We’ve heard that the Hyundai i20 N hot hatch is set to exit production next month, and even if it will remain available in Australia into 2027, it’ll still be a shame to see the first generation of this iconic little performance hatch go.
It’s a news that customers will soon be able to order and specify an new i20 N; instead, they’ll have to choose from the cars dealers who are in stock. This doesn’t mean that Hyundai’s N division is dwindling down, though we should expect future N products to look quite different from the small i20.
Several reports even surfaced that a new i20 N is under development, with ‘hyderal powertrain hybrids’. While we don’t know when it’s due to be released, but we do know Hyundai isn’T aiming to take the luxury car world into its own realm.
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It’s about accessibility, and that’ll be the theme for future performance products of the Korean brand – as has long been synonymous with great bang-for-your-buck sports motoring. Why do we take an i20 N back to the racetrack for that reason, so as to revisit it in its natural habitat.
Certainly, a normal week-long road test would have been as thorough as any other childcareman.xyz review but it’s not every day you get to treat if your car is being treated with reassurance of performance and the send-off.
We’ll try to destroy the i20 N in a circuit setting, which is apparently home-based, and attempt to paint ‘what will be your first track day picture if you take your cheap Hyundai N-car for spin on my first song.
Now, I’m not claiming to be a fast driver by any means, nor am I here to teach anyone how to beat Oscar Piastri. But a racetrack is the ideal place to test your and your car’s limits in a safe and controlled environment, and if you’ve ever yearned for a track-day experience, we encourage you to look into local opportunities to see what it’s all about – as many Hyundai N Festival-goers do.
No, if you’re wondering why this is not sponsored article–it’s just a story of i20 N and no traditional review to send off this generation of the e20.
We took i20 N from Hyundai as part of a standard week-long loan for transparency, which coincided with ‘track day’. Like most people, I personally paid to be involved in the event.
With that all cleared up, here’s how it all went down.
The car
While the Hyundai i20 N should be no introduction, in case you’re new to it we’ll take a moment to break it down.
The Hyundai i20, the third-generation model of its own generation, is imported in Australia in late 2021 and sold locally only in one high-performance N trim. But thankfully, it’s one of the cheapest performance cars you can buy today.
Following a series of price hikes in recent months, it is listed at $38,500 before on-road costs (about $3000) more than when it launched. The introduction of a small update was released for 2025, with no major changes other than slightly modified aesthetics inside and out, redesigned alloy wheel design (and Hyundai’s suite of connected services) and the new style of its own brand-new version of an automobile.
This is the meaning that its mechanicals are practically identical to when the car was launched. Under the bonnet, one is a 1 under the Bonnet. Four-cylinder petrol engine with a turbocharged 6-litre turbo charged four-wheeler, which produced 150kW of power and 275Nm of torque running on regular 91-octane fuel and returning official combined gas consumption of 6 kg. That’ll be a later point for 9L/100km – that’s what is the significance of .
The drive is purely sent to the front wheels, and it’s unique for an automobile today – only six-speed manual transmission. There is no automatic here for .
2026 Hyundai i20 N equipment highlights:
- 18-inch forged alloy wheels
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Space-saver spare
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Heated, power-folding exterior mirrors
- Rear privacy glass
- Active variable exhaust with Normal, Sport, Sport+ modes
- 6 drive modes (Eco, Normal, Sport, N, Custom 1, Custom 2)
- Reflector LED headlights
- Automatic high-beam
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- Leather-wrapped shifter
- Bose sound system
- Sports seats
- Cloth seat upholstery
- 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
- 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
- DAB+ digital radio
- Satellite navigation
- 1 x front USB-C outlet
- 1 x rear USB-C outlet
- Proximity entry with push-button start
- Single-zone climate control
- Electrochromic rear-view mirror
- LED interior lighting
- Bluelink connected car services
Standard safety equipment highlights:
- 6 airbags, incl:
- Front
- Front-side
- Curtain
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Front and rear parking sensors
- Intelligent speed limit assist
- Lane-keep assist
- Lane Following Assist (lane centring)
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Rear occupant alert
- Reversing camera
At 4075mm long, the i20 N is a light car comparable in size to a Toyota Yaris, but it doesn’t have nearly as many direct rivals as that would suggest. At this price point and performance level, its only real competitor is the Volkswagen Polo GTI, an auto-only model that isn’t available with a manual transmission.
In contrast to most auto brands, Hyundai Australia supports its performance models such as the i20 N with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty (seven years if you service within its dealer network) that will not be voided by racetrack use – unless your car is standard (ie unmodified) and used in non-competitive, non timed motorsport events.
And that’s partly why Hyundai’S N-fest events are so popular, but also because they allow N–car owners to drive at a pace on track among like-minded people in ‘weeklong carnival-style atmosphere with off-track activities.
Of course, our track day was also strictly non-competitive, but the N Festival events are well worth investigating for any N owners (including i20 N, i30 N, and Ioniq 5 N) looking to get their track fix.
A full breakdown of the Hyundai i20 N’s price and specs is available here .
The track
For those who are relatively new to motorsport in Australia, it may be a little unknown where we’re going on the track day but was one of Victoria’s most prominent racing facilities.
Located 24km north-west of Melbourne’s CBD, **Calder Park Raceway is just off the Calder Free Way near the suburb of Keilor. Until the lay of a bitumen surface, it was just as ‘dir track’ that allowed for the first official race meeting on January 14, 1962, when an official candidate began to be held. *****
The early 1970s saw the purchase of it by race driver and Melbourne tyre retailer Bob Jane, who was responsible for regular road racing, drag races and even Rallycross events that used the infield section of the original circuit.
Several high profile events were held at the facility until as recently as 2001. The most prominent was the Australian V8 Supercars Championship (sporadically 1969–2001); the international World Touring Car Championship in 1987; and even the Grand Prix of Australia before it became a Formula 1 event in 1985, Adelaide.
But perhaps the most iconic thing about the facility is its 1. the thunderdome, is an 8km long oval track that. The Thunderdome, as part of Mr Jane’s grand plans to bring America’ wildly popular NASCAR stock-car race series to Australia was an unmissable feature when travelling along the Calder Freeway.
It was completed in 1987 and began running races soon after, combining the oval with the current National Circuit. In early 1988 NASCAR would host a non-championship exhibition race at the Thunderdome, marking first time that an NA SCAR event had ever been held outside North America.
Like a few events in the series of Australian-based shows such as AUSCAR (Australian Stock Car Auto Racing), this event used only the oval track. What if 1 is 1. It isn’t because 8km doesn’s sound all that long, it’d be for this reason; the oval’ – which has only 28 unofficial lap records. Naked test session NASCAR legend Richard Petty (right) sets the pacesetter 2 seconds before the real race.
Last events were held at the Thunderdome in 1999 and a few more years of races on the National Circuit. At Calder Park, there was almost 15 years of largely unactivity (except for legal off-street drag racing on the facility’s existing Drag strip).
In 2023, when Bob’s son Rodney was sold to Calder Park under the care of his father, Calde Park, it was re-refurbished and upgraded so club- and state-level motorsport events could return to the venue. It’s where this would be the state in which the National Circuit will remain for our track day.
Map source:
Will Pittenger
National Circuit The original form of the National circuit is that it was developed by extending the main straight of current Club Circuit to nearly 1km in total. The result is a 2 + . A race lap record of 52 official races, with a seven right-hand and three left-handed 3km track. In 1986, 69 seconds were set for .
It may not sound like the most technical track on paper, but does include elevation variations and a mix of low-and medium speed corners as well as various surface types. The main straight doubles as Calder Park’s drag strip, meaning the last sweeping turn briefly transitions from standard bitumen to concrete coated in tyre rubber.
While the facilities at the venue are certainly indicating their age, the few garages and otherancillary buildings of acceptable quality are well-suited for this event. The National Circuit, mainly a tall earth mound next to the main straight, has good viewing areas for its attractions and there are also long flights of stairs.
The track days are also for Calder Park’s regular drag racing and drift events, so the general public is welcome to watch track day.
Our track day would be hosted by Drive Events, a Victorian business that also hosts drive days at Phillip Island and Broadford. An all-encompassing track driving school is also run at each event, open to anyone, though it isn’t mandatory.
The day
Naturally, the full track-day process starts well before you actually hit the track.
This particular i20 N (like any other press car) belongs to its manufacturer, so we did our due diligence andkindly asked Hyundai permission for the track.
It was a joke to our delight, it had no problem with what we were going to do on track-day plans and only asked whether the car would need tyres afterward. But otherwise it left us alone with our own s.
This was the first true test for my experience of Hyundai’s support for track activities, and it’re a refreshing brand that makes performance cars so much more realistically designed to encourage its petrol-head customers to drive them as they’ll be driven.
With that locked in, all we could do was confirm our details and sign up for the track day.
If you go to track days regularly and who hosts them, then you’ll have to pay for a day licence with Motorsport Australia depending on how often you attend the event. As a relative track-day newbie, I chose this (albeit slightly higher registration costs and additional paperwork) but it’s relatively painless and necessary to be allowed on-track.
Mind you, I’ve been on the track at media events and most recently at Sydney Motorsport Park in several Audi RS performance models. Hence I was comfortable enough to go out on track without tuition – there is no shame in signing up for a track driving school, though, and it may well keep you out of trouble.
The Sunday track day eventually rolled around. Bright and early, I stopped for fuel on my way to Calder Park, where I parked up next to my colleague Josh Nevett, who was taking part in his personal Mazda MX-5.
We then went in for registration, where because our road cars were slower than some of the other toys we had around us and that we were placed in the slowest of six speed groups. The requisite driver and safety briefing followed – the significance of which cannot be understated – before it was time to prepare for the track.
It was at 900am that we were the first group to go out with our group. When it comes to first-out, especially in a new car and with little experience at that track, we’re going for the first session mostly on exploratory laps so we can get acquainted of how the layout is laid out and our machinery.
It would be a day of six 15-minute sessions, the format for which all groups were members. It was not necessary to rush into lap-record attempts so we took it slow, learning the braking points (especially at the end of the long main straight) and finding where the car is comfortable.
Fortunately, there’s no better car for that than an i20 N, for several reasons.
It is hard to get yourself into serious trouble because of a relatively low power output, while its front-drive configuration makes it more manageable and predictable. This allows you to concentrate on the track rather than tame a beast.
The brake feel is also strong out of the box, and the steering weight makes it easier to be smooth with your inputs. Sadly, we spent the entire day in the car’s N mode (which unlocks best of the i20’d engine performance, steering feel and exhaust volume), among other things.
It can be done easily with dedicated buttons on the steering wheel for this type of . A downshifts also have an automatic rev-matching function on the i20 N, which gives you one less to think about – you can turn off and manually heel-toe shift but we found that when doing so it was very slow.
As long as we did, the more laps that made us feel comfortable. The cold, slippery tyres at the start gripped well as they warmed up with . It is very worth the money even if the car’s outright speed is at Pirelli rubber, which is standard.
The marshals greeted the chequered flag before we knew it was to signal the end of the session, as the next group headed out on track after we trumped back into the pits; the days are usually scheduled for a tight schedule.
A fair bit of downtime, but we had a wait of just over an hour before the next session (which is also quite short-lived) and gives the car with its brakes plenty of time to cool while we ate and hydrate up until heading back out.
We called our group a short time later, and we were again joining up in the pit lane. It was the right time to wind up speed and start to see what the car should be able of doing, with more knowledge of the track and that’s the vehicle under our belt.
It was a good response from the i20 for . It handled more aggressive turns with a sense of calm, giving the front wheels well-calibrated power delivery while brake pedal feel was consistent even though it had to be harder at higher speeds when braking required.
Assuming in fact, we were starting to go 200km/h all the time before hitting brakes on the main straight and somehow it felt like a real achievement. This isn’t a daunting statement, but the car’s stability control system kept things in check without killing all the fun.
I was able to find the car’s limits without fear of ending up on the grass or worse, turning around faster and finding out what gears were best for each turn; and still maintaining my comfort level.
You have to be aware of the other cars on the track – everyone is there for another reason (fun, testing and etc), so it’s important to leave plenty room when passing and watch out for faster cars behind.
Any doubts that 15 minutes on track at a time was too little were put to rest by the third or fourth session, as the sum of our time on tracks slowly began to show how tired we felt. It was an hour and a half, after all of it, for .
I am not surprised to hear that track-day regulars are more used to that, but one thing we were most surprised with is the fuel a time spent at full throttle was quickly draining the i20’s 40-litre tank.
We got 95-octane full tank, which seemed appropriate given the low cost over the car’s 91 RON requirement. The car ran a good 95, with an average of about 26L/100km for the day so far and before the final session was over there had to be’splash-and-dash’ at the local service station.
Just remember that Hyundai says it uses 6 litres of fuel. Urban driving and 9L/100km in a mix of normal highway, urban driving. In a track environment, fuel is just another expense where the i20 N’s significantly higher consumption of fuel doesn’t surprise.
The last session we pumped up with the 91 RON for the final to see how it affected performance and what was its impact on performance. The i20 N was struggling to hit 190km/h on the main straight, so it is not quite as peppy as we used to say that.
I don’t think it was a quick one, that would save you money in the long run but after five sessions of driving and then exercise made you more aware of any changes in car.
Eventually we were more than happy with many other things by the end of the day. The i20 N’s very well balanced chassis gave me little to think about when I control the car through each turn. And of course, if you’re game-playing with instability control, disabling stability control will give you more power.
It gave me the confidence to carry more and faster every turn, with the fast right-left kink of the National Circuit’s turns four and five being my favourite section for that reason. I think it’s a little more than that, but I feel like getting faster if I had not been going to the kerbs to protect the loan car.
Gear box and clutch also worked flawlessly throughout the day, as did the gearbox and acquirt. We found the latter’s weighting and engagement perfect for faster driving despite leaning towards the lighter side, which makes it so daily-friendly; rowing through the gears was easy and consistent.
The car pulls or bogs as you accelerate out of turns, so it’s also easy to know what gear is best for each turn.’ Assuming that the car pulleds/bogses and forcing you to adapt accordingly? It’s not happy to help you figure it all out, there’s lots of headroom for learning how to corner quickly and cleanly in the i20 N.
I don’t think we really surprised to see the brakes were not quite as sharp at end of the day. If you do, you can destroy the brakes of many production cars in a couple of laps but even if heavy braking into turn one took ‘little toll on them’ that was working fine without the pedal going long?
However, the slick steering and suspension systems of well-engineered engines did not only survive in extreme abuse but were appropriate for the task at hand. A day later, the car remained stable in some ways (and was relatively stable) through turns and we were taught by precise steering as well as communicative steering that also helped us learn the vehicle then trust when speed picked up.
The only shame was there aren’t more high-speed turns at Calder to fully exploit the little Hyundai’s well-sorted chassis setup.
A great all-rounder on the road, not only is the i20 N so easy to feel comfortable on track. I was a driver who wasn’t ready to wrap up and it felt like the car could have been going into the night.
I was driving the car home like we’d spent the day shopping, and it felt as if it did on the way to Calder.’ Best of all said ‘It is just that what you think about this?
The verdict
A racing driver who wants to become a recreational weekend warrior on tarmac isn’t the only one that has more than enough exposure for getting track-day bug.
A nice, gentle car to drive but not soft.’ It’s a hard-to-requited and easy car for ? A driver is a friend who gets you more hooked on the i20 N, which feels at home only when it’s time to go faster.
If you leave the track thinking about how you could have perfected that one turn, or a bit faster down the straight, you’ll know if you got the bug. They’ll only make you want to return these things, and even if you don’t think that the i20 N is still addictively fun.
It is really a package that’s hard to fault, it’t even . Its mechanicals are the same as its inside, and so is the interior just as solid as it’s .
There is a point of ergonomics, the size and finish of the steering wheel perfectly matching with the car’s overall fit for sports seats to be as old school as they hold you in place.
Of course, all that means to the road, where the i20 N is a fun daily driver. They are supportive seats, not too hard to get into or out of those seats; a good tech suite will keep you safe and entertained. The suburbs also have a firm suspension that makes it so fun on track, which is also attractive.
It’s a proven model of the i20 N, an engaging compact performance hatch and – these days we’ll miss it when it is gone. Now is the time if you want to give your hands on a new example, and unless we do encourage getting involved in any non-competitive track activity so that you can make the most of it.”
That said, I’m now curious to know how much more fun the bigger and faster i30 N is on track. With such long straights and, if the ‘i20 N is to go by’ its bigger brother (and more powerful) will be a barrel of laughs at Calder.
And, of course, massive thanks to Hyundai for allowing us the opportunity.
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