HYUNDAI i20 N
You've read all about the i20 with its turbo-petrol engine. But here is what the i20 is truly capable of and if you enthusiasts scream loud enough, Hyundai might just bring it here!
HYUNDAI'S WRC CHALLENGER is an i20, but that's based on a three-door that's no longer sold in the UK. The standard five-door is a sharp-looking thing though, with crisp lines and distinctive ‘Zorro' rear lights, and it looks good given the full N treatment.
Building family resemblance, the hot i20 is available with Hyundai's Marmitey Performance Blue paint and features, bold red highlights on its lower trim that match the brake calipers for the upscaled discs. There's a spoiler perched on the top of the tailgate, and filling the standard arches are 18-inch alloys with 215-section Pirelli P Zeros – the biggest that would fit.
Hop in and it feels a bit tall and narrow because, well, that's how it is in the B-segment. The i20 feels a bit less intimate, a bit more ordinary than say a Fiesta, but also gives you the support of a well-shaped seat and adds all the expected trimmings: a sportier-looking steering wheel featuring Performance Blue ‘N' mode switches and a red button for rev-matching, plus a metal-faced pedal set and footrest and the gearlever from the i30 N.
The fully TFT instrument pack offers a dial configuration for each mode (Eco, Normal, Sport, N and N Individual), while to the right (in this left-hand-drive car) is a huge touchscreen giving access to navigation, climate control and also the configurable drive modes, allowing you to adjust throttle response, the noise of the valved exhaust, steering weight and stability control settings.
There's no adjustable damping, which limits the scope of the character shift available, but what will prove more significant than this is the fitment of a mechanical limited-slip differential. The way this Torsen-style diff enhances the dynamic ability and character of the little Hyundai yet blends in seamlessly is the defining part of the package. If it turns out to be an option where you are, treat it as an absolute must-have. We got to drive the revised i30 N and the i20 N on the Nürburgring GP circuit and the i20 ran rings around the bigger, more powerful N car…
More on that later. Before getting on track we drove the prototype i20 N on a short but revealing loop of roads in the Nürburgring area, including the extremes of broken-surface, gnarly back roads and a section of derestricted autobahn. The i20 N's engine is a pepped-up version of the 1.6-litre ‘Gamma' motor, with variable valve timing, a new turbo and highpressure fuel injection that help it make 201bhp.
It's rather plain sounding, as in-line fours tend to be, even with the rather contrived tailpipe pops and crackles on the overrun.
The Hyundai's delivery makes for a lively drive though, because although peak torque is a flat on the torque ‘curve' – 275Nm from 1750 to 4500rpm – the engine feels a bit more fizzbang! than that, with a kick at 3000rpm, and that's fine because it's more exciting and the chassis can handle it thanks to the Torsen diff.
The steering is well weighted, reasonably direct and has linear responses. You know you're in a small, tall car on lumpier surfaces, but the ride is good, and pushing on over such roads the i20 is calm and composed.
Hyundai's N engineers worked hard to get the body strengthening they needed within the constraints of standard i20 bodyshell production. They've added welds at crucial load points, beefed up the front subframe mounting and, as on the i30 N, fitted a brace bar between the rear suspension turrets. Hyundai quotes a kerb weight of just under 1200kg.
The i20 N should have decent grip because the P Zeros have been tuned to suit the car. Carry ambitious speed into a tight corner, get on the throttle early and the i20 doesn't push a little wide with understeer as most front-drive hot hatches would. Instead the i20 N seems to tighten its line. This is the Torsen working its magic.
Because you're anticipating the front pushing wide, the fact that it doesn't makes it seem like it's actually tightened its line. In fact, the further you drive the i20 N, the more impressive the diff installation becomes. It seems that you get all the benefits – terrific traction and cornering grip and accuracy of line – with none of the side effects. We have yet to try it in the wet, but in the dry there's no tug or weave under
acceleration, even on crowned roads, and no steering corruption. There's just lots of positive drive, as opposed to the subtle but nonetheless restrictive interventions of ESC systems that manipulate brakes and throttle.
I wasn't sure what we would learn on the truncated version of the Nürburgring GP circuit, coming as it did after a drive of the revised i30 N, which now has 276bhp (up 5bhp on the old Performance version). It's a great fast hatch, the i30, but it felt a bit lost and inert on the wide track, whereas the i20 N felt brilliant, even though it has considerably less power.
In the pre-drive technical briefing there had been talk of ‘corner carving', which sounded like marketing guff but is in fact a great description of what the i20 does. You pick your line, aim for your apex and the i20 turns willingly and you find yourself going for the throttle much earlier than expected. This only seems to help; the nose hooks up and goes exactly where you want, straight to the apex, every time. It feels born to do this, carving cleanly from apex to apex for the whole lap, hooked up and holding the line hard as all 201bhp and 275Nm is deployed. It's terrific fun, so clean and accurate and positive, and flattering.
Everything else works too: the upsized brakes have power and bite, the shift of the beefed-up six-speed gearbox feels light but drops home positively, the seats are supportive… You'll have gathered by now that it's an impressive bit of kit.
Dynamically, the Hyundai ups the stakes. There's no definitive price yet, but expect it to offer good value, just like the i30 N. With the Torsen diff as standard, we reckon the i20 N will be priced at around `25 lakh. Hyundai did showcase the N cars like the i30 N Fastback at Auto Expo 2020 and that was a statement of intent. The i20 N will not bring volumes to the company in India, but it certainly will reinforce the company's global push to be a more technologically accomplished and enthusiastfocussed brand. ⌧