Hyundai executives believe that around 30 percent of Elantra N buyers will opt for the available three-pedal model in the U.S.

The Korean company’s spokesperson told CarScoops in a virtual round-table interview with media that it anticipates the mix for the row-yourself and automatic gearboxes in the U.S. to be around 30/70, with the majority opting for the 8-speed dual-clutch paddle-shifting transmission.

Indeed, it fits into a segment in which a decent number of manuals are still offered to buyers, so it makes sense that a car in the sport compact segment would do better than the industry average. Hyundai considers the Honda Civic Type R – even if it’s way more expensive, the VW Jetta GLI, and the Subaru WRX some of its main competitors.

Read More: Hyundai Unveils America’s 2022 Elantra N With Up To 286 HP And A Manual Gearbox

Who Are Its Competitors?

Although the Volkswagen is anything but surprising, the AWD Subaru and the slightly more powerful Civic Type R will be stiff competition for the FWD, 276 hp (279 PS/205 kW) Elantra N. Although the Hyundai can add an extra 10 horses for 20 seconds at a time with a function called N Grin Shift, that still puts it at a disadvantage next to the 306 hp (310 PS/228 kW) Civic Type R. It does, however, make more power than the 268 hp (271 PS/199 kW) WRX and the 228 hp (231 hp/170 kW) Jetta GLI.

The performance of the Elantra N and its more than respectable 5.0-second 0-60 sprint, though, should help Hyundai in its mission to attract new customers. A representative told us that the company expects most buyers for the Elantra N to lean towards the younger and male crowd, and people who may not have looked at the brand previously.

And even though it expects its customers to be more affluent than your typical Elantra buyer, the N performance model may still be a value proposition. Hyundai hasn’t yet released pricing details for the car but told us that the Elantra N should cost less than the Civic Type R, for which some dealers are asking $5,000 to $10,000 above MSRP and which retains its value in the second-hand market.

Unfortunately, we won’t know exactly how much less than the Honda the Hyundai Elantra N will cost, but we’ll find out before the car makes it to dealerships near the end of 2021.