My favourite hatch back?
There’s a reason the #CarsAwards test dayS are two of my favourite days of the year.
So when the day comes where I get to drive 3 of my favourite hatches around race track, you realise why I don’t get much sleep before #Cars Awards, Powered by WesBank.
Let’s start with the TCR. It is exceptionally fast in a straight line and at high speeds. It’s no wonder it packs 213kW. It feels like it’s in a different class to the Hyundai, and in a straight line, it is. With proper tyres, it would smoke the Type-R off the line.
Watch the drag race we did between the Type R and TCR here:
Before driving the Type R my mind was kind of already made up. The Type R had been my favourite front-wheel-drive car for years. I’ve driven almost every model, a few modified ones and even an EK9 Type R. It would take a lot to sway my mind on this topic. 
On a timed lap, the Type R is still the king, the grip is unrelenting and the speed builds up fast as the tyres search for grip in the most unlikely of places. It is a weapon for going fast.
So finally, it was time for me to try the i30N, and Pro-Racer, Sim Champion and Cars.co.za resident wheelman, couldn’t stop raving about the snappy, feisty i30N. He said out of the three cars, it surprised him, pleasently.
and it surprised me too!
Where type R beats the clock, Golf wins the drags, i30N, entertains, coaxes, and leaps from apex to apex. Those front tyres bite down in the most interesting, fun and playful way, yet still focussed and fast when it needs to be.
It hasn’t got as much power as the others but I’m sure there are some modded ones cruising around these days.
I don’t enjoy the multitudes of modes. I’m a TC/ON/OFF kind of guy. But modes aside It is the hatchback I would personally want to own if I was by the means. And out of all the performance cars I drove in 2020, THIS little Hyundai was my favourite.
Special thanks to Roarke Bouffe for capturing these moments! You NAILED those shots! #Evo
