N Festival 2023 Trip

Yo Wazzup people, this is a continuation of Ryan’s N festival series of articles.

Have you ever thought of driving from Brisbane to Sydney for a car show? No… Why not? It’s a bloody good experience on the way down, not so much on the way back. Especially why not in an i30 Sedan N (Nat), read more about her here.

Our drive started with an early coffee and pie break at Yatala Pies. I’d highly recommend the Pepper Pie with a side of chips, absolutely the best way to start a long day driving. Yatala marked the start of the “official” i30N fuel economy challenge™️ (trademark pending, joke of course). The record to beat is 5.8L/100km from our last road trip down to Melbourne. Spoilers, we didn’t do that well this time.

Once we are on the road, the dual personality of Nat, the i30 Sedan N, really shows. We slapped it into eco mode and set off. On the highway we made full use of cruise control and lane keep/lane centering features, blasting beats and chatting shit all the way.

The trip was boring until we got to Balina, stopping to stretch our legs and grab a quick snack. I got a lil hot chocy and my mate got an Iced coffee, and we mde the first of many driver swaps.

On our way out, we saw the first of many freaking rad “the big” Aussie attraction being THE BIG PRAWN! This absolutely massive prawn is a staple of Ballina culture. It is seemingly just being slapped on the side of the road, and having a Bunnings in the background, is peak aussie culture. It has been there since 1989, and is something you must see.

Once we left Balina, it was a straight shot with our next planned stop at Kempsey services for a drop of fuel and a bite to eat (healthy of course, we got Dirty Bird). As we drove through Coffs Harbour we saw “The Big Banana”. Tbh, this is a pretty shithouse attraction, at best it is “the medium-large banana.” Honestly, if it’s your first time driving through Coffs, I’d recommend that you stop by the Coffs Harbor McDonald’s for a spot of Bogan Watching. The interesting wildlife (people) that stop by will keep you busy for hours.

We arrived at South Kempsey with around a quarter of a tank and filled up. We had our first entry in the “official” i30N fuel economy challenge with a solid entry of 6.1L/100km over around 444km.

Our next stint was our last, and my cheeks were starting to get sore. We swapped drivers again, my friend now in the driver’s seat.

We Queenslanders have no clue how the average speed cameras work in NSW. They seem to notify you of a starting point, then end somewhere with no sign in sight. Luckily for me we saw the first average speed zone after Kempsey, so my mate had to suck it up and drive like a normal person. We stopped in at Karuah, saw a stunning bridge, and switched drivers. After this I went full goblin mode for the rest of the drive.

With me behind the wheel, and the nice dry roads, we regained a little lost of time. We entered the confusing spaghetti of tunnels that thread their way under Sydney in a “seriously WTF is this” kinda way. They start in the northern suburbs, spitting you out near the airport 20 minutes and 25 dollars later. We had MADE IT!

We got to the Airbnb street, and my mate spent 10 minutes trying to locate the bloody keys. Luckily for me I got to stare out of the sunroof at the buildings around the place (article cover picture).

Once unpacked and settled in, we tallied the next figure for the “official” i30N fuel economy challenge, 6.3L/100km. Whaa why’s that so high? You have got to remember it’s Sydney, so of course we sat and one set of lights for 3 rounds until it was our turn. With a total of 894.2km’s, our average fuel economy of 6.2L/100km. That is crazy for something that can turn into a mountain road eater or a track weapon at a press of a button.

We had a lovely weekend spending time with friends and enjoying the N festival.

On the way back we had a similar experience with Sydney tunnels and the “really good“ Sydney drivers, this time with a twist. What is it, you might ask? I had a headache, a bad one. Thankfully my mate was there to do most of the driving, and by 6pm we were back in Brisbane, all in one piece.

I want to extend my thanks again to Hyundai for setting up the N festival and to Alan for allowing me to take part in the press activities at the festival. If it’s on next year I will 100% be back.

Love, Ryan