How quick is the Hyundai i30 N DCT?

How quick is the Hyundai i30 N DCT? Well, if Hyundai's claim of 0-100km/h in 5.4sec is correct, then it'll be the quickest front-wheel drive car we've ever tested.

A handful of cars have dipped into the 5.6sec-bracket over the years, including the now-defunct Honda Civic Type R, last-generation Renault Megane RS275 Trophy-R and, more recently, the Ford Focus ST automatic, but none have them have had the potential to go as quick as the i30 N.

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There are a few key components to this benchmark acceleration. The first is the upgraded 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine in the new i30 N, which includes a new turbocharger and intercooler system to extract a further 4kW and 3Nm for totals of 206kW and 392Nm.

What's more important, though, is the fact that there is more grunt all the way through the rev range, and making good use of this is the close ratios of the new in-house developed eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

None of this will be any good, though, if the i30 N can't put this power to the ground, which is where the new launch control system comes in. It's accessed through the N Mode screen in the infotainment system, where you'll find Performance Options and launch control.

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Like BMW's recent M cars, it allows the driver to choose the launch rpm depending on available surface grip; simply choose the launch rpm, press activate, hold the brakes with your left foot and then floor the throttle with your right.

That's the idea, but on the first run I fail to hold the brakes down far enough and launch control fails to engage. This does provide a set of non-launch control benchmark figures, however, of 0-97km/h (60mph) in 5.9sec, 0-100km/h in 6.2sec and a 14.2sec at 169.8km/h.

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Having realised the error, another attempt with the launch control actually activated this time yields immediate results. The default rpm setting is 3000rpm which generates plenty of wheelspin but also plenty of forward motion, the times falling to 0-97km/h in 5.3sec, 0-100km/h in 5.5sec and a 13.7sec quarter mile at 171.3km/h.

Just like that, the Hyundai i30 N DCT becomes the quickest front-wheel drive car we've ever tested here at MOTOR, but there's a sneaking suspicion it still has a bit more to give with a cleaner launch.

For the next attempt I line the car up on the rubber marks it left last time in an attempt to improve traction and drop the launch rpm to 2700rpm. The plan works, with the times improving once again to 0-97km/h in 5.2sec, 0-100km/h in 5.4sec, matching its claim, and a 13.6sec quarter at 171.5km/h.

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What's clear is that this new i30 N has WAY more grunt than the last one, its trap speeds being a good 7-8km/h higher than those recorded in its (admittedly manual only) predecessor. It now has the power to really pin you back in the seat under full acceleration.

One last attempt with the launch rpm set to 2500rpm nets an identical set of figures on the DriftBox (which only displays to one decimal point), but a later look at the data gives final figures of 5.12sec to 97km/h, 5.35sec to 100km/h and a 13.55sec 0-400m at 171.81km/h, while 80-120km/h takes 3.1sec and braking from 0-100km/h 37.4m.

It's quite amazing that a front-wheel drive hot hatch would be capable of figures like these, that were the preserve of all-wheel drives like the WRX STI and Golf R not that long ago. How quick will the manual be? We'll find out in due course.