Hyundai i20 makes real sense

THE Hyundai i20 started slowly but has built up genuine momentum. This improved version of the second generation model looks to keep that trajectory arrowing upwards.

Supermini buyers who might have overlooked Hyundai’s i20 are being targeted by this model. It gets smarter looks, a seven-speed dual clutch auto gearbox option, upgraded safety and extra media connectivity. Plus it remains one of the more affordable players.

We’re used to hearing success stories from Hyundai, but in recent years, there’s one important market segment this Korean company has found something of a struggle: that for superminis. The company’s i20, introduced in 2008, has always aimed to rectify that oversight, but the MK1 version had limited success in this regard. This second generation design has done better but in recent times had slipped a little on the technological front.

The i20 has always made great play of being designed by Europeans, in Europe for European conditions, so it’s no surprise we’ve always liked the way the car drives. Excellent forward visibility is enabled by the slim front A-pillars. It also helps in an urban environment that the steering is light and direct, the wheel-at-each-corner design makes each extremity of the car easy to position and it’s simplicity itself to park. Just as a supermini should be.

The looks of this improved MK2 model are slightly more eye-catching. The front of the five-door variant now features redesigned front bumpers including the “cascading grille” recently seen on the brand’s other cars.

As before, prices sit in the £12,000-£18,000 bracket and there’s a choice of either a five-door hatchback or a three-door hatch variant that Hyundai rather misleadingly calls a “coupe”. Spec changes with this model include the addition of a seven-inch infotainment screen on lower-order models. As before, the infotainment system has USB and auxiliary connectivity as standard.

Of course, it isn’t perfect. Not all the mainstream engines are as efficient as they could be.

Overall though, if you can find a car in this class that makes more sense when you add together all the really important attributes that families look for in a supermini in this segment, then you’ll be doing very well.