Hyundai i10 has grown up

HYUNDAI’S LITTLE i10 has always been a sensible city car choice but its makers intended the new version to be desirable as well. So it’s longer, wider and lower than its predecessor, and altogether better looking.

As before it is only available as a five door and there’s a choice of 1.0 litre threecylinder or 1.2 litre four-cylinder petrol engines with 65 and 86bhp respectively.

The range starts at £8,345 for the 1.2 in Classic trim. The entry level model comes with daytime running lights, central locking, electric front windows, USB/ aux connection and safety kit including electronic stability control, six airbags and tyre pressure monitoring.

SE adds air-con, electric rear windows and electrically adjustable, heated door mirrors while range-topping Premium models add 14-inch alloys, eye-catching LED daytime running lights and side repeater indicators set into the door mirror housings. Bluetooth is a £175 extra and cruise control costs £50.

Myself and a group of fellow Scottish motoring hacks travelled to deepest, darkest Ayrshire to put the new i10 through its paces.

I took the three-cylinder version for a spin. The SE spec model had a base price of £9,295 and my car had £455 metallic paint added to it.

Hyundai has dramatically improved refinement in the car. Even on rain lashed, pothole-infested roads it provided a tranquil environment. Get on to faster, smoother roads and it will cruise quietly at 60 or 70mph.

The 65bhp 1.0 litre unit is smooth and unobtrusive. It’s more than peppy enough around town and it’s only when you approach motorway speeds that it starts to wheeze a little.

Unless you regularly make long commutes I wouldn’t recommend upgrading to the 1.2 litre unit.

In town is where the i10 is in its element. Its size and an admirably tight turning circle make it an ideal partner for city driving.

Inside there’s plenty of room up front for even very tall drivers, although the steering wheel only adjusts for height and not reach, making it trickier to find a comfortable driving position.

At 252 litres, the boot is one litre bigger than that in Volkswagen’s up!, making it — albeit very marginally — the class-leader when it comes to boot space.

Being a city car room in the back is, understandably, tight, but there’s space enough for two children back there — and Isofix child seat fixings come as standard.

There are lots of well designed little cubby spaces dotted around the place, with the deep door bins having room for a 1.5 litre bottle of water.

Hyundai’s quality has come on in leaps and bounds and the i30 feels almost as premium inside as Volkswagen’s up!

It should be reliable, too, and there’s a generous five-year, unlimited mile warranty for additional peace of mind.

There isn’t a diesel option but the petrol engines are both very frugal indeed. In its standard form the 1.0 litre unit returns 60.1mpg and emits 108g/km of CO2. This improves to 61.4mpg/106g/km if you specify start/stop, and there’s a BlueDrive model that manages 65.7mpg/98g/km.

Whatever you do, avoid the dreadful four speed auto box – it reduces fuel economy to around 47mpg and is also no fun at all.

Dodgy auto transmission aside, there isn’t much else to criticise here. Hyundai have created a terrific car.

It still may not be quite as stylish as the up! but it’s good looking enough, well equipped and very refined.