FIRSTDRIVE:The new i20 continues Hyundai's rebirth as a competent rival to mainstream brands, writes Paddy Comyn
APPLE COMPUTERS must be getting rightly fed up with companies putting an "i" before things to make them sound hip and trendy. We are not entirely sure if they invented the designation, but with iPod, iPhone and iMac they seemed to have got a fairly decent head start on everyone else.
Apple don't have a range of cars (not yet anyway, but if they make one, we'll take it) and it's probably lucky that they don't, because Korean brand Hyundai is using all their best potential names. First we got the i30, which replaced the hideous C-segment car the Elantra, which had of course been a "Lantra" before Hyundai stuck an "e" in front of it, which was trendy back in the 1990s.
Then the i10 replaced the fizzy, ridiculous shopping trolley which was the Atoz. Both new cars were, and are, leaps and bounds better than the stupidly named cars they replaced.And since the guy who used to name Hyundais finally got carted away, he didn't get a chance to mess up Hyundai's new supermini offering.
The Hyundai Getz might have been fun for headline writers, but it wasn't for anyone else, even though it became Hyundai's biggest selling car in Europe, clocking up more than 500,000 units. The Getz wasn't outstanding at anything, but it was a sign that the brand was improving and after the successes of the i10 and i30, even our feeble powers of deduction were able to figure out that the new offering would be called the i20.
And recent experience had told us that it would probably be pretty darn good. The i10 and i30 have shocked us with their levels of quality, and first impressions of the i20 are no different.
The car has been designed in Europe for European tastes and driving styles, and it shows. The rear end looks very like an Opel Corsa, and the side profile and front grille are good-looking in a harmless sort of way. It's a nice looking shape but it could be from any one of a number of manufacturers.
What we have come to expect from Hyundai are cars that don't ask much of their owners. They are good value, have good reliability, are well equipped and while few are exciting, they are blissfully bland when it comes to giving owners no headaches.
The i20's interior quality is good. The areas where your hands and eyes spend the most amount of time get the most love and affection from the designers.
Our model had a leather wheel and gearstick, colourful blue and black seats and Climate Control Air Conditioning. There was even somewhere to plug in your iPod.
In Ireland, for now at least, choosing an engine for your i20 is going to be a delight for those who struggle with choice. You can only have a 1.2-litre 78bhp petrol engine, which Hyundai delighted in telling us about without actually giving it to us to drive at the international launch in Barcelona.
We shall bring you that particular variant in an early January roadtest - so it was left to us to try the ones that we might see if, as the late Lesley Crowther once cried: "The Price is Right."
One of these maybe cars was the 90bhp 1.4-litre CRDi version, one of four diesel powerplants for our European friends, consisting of 75bhp and 90bhp 1.4 and 115bhp and 126bhp 1.6-litre diesels. This engine pulled really well, suited the car immensely and apart from being handicapped by some woefully underachieving tyres, added up to pretty rapid progress.
The steering and brakes were good, but the gearbox felt a little notchy - but we can allow for newness and the use of 60 other ham-fisted journalists for that - for now.
This 1.4-litre diesel unit comes with Band A emissions, but according to Hyundai Ireland, might just end up being too expensive to be competitive. Instead, we will need to make do with the 1.2-litre petrol engine, which is a Band B car and has half the torque of the diesel, and if the 100bhp 1.4-litre petrol is anything to go by is going to be too weedy to be enjoyable, but we can't say that for sure until we try it.
What we can tell you about the 1.2-litre petrol is that it will take 12.9 seconds to get to 100km/h and use 5.2 l/100km of petrol on the combined cycle. Both of the 1.4-litre diesels are slower, but the extra torque makes for a more relaxed drive.
It is difficult to write about any new supermini without drawing comparisons to the darling of the small car moment - the Fiesta - and compared to it, the i20 might seem a little staid. But we must remember that we already know that the car will start at €14,995 for the 1.2-litre Classic, and that gets you 14-inch alloy wheels and air conditioning, iPod connectivity and driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags. For just €15,995 you can get 15-inch alloy wheels, front fog-lights and Climate Control in the Deluxe. ESP is still an optional extra.
The cheapest Ford Fiesta will now cost you €15,395, and that's without air conditioning and two fewer doors. Like for like, there will be a considerable saving for choosing the i20. This just begs the question - where is the diesel?
With cubic capacity no longer an excuse to the absence of a diesel from a car's line-up - we think that Hyundai is missing a trick with its absence from day one.
With Ford offering the pretty weedy five-door 68bhp 1.4-litre diesel for €17,075, surely Hyundai could offer a better equipped 90bhp diesel for slightly less. With the i20, Hyundai is asking to be taken seriously as a contender in the supermini segment, and the car is good enough, so where is the engine that the car deserves?
We will give our verdict on the 1.2-litre petrol version in the New Year, but for now suffice to say that the i20 deserves a place on your Santa Claus list.
The 1.2-litre five-door Hyundai i20 is on sale now. A three-door model will arrive in March, priced at €15,995, and perhaps some of the other engines too.
Factfile: Hyundai i20 Classic
Engine:1,248cc 4-cylinder petrol putting out 78bhp and 118Nm of torque
0-100km/h: 12.9 seconds
Top speed:165km/h
Fuel economy:5.2l/100km
CO2 emissions:124g/km
Tax Band:B (€154 a year from January 1st)
Price:€14,995
On sale:5-door on sale now, 3-door on sale in March