Stylishly sensible

The latest Hyundai i20 has stepped up quality, refinement and value, and as GreenFleet finds, with the 1.1-litre CRDi
diesel engine also offers commendable economy.

The Hyundai i20 sits above the i10 city car and below the Golf-sized i30 in the South Korean company’s range. Launched in 2008, it succeeded the Getz as Hyundai’s player in the very competitive B-segment, and can count more popular cars such as the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagen Polo as its rivals.

The second-generation car tested here was first unveiled in late 2014, and, like its predecessor, is primarily designed for a more European palette (the first-generation car was never sold in the Far East). More premium‑looking, and, dare we say European in flavour, the new car's looks strike a nice balance between stylish and sensible. The latest i20 uses Hyundai’s new ‘Fluidic Sculpture 2.0’ design language and has some novel features such as the matt black wraparound rear C-pillar. This creates the impression of a floating roof, as seen on more upmarket small cars such as the Mini and DS 3 (tested on pages 48-49). Sharp creases and interesting front and rear light cluster shapes help the i20 look much smarter than before. We’re not the only ones that think so, either, as the new Hyundai i20 is the proud recipient of a Red Dot Design Award.

Premium aspirationsInside, it’s a similar story. Cabin quality appears to have taken a step up, too, in line with Hyundai’s more premium aspirations. Soft-touch and coloured materials give an impression of a nicely-finished car, and the two-tone blue splashes of our test car really lifted the interior ambience. Practicality is also given a boost, with buttons atop the multifunction steering wheel, and USB, Bluetooth (with voice recognition), cruise control, and all-round electric windows all thrown in as standard on this SE model. However, looking at Hyundai UK’s current price list, it would appear that the 1.1.litre, three‑cylinder diesel engine fitted to our test car is no longer available in SE specification.

Now only available in lower‑spec £12,745 S Blue trim, SE versions of the i20 now receive an 88bhp variant of this engine. Saying that, though, emissions are lower at 102g/km than our test car’s 103g/km, and there’s 15bhp more than the version tested here. The S Blue’s 73bhp unit shared with our test car is even cleaner still, promising CO2 emissions of just 84g/km.

We’re glad the lower output engine has remained part of the i20 range, though, even if it is in a lower-specification model. There’s the familiar three-cylinder warble from the little unit, and while it’s not blisteringly fast (at 16 seconds from 0-62mph the i20 CRDi will never win any drag races), there’s 133lb ft/180Nm of torque available from 1,750-2,500rpm. Yes, it might not be as quiet as some petrol engines, but generally, refinement is very good, almost touching Polo levels of quietness.

Pleasure to drive
The i20 is a pleasure to drive, with an almost perfect driving position, thanks to myriad height and reach levels of adjustment. Sitting low in the car, there’s an impression of sportiness, but Hyundai wouldn’t want you to get too comfortable, as it has the separate i20 Coupé model to fulfil that particular need. The six-speed manual gearbox has a positive action, too, and the short lever is nice to use.

The suspension on our SE test car absorbed bumps well, too, though not as well as some more premium rivals, and it’s interesting to note that the S Blue model with this engine comes with 15-inch wheels – our test model was fitted with 16-inch rims which pushed up the CO2 emissions.

Hyundai quotes a combined fuel economy figure of 70.6mpg, whereas we only achieved an average figure of 58.3mpg in the real‑world, which is still highly commendable.

A sound choice
Overall, the latest version of the Hyundai i20 is a stylish addition to the supermini market, and a sound choice for those fleet drivers who may not be able to stretch to more premium‑priced rivals. Add in a five-year warranty and there’s very little not to like.

Further Information
www.hyundai.co.uk