Will we, won’t we? Hyundai NZ is being especially evasive.

NOT an outright ‘yes’ nor an actual ‘no’ … just an acknowledgement that, should the compact sedan whose sportified look has been teased be picked up for New Zealand, it’ll more likely be called an i30 than an Elantra.

Hyundai New Zealand is being especially non-committal about local potential for a compact four-door model, to place alongside the i30 hatch and liftback, that has attracted international attention through South Korea putting out a teaser video showing the car in an N-Line trim.

This follows release weeks earlier of the standard car without the camouflage covering the N-Line edition. Can they be that much different? Well, probably not ….

Anyway, in sharing the N-Line news, Hyundai NZ’s public relations manager Kimberley Waters was making every effort to steer clear of suggesting anything that might indicate the car having local potential. Or not.

“Please note Elantra is what it this model is known as in other markets. Because Hyundai New Zealand take Australian spec and they have changed the nameplate to i30 Sedan, we too will adopt that name if we bring in the i30 Sedan and/or i30 Sedan N-Line. 

So there you go. Whatever Aussie does is what we’ll also do. Should we do it.

 Moving on. 

The N-Line should not be confused with the outright N product plan, which is basically Hyundai creating an equivalent of BMW’s M Division – indeed, the man leading this, Albert Biermann, is the former head of the Munich madhouse.

The only N model here now is based off the i30. The Veloster N is also in production, but just in left-hand-drive. The next N model for New Zealand is expected to be a version of the Kona compact crossover, with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder engine producing around 200kW and 350Nm. Also likely to also introduce the dual-clutch automatic transmission, this model is expected to land in the second half of this year.

Anyway, back to Elantra/i30 sedan. It is built on the new K3 platform which Hyundai states is lighter and stiffer with enhanced driving dynamics, and shows the brand’s latest styling outside – yeah, we know, instant nominee for ‘scary grille of the year’  - with plenty of technology highlights inside.

The only export market to so far involve with the mainstream model (below) is the United States, where it runs front-wheel drive with a continuously variable automatic transmission and the 103kW 1.6-litre that ran in the previous generation.

With N-Line, you get a few sporty looks but not the hooligan edge. With the sedan, the dress-up encompasses black exterior mirrors, more aggressive two-tone five-spoke alloy wheels and a set of twin exhaust tips poking out of the right side of the bumper. Is this an indication the variant will run the 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol used elsewhere in the Hyundai and Kia stable?

Well, it’d seem a safe bet given that, for its part, Seoul head office has offered: “the upcoming i30 Sedan N Line adds N brand specific design elements, chassis upgrades and a turbocharged engine to the recently revealed i30 Sedan”.

The car in the video seems to include a dual-clutch automatic transmission – most likely the seven-speed unit from the current i30 N Line.

The most pronounced of the chassis upgrades will likely include an enhanced (firmer) suspension set-up. Note that the N Line hatch rides 5mm lower than the standard models.

The i30 Sedan also has a multi-link rear suspension arrangement – only seen previously on the current N Line hatch. That bounds well for the driving feel.

So is it coming? Probably. Hyundai NZ doesn’t have a habit of sending out information about cars it doesn’t intend to sell.

Even so, setting aside the ‘will they, won’t they?’ side, sedans – previous Elantra very much included - have become such slow sellers, the more relevant question might be: ‘Will you notice?’