many of the "not so frequently needed" functions, you can go digging into the menus on the screen for.
Also love that Hyundai left the manual hand brake, and (most of all) the seats in the 2023 i30N premium are absolutely superb - they hug you just enough to be secure when driving a bit harder on winding country roads, while so comfortable for daily driving (they are even heated).
I took a Leon Cupra for a test drive, and found it massively lacking in all of the above. Yes, more "premium" in terms of interior surfaces, but very poorly thought out layout and controls, and massively annoying using controls during driving (and also nowhere near as fun as the i30N).
I give Hyundai 9.5 out of 10 for the i30N. In fact, the only real "criticism" would be for the speakers - OK for most, but a bit tinny if you are a proper music buff, but let's face it - I didn't buy the car for listening to music, I bought it because I love driving it, and when doing so, the radio is off, the engine is in N-Mode, and the windows are down and sunroof up and I'm smiling while listening to the engine pop and bang and do it's thing! Happy days..... ;-)
I like the analog tac and speedo. Physical buttons will always be superior in my opinion to all touch (like in tesla)
I love the analog tac/speedo too. Adds to the thrill of the car somehow. I also like digital dashes but I feel like they are somewhat of a gimmick.
Agree with the majority of what you have said. Has the interior dated?? 100% yes. The interior dates back to when the PD debuted in 2016. So now being 2024 that's 8 years. Looking at the other N products, i30N Sedan (Elantra N in the US) i20N & Kona N, all are lot more modern.
I had a 2017 i30 SR which I then sold in 2023 for an i20N. While the interior still has a lot of plastic, the i20N still feels more modern & updated. While at first glance the digital dash of the other N products looks like it could be gimmicky, when you get used to it, it's anything but. The N products are more aimed at the driving enthusiast, rather than the daily commuter. I don't feel they need a more "upmarket" interior which in turn would make them more expensive. Much happier that the R&D $$ have gone on the driving enjoyment, rather than a tactile feel of buttons or a soft touch part that you wouldn't normally touch.
Thats what the Drive N option is for. Having said that, I had the pre face-lift and I thought it was such a nice place to sit on journeys.
Drive N is very cool, but I don't think that's an option for me here in NZ (haven't seen anything about them being available). The interior on that looks-wise is probably what the i30N should have had from day one. Agree that the 'blandness' of the plastic etc aside it's a genuinely nice place to sit on a journey, especially in the front.
@i30NOwner Ahh sorry buddy I didn't know you lived in NZ, Its a real shame they don't provide them to everyone, I don't have an i30N anymore, but im buying the Drive N once the price comes down a bit more. I think most people forget the plastics once they realise you can adjust all the cars setting more than 100 ways (not that I ever did 😂) I just kept exhausted on sport+ and suspension on Normal. Then they also hear the exhaust note on every Dowshift with rev matching, the cons of the car are very easily forgivable in favour for the driver engagement 🙂
Yeah we are "short-changed" for choice in NZ. I'd love a Drive N but not going to go through the hassle of importing one. As you say, all the downside of the interior etc melt away when you start driving the i30N ... it is SO MUCH FUN.
@@i30NOwner It is indeed 😀
I used to own an i30 wagon. When I test drove the first edition of the i30N hatch the seats, heating controls and door cards were straight out of my i30. It's true that Hyundai N spent most of their R&D budget on the engine, transmission, brakes and suspension, but pretty much everything that you touched was quite nice. It's a similar philosophy to what Toyota did with their GR Yaris/Corolla. Hyundai definitely upped the interior quality in the second edition at the expense of an increased purchase cost, but in my opinion it was needed to compete with other cars in the segment.
I wish Hyundai would put make an i30 Wagon N, I'd definitely be interested in that.
Yeah the interior (particularly on pre-facelift) is very much classic hot hatch in the sense of ripping straight from the base model car upon which it is built. i30N wagon would be great ... not much choice for fast wagons these days. I actually looked at a WRX GT Ts wagon but it was just not good enough performance wise for the price (bit more punch and a DCT-type gearbox or even manual would have made a difference). All other fast wagons are generally Euros with big depreciation, massive running costs etc. I think Ford sell a Focus ST wagon in some markets?
@@i30NOwner Yes indeed, just not in NZ. The Subaru WRX GT tS Wagon isn't really up there with it's competitors in terms of performance or efficiency. I evaluated all the "performance" wagons in the NZ market and ended up going Euro because ultimately the available selections are pretty slim. I will say this, the relatively low purchase price of the Subaru was utterly destroyed by it's insurance costs. I can insure a very expensive Euro for the same yearly premium. It's insane.
@@SPQRTempus oh are you NZ based as well? (if so, what part of the country if you don't mind my asking). Definitely agree wagon selections are slim. We have an old BM generation Legacy wagon as the 'family vehicle' that my wife drives and will keep that until the wheels fall off ... but finding a good performance wagon for reasonable money is hard. I did weigh up something like a used RS4 but the i30N was just too much fun and I did get a very good deal on what was ultimately a slow moving unit for the dealer. How much was the Subaru insurance going to be? Insurance costs are getting outrageous here, but weirdly enough I'm only paying about 25% more per year for my i30N versus my old Swift Sport. It's a shame Subaru missed the mark with the WRX GT Ts. If it had something like the Hyundai transmission and more get up and go like the WRXs of old I probably would have bought one of those instead, as you can't beat having a wagon for practicality and AWD is so helpful for things like skiing in winter.
@@i30NOwner I'm based in the Waikato. Full insurance for a WRX was going to cost me ~$1300 a year (I have a clean license and am > 26 years old plus the car would always be garaged). Compare that with around $780 a year for an i30N. And speaking of transmissions I own a car with a CVT, but it is a town car and it's CVT is totally fit for purpose. However CVTs have no place in a performance vehicle. I drove a 2018 WRX with a CVT and it was an utter travesty. Yet no one seems to be buying a manual WRX any more. I tried to test drive a manual WRX sedan late last year but there weren't any manual demo's in NZ at the time.
@@SPQRTempus outside of manual only cars (i.e. Civic Type R) it is definitely a challenge to find manual options at a lot of dealers in NZ. I had the same when I bought my Swift Sport back in 2021 ... dealer was overflowing with autos but had one manual available.
Would you consider the i20n to have the same quality of interor considering its made in Turkey ?
I haven't had too much experience with the i20N (they are not popular at all here in New Zealand ... the i30N is hardly a common car but you see far more of them than the i20N) but from what I've seen/sat in the i20N feels similarly 'on par' with the i30N quality wise, and the interior is actually a bit more interesting/sporty at least unless you are getting an i30N with the upgraded performance seats.
@i30NOwner I have got one after a 18 months wait and a $2000.00 price increase they seem to be more expensive in New Zealand for some reason when compared to Australia.
@@ljp1942 wow that's a crazy long wait. Cars in general are far more expensive here than Australia it seems. For example pricing on the facelift i30N went up far more in NZ than in Au. Enjoy the i20N ... I have only ever seen one on the roads here.
I have a 2022 DCT i30N Performance (N bucket seats), the worst issue so far is a plastic that rattles behind the dashboard . Many owners have the same problem, luckily I’ve pinpointed what generates the rattling, it’s the big plastic cover above the motors of the windshield wipers
@@jsmotorcafe7734 interesting, I haven't noticed a rattle from behind the dashboard but I have a definite creak from the sunroof area. Have you been able to fix your issue?
I am in the USA with a Veloster N. I bought a dash cover for mine. When I am carving through the back roads I don't notice the interior...that is the point of the car.
Firstly, thanks for watching. Secondly, you are 100% right that when you are driving this car (as the manufacturer intended) you won't notice the interior ... you'll be having too much fun.
@i30NOwner I am turning 65 this year and I drive this car like a kid! My company called us back into the office and no complaints from me. I updated my speakers and installed poly engine and trans bushings. I have a ball.
@@arthurmroyce you're only as young as you feel, right? Glad it puts a smile on your face. We don't get the Veloster N here in New Zealand (in fact we only got the 'normal' Veloster for a short period of time) but I think it's exactly the same as the i30N in terms of equipment, engine etc. Can't think of a more fun car for the money, and I look forward to every drive.
Another point, at least in my country... the Interior of the Civic Type R might be a lot more premium and performance focused, but they also cost 20 grand more than the i30N
As an owner, sure you have a lot of plastic - but everything kept in dark grey/black (the whole roof, the door openers etc.) is soo nice. And imo the performance seats upgrade that interior a lot. What a great car overall for this price
Sorry for the late reply, missed your comment. 100% agree that the performance seats are a huge visual upgrade.
Well it's a super sporty vehicle at a reasonable price. You start adding things to beef up the interior you'll get a price that reflects.
Very true ... a "fancier" interior wouldn't necessarily add to the drive, and that's what these cars are all about (especially so in pre-facelift)
I Went for N over Golf, look at those seats and crappy buttons.
i looked at two cars, a i30N seden and a Mazda 6 Atenza Wagon. I know completly different cars but in the end, i ended up getting the Mazda 6 as the interior was so much nicer then the I30N, the i30 just felt cheap and plasticy. Mind you the i30N was a hell of a fun car and faster then the Mazda, but the Mazda just all round was a better car to live with, especially long term. The Mazda had the 2.5 Turbo motor and it was still punchy.
Thanks for commenting. By i30N Sedan do you mean what is called the Elantra N in the USA? (we don't get that car here in NZ). Those Mazda 6 are nice, particularly the higher trim level ones ... interior is a huge step above the Hyundai. With the i30N you are really paying for the driving experience and performance - you have to tolerate the interior but it's not as bad as some people claim.
Good Video! I owned an pre-facelift I30N for five years. The interiour was made mostly solid, but there were little to no contrasts. The instrument cluster and steering wheel was nice, no complaints there. But on the dashboard itself it was quite boring. With the facelifted version they made at least some new contrasting elements inside the air vents and so on. That parts were missing on the pre-facelift car. The plastics felt ok-ish, but you heard some squeaking and rattling from different parts within the door panels and some other places. For the price, the interiour is solid and good, but there are many things to improve... designwise and haptics.
Great comment, very insightful. Appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.
Yes the interior is sub-class
Thanks for commenting!
It is bad! Hyundai should get inspired by the new BMW interiors.
i really love it its classic everything on point you dont need anything else in hot hatch bmw is great but better ? no
i20n is better