Quick review: Hyundai i20 1.4 Fluid Manual

By Ané Theron

If you’re looking to buy an i20, why not consider an i10 instead? You’ll pay considerably less for a car that is just as good, feels a little livelier in town, and is more spacious in the rear...

Pros

• Solidly-built interior
• Stable handling
• Comfortable Seats

Cons

• Cramped rear bench
• Gear selection niggles
• Some rattles & squeaks on our test unit

Styling

The i20 is a handsome, if somewhat generic-looking hatch, with very little to distinguish the new from the old model. You'll still see the same swept back head-lamps, with less chrome in the grille but a more nipped-and-tucked look. Around the back, you'll also see the tail lamps look a little chunkier, with a strip of black cladding that unites the rear fog lamps.

Interior space & comfort

Hyundai's flowing dashboard design remains, and a relatively large touchscreen (same as the unit in the Tucson/Creta and i10 Grand) dominates the front dashboard. You'll find trip computer information displayed between the odometer and the rev counter. The nicest part of the interior is the seat covers: The comfortable and supportive seats are wrapped in silky hounds-tooth print that feels luxurious against bare skin. The smooth material means it will also be easy to clean spills. In the space department, you'll probably be amused to find out that the "smaller" i10 Grand has more legroom - so if you're regularly going to transport older kids or adults in the rear, the i10 Grand is probably a better bet! (Be sure to read my review on the dapper little i10 Grand here.)

Tech

Hyundai’s touchscreen is reasonably user-friendly but the unit itself seemed to rattle and squeak at speeds upwards of 100 km per hour. Pressing against the screen and holding the unit itself alleviated the rattle straight away. This was an irritating little niggle not present in the top-end Hyundai i10 Grand 1.25 Glide manual at R219 900; a fair bit less expensive than this mid-range i20 1.4 Fluid Manual which is priced at R272 900.

Drive & Performance

While the i20’s 1.4-litre (with 74 kW /133 Nm) engine is sufficient, I won't call it peppy by any means. For the engine to stay within its power band, you're going to be working that gear lever quite hard. One issue with selecting 'reverse' is that you think that you're in reverse, a chime even tells you that you are, but when you attempt to drive backwards you're not quite in gear. You then have to repeat the maneuver of shifting into reverse again before anything happens, and this irked me no end.

On the upside, the i20's road-holding is exemplary. Steering is a bit light, but gets a little firmer once you're up to speed.

Fuel efficiency

You're looking at an average of 7 litres per 100 km in town. Driving from Hermanus to Cape Town had me seeing a figure of 6.2 litres per 100 km and I never saw the figure climb north of 7.8 in heavy traffic.

Safety

The South African spec i20 recently underwent crash-testing and scored a lukewarm 3 stars for adult protection and 2 stars for child occupants. It has ABS with two airbags and EBD, as well as Park Distance Control in the rear. Also read Martin Pretorius's article on the NCAP crash tests here. 

Pricing

In this price range there are more interesting, safe, and powerful options available. What else can you buy in this price range?  A Polo Hatch 1.0TSI, an Opel Corsa 1.4 Turbo sport... enough said.

Verdict

While the i20 is a reliable choice that is relatively inexpensive to keep going and perfectly suitable for the daily slog to work, competition in this segment is cut-throat with many other alternatives that offer a more spunk and character in general, as well as those all-important safety features.

Expert rating: 2.5 out of 5