This is my second i30N test and I remain impressed. This is a true drivers' car. Up the twisty Snowy Mountains Highway it was all fun in true hot hatch fashion.

The car is powered by a 4 cylinder 2 litre turbo charged motor pumping out 202Kw ( 271bhp) driving the front wheels via a 6 speed manual.

During our 1400ks it consumed fuel at the rate of 7.8l/100ks (34.6mpg).

I was a little taken aback by the lack of some electronic safety gear. No lane departure warning, blindspot monitor or rear cross traffic alert. No adaptive cruise control was also a negative.

The car does have a quality SatNav, compulsory airbags and autonomous emergency braking with an excellent rear view camera. These are amongst a raft of safety features.

The i30 gained a five star ANCAP rating in 2017.

Forget all that stuff, change the drive mode to 'sports' and the cars character changes.

This is a performance car built for for driving fun. Here it excels. Get it on twisty roads, wet or dry and it sticks like super glue.

With over 200Kw on tap, overtaking that slow moving truck is a breese.

Acceleration would see most V8s eating the i30N's dust.

I loved the sporty exhaust note, it announced to those nearby that this was no ordinary tin top but something special.

If you enjoy your driving but also want a competent family hatch, you can have both in the i30N.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the i30N and am looking forward to the revised version due out in 2021.

My rating 8.2/10.

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