Hyundai i30 2021 review: N Line sedan manual

At first glance I had some serious '80s sporty-sedan flashbacks, but look closer and the modern touches are very attention-grabbing. 

One woman crossing the road in front of me stared so hard at the front of the car I was worried I had something stuck under the grille! 

The N Line has sleek lines and cool sporty touches.

This model i30 the N Line is the second but base in the range, and there is plenty to like.

It has sleek lines, and cool sporty touches like the wing tipped side mirrors. There are bevelled edges to the side panels, 18-inch alloy wheels with a spider web appearance, and the rear has an almost hatchback-like flip to the tailgate with shiny black accents.

The N Line wears 18-inch alloy wheels.

Inside, the leather trimmed seats really snuggle you like a race car, in the seat and across your back and shoulders. The high-quality looking stitching on the door panels adds to the overall sporty appearance.

There is a non-slip pad for your phone under the main dashboard, it's not a wireless charger in this model but there are two USB charging ports just above it. 

Rear passengers get cupholders in the flip-down middle console.

Cupholders in the middle, and bottle holders in the door are all simply designed and functional. There's a deep middle console box with a padded top adding to the comfort level.

The seats in the front and the back are very comfortable and spacious for a small sedan. While the headroom does shrink a little in the back seat, following the line of the roof, there's still enough room for most adults, and there are comfort features like cupholders in the flip-down middle console and directional air vents.

The seats in the front are very comfortable.

I had two kids car seats in the back, which I found easy to install. There is the top tether attachment for a third kids seat, but the seats would need to be narrow to fit three across.

The headroom does shrink a little in the back seat.

The boot is larger than it looks from the outside - with a decent 474L of storage space. It reminded me of my dad packing up the family sedan when I was young, getting all the family's luggage in, but still finding room for his golf clubs.

Boot space is rated at 474 litres.

With keyless entry and start, getting in and started isn't hard, although starting a manual with a button felt strange at first. 

As a family car with two small children I was grateful for the ample boot space, and the lower setting of a sedan makes it easy for the kids to get themselves out. 

The manual gearbox is well suited to the i30 N Line.

However my little one still needs help clipping into the child seat, which I find easier in a higher positioned car like an SUV, I did need to bend right down to get to her out (ouch, my back!).

On the plus side having a smaller car makes parking in the suburbs and city so much easier than a larger SUV, and getting in and out of car parks was a breeze.

The i30 scores a maximum five stars in the ANCAP safety rating, last tested in 2017. There are six airbags, automatic emergency braking, plus pedestrian and cyclist detection up to 85 km/h.

There are two ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchors across the back row for child seats.

Pricing, before on-road costs, is $30,290 for this manual N Line. The i30 Sedan N Line is covered by Hyundai’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, with capped-price service ($299 each) scheduled every 10,000km. 

The official combined fuel consumption figure is 7.3L/100km, but for my drive around the inner suburbs it averaged 7.9L/100km, so pretty close to the official figure.