We take our Hyundai i30N to the races

It’s surely impossible to name a performance car hero that doesn’t have roots in motorsport. Whether you like its occasionally complex politics or not, it’s pivotal to the development – and marketing – of performance cars.

The Hyundai i30N is no different. Long before we knew what ‘N’ meant, i20 rally cars were being flung around forests with Ns emblazoned on their bodywork, while the i30N effectively had its final sign off at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. A perfect excuse to jump in ours and go and see some racing, then.

First up, this year’s N24. Until I visited the Isle of Man TT, it was my candidate for the world’s most exciting motorsport event. On four wheels, it still is. There’s a breadth of competitors – from a group of mates in an old BMW 3 Series to professionals in GT3 racecars – that’s unrivalled, all hosted by an unyielding rollercoaster of a track with a notoriously indecisive climate.

It was no different for 2018; the first half of the race ran in blistering heat, before an almighty thunderstorm lit up the early hours of the morning while dropping a frightening amount of water on a warm, slick surface. With hours to run the race was red-flagged, only for it to restart into an 80-minute sprint finish that embarrassed anything in recent F1 history for tension.

Our i30N was represented by a couple of i30N TCRs with cartoonish arches, outrageous wings and delightful white wheels, which finished second and fourth in their class. Naturally I’d like all of their addenda on our car, but in truth there’s little I’d really change about the i30N.

A big road trip only proved how good it is at the boring ‘hatch’ bits of hot hatchery. The seats are Hyundai’s own rather than attention-grabbing Recaros, lowering its price, but they’re every bit as comfy and hugging as the big-brand stuff. The boot swallows even the daftest over-packing, the air con is absurdly powerful and it’s all as refined as you could hope for from a car that’s only a button press away from being hard as nails. Circa 30mpg does become dull when the fuel tank’s so small, though.

It also aced its second trip, going four-up to the Ypres Rally in Belgium to see Thierry Neuville take victory in his Red Nose Day-liveried i20 R5. If you’ve always quite liked the idea of watching rallying but worried about being part of the bobble hat brigade, this could be the event for you.

Based out of the picturesque – and historically important – town of Ypres, it’s just one hour from Calais, so it might even prove easier to get to than deepest Wales for Rally GB. You can fill your days watching rally cars from sunny fields, then spend your evenings guzzling beer and chips in the old square, which is also host to the rally’s service area. Perfect.

The i30N felt even more at home here, especially when we headed back to town after some evening spectating, inadvertently timing our journey with the stage being reopened to the public. Attacking the same tight, tricky (and crucially, empty) course Neuville had just aced, the i30N’s exhaust snarling and snorting away like the anti-lag system of rally cars old, motorsport influence was flowing through our hot hatch good and proper.

Fellow rally nerds loved it, too. One lad found me on the ferry home, saying “It sounded great as you drove past us. I think I’m going to lease one now.” Goes someway to make up to making up for us gate-crashing that service area when four of the rally’s big hitters lined up for the official press shots, then…

So far: 9344 miles, 29.0mpg average (39.8mpg claimed)

Spec: 1998cc 4cyl turbo, FWD, 271bhp, 279lb ft, 0-62mph in 6.1secs, 155mph (ltd), 1429kg, £28,760 OTR (£29,345 as tested)

Images: Alex Tapley/Drew Gibson/Hyundai