Hyundai i20 facelift is like an alternative to the well known B-class cars, such as Skoda Fabia
or Opel Corsa, from where the i20 is inspired from. Also, the tested car comes with a small engine
that looks promising on paper: 1.1-liter turbo diesel with three cylinders and 75 PS/HP.
Hyundai couldn’t have been missing from a so debated B segment, especially as it intends to grow
a lot in Europe. So, i20 is the answer of South Koreans from Hyundai for the B class.
i20 looked like a copy of Opel Corsa since it first appeared on the market, and this restyling
it has recently received, does not solve much of the problem.
In fact, Hyundai i20 looks now like Mazda2 from the front of the car and like Opel Corsa from the back.
It is far from being an original car.
The similarities with other models continue also inside of the car: the instrument cluster
seems inspired by those of old Polo and Golf V.
Besides all this, i20 has several features that make it interesting. The commands have very good ergonomics,
the seats are surprisingly comfortable and suitable and even the seats in the rear
are well shaped and soft.
In front of the gear shifter there is a storage space that can be covered,
and in the handbrake and gear shifter area there are many other storage spaces. The glove compartment
is large and refrigerated.
Even though the tested car is very poorly equipped, however, i20 comes with an
adjustable steering wheel in height and depth, as well as with a manually height adjustable driver seat.
The lack of central locking by remote control and the electrically adjustable and heated mirrors
sends this car 20 years in the past. Not to say that Dacia Sandero can have a multimedia
system with touch screen, Media Nav, that would make fade at any time
everything Hyundai can offer for i20 and even for the more expensive cars.
At i20 I observed, inside the cabin, the smell of adhesives and cheap textile that leaves you with a headache
after less than an hour spent inside the car. The “smell of China” was also accentuated
by the very cheap rubber floor mats.
Is it the engine that makes i20 a really interesting offer? No way! The little 1.1-liter turbo diesel
engine with three pistons is very noisy and incredibly greedy.
The sound resembles to what you can hear on Fabia or Polo 1.4 TDI, but
Hyundai's engine consumption is higher even than a 1.6 TDI. Specifically, in the city I barely managed to geto a fuel consumption
below 10 l/100km. This is enormous for such a car and such an engine.
The only time that this engine’s consumption is really low is at a constant speed and a low
rew, at around 1,500 RPM.
About the acceleration... what else can we say? This i20 reaches 100 km/h in 15.7 seconds.
On the road, Hyundai i20 proves to be a comfortable car, designed for those who have
never driven any other car before. It is very easy to drive it.
However, the steering is artificial, as in other Hyundai models, but with a special comment.
There is a rest point of the steering, when the wheels are straight. The steering wheel
always tends to it and that feels awkward in the hands of the driver. The sensation is
comparable to what happens when you run over the tram line and the wheels tend to steal
the steering wheel from your hand and guide themselves as they wish.
This happens to i20. As if you run through some mixed foliage.
Hyundai i20 starts at 12,590 Euros with VAT, and the tested diesel version costs
14,227 Euros with VAT - some amounts way too large for a car with so many minuses.
Even the permanent offer price of 11,500 Euros with VAT is big for a Hyundai i20 that has
no key central locking, no electrical heated mirrors, with a pestilential interior and a new
developed, but loud, lazy and greedy engine.