Hyundai N Products

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'22 X3 M40i
https://www.automobilemag.com/news/high-performance-hyundai-tucson-n-rumored/

It looks like this segment could be heating up. Hyundai is scheduled to debut some of their future N offerings at Geneva this year. A mild "N-line" upgrade to a number of current vehicles(more show than go), with full blown N models in the coming years.

Normally I wouldn't find this interesting, but out of curiosity I test drove a top spec Hyundai Kona AWD this weekend while waiting for my CX-5's oil change. It comes with a 1.6T and a 7-spd DCT. It's only rated at 175hp/195tq, but was quick and quite composed for a vehicle in that segment. I was impressed. The salesman asked what I thought, and I responded, "you're going to sell the s*** out of these things". Honest response as I was flogging it on back roads for about 10 minutes. It was also comfortable in traffic. Car and Driver measured 0-60 in 6.6. BTW, dyno runs show it's putting down those factory hp/tq numbers at the wheels on a FWD model.

Point being, if they can do that to a $25k subcompact CUV think about what a Tucson with 340hp would do. That's the rumored Tucson N we could see at Geneva. I might be holding onto my '14 CX-5 and my Signature money until I see what Hyundai has to offer.

Also, please go test drive one of the sportier Hyundai products before passing judgement. They've come a long way in the last couple generations of vehicles. Just to validate my opinion, here's a short list of the more interesting cars I've owned in my 27 yrs of driving:
'84 RX-7 GSL
'91 Miata
'94 Honda Prelude VTEC
'91-93 Sentra SE-R's
'99 Corvette
'02 WRX sedan and wagon
'03 350Z
'04 Forester XT 5-spd(best sleeper ever)
'07 CX-7 GT
'08 BMW 335ix
'11 BMW 328ix
'14 CX-5 GT
Not trying to show off in any capacity, just anticipating someone suggesting I don't know what a "real" car is.
 
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I test drove the 1.6T Tucson before I decided on the 18 CX5 GT last year. Two things I did not like on the 18 Tucson was the DCT and the interior (to me) felt inferior to the CX5. How's the DCT on the Kona?
 
former 2.0T Santa Fe owner, although a pretty good car,
service at hyundai dealers are very lacking and thus the reason i now stay away from Hyundai's
After 4-5 years of ownership, car started having many issues and decided it was time to dump it for another Mazda.

If Service centers, upped their customer service and ambience, maybe i would go back to owning another one, because as OP stated, they definitely have come a long way.
 
Having just bought a GTR cx5, ive chosen to ignore this thread becauee ignorance is the friend of contentment.
 
We owned a 2006 Kia Sedona minivan, bought new and dealer serviced. It didn't make it to 100,000 miles. And it had some back-assward engineering.
 
FYI from Hyundai's website:
What is N?
Introducing Hyundai's new high-performance series: N. It's the first letter of
Namyang * the location of our global R&D facility, where the models are created.
And it's also the first letter of Nrburgring, the epic track where they're further tested and developed.
The goal of N: to send a race-inspired thrill surging through you the moment you grab the wheel.
 
Hyundai has definitely improved their products a lot. Now they need to work on upgrading their dealer network and let Mitsubishi have the sub prime market.
 
Point being, if they can do that to a $25k subcompact CUV think about what a Tucson with 340hp would do. That's the rumored Tucson N we could see at Geneva. I might be holding onto my '14 CX-5 and my Signature money until I see what Hyundai has to offer.

Also, please go test drive one of the sportier Hyundai products before passing judgement. They've come a long way in the last couple generations of vehicles.

Interesting. I think this is what pisses me off about Mazda's direction in general since Gen 2 debut. Want the fast, sporty stuff? **** you if you want to pay less than $30k. Have a "luxury" car instead. I liked when they still catered the idea of a fun car at an affordable price. I make good money, but I'm not interested in $35-$40k cars. If they dropped the turbo in a Touring or something, then I might actually be swayed to a Gen 2. As it is, no way in hell I'd trade up from my 2014 which I payed $25.5k for to a GT-R.

And to be clear, I am not implying that my non turbo isn't fun, I very much enjoy my car. But the similar non-turbo Gen 2 equivalent is a complete turn off. Same engine, slower, and more money. "Oh but you get your knock of luxury features!" **** that, no sale.
 
I hear you man. Thats why I got a GTI not a 3....... though it was in the price range you wont pay still.

Im definitely warming up to Hyundai though!
 
I hear you man. That*s why I got a GTI not a 3....... though it was in the price range you won*t pay still.

I*m definitely warming up to Hyundai though!

Yeah $30k is definitely my upper limit before I start saying the money can be better served elsewhere, and as I am more interested in a raw driving experience as opposed to tech nannies and bulls***, feature wise, the higher trims are not all that appealing to me except that they lock in the things I would actually care about, like the turbo.
 
I hope those of you who are interested in Hyundai N line products have better luck than I did in a recent search for a new Elantra GT N line. Hyundai seems a bit schizophrenic when it comes to how they support niche products like this. To date there are only the initial 98 cars in the US (as reported on CarGurus.com) and my local dealer didn't even know what the damn thing was. All Hyundai/Kia seems to want to do is sell SUV/CUVs made in the states and they just seem to be using the N line thing for its halo effect without actually supporting the products. As a result, I bought a loaded 2018 Mazda3 GT hatchback for $7500 off list last week! Anyone in the market for a nice clean 2013 CX-5 Touring?
 
The Veloster N is awesomely fun to drive and its simply a matter of time before its in my garage- trying to give it some time- summer tires only wouldn't be driving it much now anyway..but it gives me every reason and more not to go with a GTI or even a WRX- ok the interior is kinda plastic fantastic/spartan(no heated seats-blimey!) but I was absolutely wowed by driving the car- in literally 30 seconds it was over- sold, no bs. So yeah that and a CPO late gen1 CX-5GT will almost definitely be my stable going forward.

N-line Elantra seems like BMW type garbage in that its a way to charge more mostly for appearance bs shameless cash grab- the Veloster N is a wholly different animal- great steering, shifter, clutch, seats, adaptive dampers when you want to settle things down a tad- light on lux and I'm absolutely fine w/that- trackable little snot rod that seems pretty easy to live with as well- for me Hyundai and Biermann ******* nailed it.
 
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I hope those of you who are interested in Hyundai N line products have better luck than I did in a recent search for a new Elantra GT N line. Hyundai seems a bit schizophrenic when it comes to how they support niche products like this. To date there are only the initial 98 cars in the US (as reported on CarGurus.com) and my local dealer didn't even know what the damn thing was. All Hyundai/Kia seems to want to do is sell SUV/CUVs made in the states and they just seem to be using the N line thing for its halo effect without actually supporting the products. As a result, I bought a loaded 2018 Mazda3 GT hatchback for $7500 off list last week! Anyone in the market for a nice clean 2013 CX-5 Touring?

Congrats on the 3!
 
The interior on the Veloster N has been pointed out as "cheap" and "plastic" in several of the reviews on YouTube. We'll have to see if they have stepped up their interior finishings on the N line in Geneva.
 
The interior on the Veloster N has been pointed out as "cheap" and "plastic" in several of the reviews on YouTube. We'll have to see if they have stepped up their interior finishings on the N line in Geneva.
Hyundai in general has very cheap interiors from what I've seen of Hyundai rentals I've had before.
 
Had a Kia Soul as a rental. Rattled more than any car I've ever driven.
 
^Truth..and the Veloster N is no exception (new Santa Fe was pretty good from what I recall- with room still) but I quickly forgot about it once on the gas, stereo is better than Mazdas though I'll be listening to the exhaust..maybe that'll get old but the great thing is you can alter that, the ride, the steering heft and rev matching very quickly and easily.
 
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