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Hyundai i20 1.4: Eyeing up the competition

By Ghaith Madadha - Jun 18,2018 - Last updated at Jun 19,2018

Photos courtesy of Hyundai

With a European design sensibility that retains a Hyundai corporate style, the i20 is among the prettiest cars from Korea’s largest carmaker. First launched in 2014, the compact, manoeuvrable and space efficient second generation i20, however, remains a rare sight in many Middle Eastern markets.

Pitched at European and some other developing markets including India and South Africa, the i20, is Hyundai’s best yet effort to compete with Europe’s best compact hatchbacks like the Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 208 and Volkswagen Polo.

 

Stylish sensibility

 

Said to be of the same fluidic sculpture 2.0 design language as Hyundai saloons more familiar on Jordanian roads, the i20 shares a similarity in its swept wraparound lights and big hexagonal grille. However, and without seeming to try too hard to catch one’s attention, the i20 manages to be a classier and more restrained design. Without the showy angles and surfacing, rakish pillars and overtly aggressive surfacing, the i20 strikes a more harmonised and subtle design that prioritises functionality, visibility and cabin packaging.

Subtle and mature, the i20’s tauter design elements lend it a feisty and less overt sporting sensibility oozing dynamism and tension with its browed rather than squinting headlights, prominent lower lip, and with a thin vent sitting between its curved front bonnet edge and low and snouty grille. A level waistline and discrete side ridges coupled with modestly descending roofline, sharp tailgate spoiler and blacked out middle and rear pillars provide a sense of sporty momentum, even in the more functional five-door version driven.

 

Ease of use

 

A stylish leap forward on the first generation model and a suitably sporting design for Hyundai i20 World Rally Car with which it shares basic aesthetic and name, the road-going garden-variety i20 is however not yet offered in a bona fide hot hatch variant. Until a rumoured i20’s from Hyundai’s sporting N division comes along, the range-topping models include the driven 1.4-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder model. Driving the front wheels, the i20 1.4 produces 99BHP at 6000rpm and 99lb/ft torque at 3500rpm, which allows for 0-100km/h acceleration in 11.9-seconds.

Refined and efficient in most normal circumstances, the i20’s delivery is progressive and speed accumulates as quick as usually required when pushed hard, if not as zingy and eager as a slightly more powerful 118BHP Peugeot 208 1.6-litre. Driven in less than ideal conditions in high wind and driving rain on the German Autobahn, including unrestricted sections, the i20 could have potentially achieved around 180km/h had conditions allowed. Nevertheless, it proved as comfortable and reassuring as could be expected at highway speeds in such conditions.

 

Manoeuvrable 

and smooth

 

A comfortable and undemanding drive, the manual gearbox version i20 features a smooth shift and light easy clutch pick up point. Its gear lever and clutch pedal are however set up for light ease of use rather than a more engaging, sporty or mechanical feel. Steering is meanwhile quick, light and accurate but judging from highway, town and dual carriageway driving, it again seemed set up for easy driving rather than the certain sense of feel, nuance and connectedness that often makes cars like this so much fun. 

Stable, smooth and easily manoeuvrable in town, the i20 rides on MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension as most rivals. With little chance to fully explore its dynamic envelope, the i20 seemed agile and well controlled through corners, albeit with mild lean. However, and in heavy rainfall, it would seem to be more inclined for less threatening but noticeable understeer at its grip limit rather than being set up for more playful oversteer and dynamic adjustability. Its ABS brakes were meanwhile quite reassuring.

 

Refined ride

 

Refined yet alert in its ride characteristics, the i20 rarely seemed overly firm and did a good job of absorbing all but the most jagged of imperfections over mostly smooth German roads. Mostly well controlled and settled on such roads, the i20 – like some other Hyundais – could however do with firmer damping control on rebound over sudden dips in the road, for a more buttoned down feel. Otherwise it proved quiet and well insulated from noise harshness and vibrations in ride quality.

Well sized for its class and in comparison to some larger more rakishly sloped saloons, the i20 features decent head and legroom front and rear, if slightly narrow, as is usual in its segment. Visibility is, meanwhile, good owing to a well-sized and relatively upright glasshouse and unexaggerated body surfacing. Seating position is comfortable and well adjustable while 301-litre boot space expands to 1017-litres. Pleasantly in cabin design and layouts, the i20 uses decent materials and has an uncomplicated yet well presented feel.

 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • Engine: 1.4-litre, transverse, 4-cylinders
  • Bore x stroke: 72 x 84mm
  • Compression ratio: 10.5:1
  • Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC
  • Gearbox: 6-speed manual, front-wheel-drive
  • Ratios: 1st 3.769; 2nd 2.045; 3rd 1.37; 4th 1.036; 5th 0.839; 6th 0.703
  • Reverse/final drive: 3.7/4.276
  • Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 99 (100) [74] @6,000rpm
  • Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 99 (134) @3,500rpm
  • 0-100km/h: 11.9-seconds
  • Top speed: 180km/h (approximately)
  • Fuel consumption, combined: 5.5-6-litres/100km (approximately)
  • Fuel capacity: 50-litres
  • Length: 4,035mm
  • Width: 1,734mm
  • Height: 1,474mm
  • Wheelbase: 2,570mm
  • Track, F/R: 1,514/1,513mm
  • Overhang, F/R: 815/650mm
  • Ground clearance: 140mm
  • Aerodynamic drag co-efficient: 0.24
  • Headroom, F/R: 1,038/978mm
  • Legroom, F/R: 1,098/794mm
  • Shoulder room, F/R: 1,365/1,350mm
  • Cargo volume, min/max: 301/1,017-litres
  • Kerb weight: 1,135kg (approximately)
  • Suspension, F/R: MacPherson struts/torsion beam
  • Steering: Electric-assisted, rack and pinion
  • Lock-to-lock: 2.7-turns
  • Turning circle: 10.2-metres
  • Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs/discs
  • Tyres: 195/55R16

 

 

 

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