Hyundai I20 vs MG 3

What's the difference?

The i20 N hatch is so much fun, and not in a special occasion kind of way. It’s an affordable, compact performance car that’ll put a smile on your face no matter where or when you drive it. The Fiesta ST and Polo GTI have a worthy new playmate. I love it!

There is no doubt that the new MG3 is better than the car it supersedes – that tends to happen when you replace something that's 13-years old. It drives smoothly enough, has a frugal hybrid powertrain and good levels of safety equipment. Interior space is adequate and there are some genuinely nice touches like the comfortable seats and cabin design.

But that doesn't mean the new MG3 is better than the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2, Suzuki Swift or Volkswagen Polo. Those established rivals are more consistent, have greater breadth of ability and now really aren't that much dearer than MG's entry-level city car.

That said, the MG3 is still more affordable than most and transformed in driving experience. It is, therefore, worth putting on your small car short list, if no longer buy-without-thinking cheap. We applaud MG improving its products based on feedback and hope the much-improved MG3 finds buyers. Expect a comparison test with key rivals soon for a definitive verdict.

Hyundai’s current WRC challenger may be a coupe but this angry little five-door hatch absolutely looks the part.

We’re assured the N is the only current-generation i20 we’ll see in the Aussie market, and it runs with a relatively low (101mm) ground clearance, a grille pattern inspired by a chequered flag, black mirror shells, and menacing, angular LED headlights.

The ‘Satin Grey’ 18-inch alloys are unique to this car, as are the side skirts, raised rear spoiler, darkened LED tail-lights, a ‘sort-of’ diffuser under the rear bumper and a single fat exhaust exiting on the right-hand side.

There are three standard paint options - ‘Polar White’, ‘Sleek Silver’, and N’s signature shade of ‘Performance Blue’ (as per our test car) as well as two premium shades - ‘Dragon Red’, and ‘Phantom Black’ (+$495). A contrasting Phantom Black roof adds $1000.

Inside, the N-branded sports seats, trimmed in black cloth, featuring integrated headrests and blue contrast stitching, are unique to the i20 N. There’s a leather-trimmed sports steering wheel, handbrake lever and gear knob, as well as metal finishers on the pedals.

The 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and same-sized multimedia screen look slick, and ambient lighting heightens the hi-tech mood.

For all the flack Chinese carmakers have taken for copying others homework, the new MG3 is refreshingly original from the outside.

Not to say it's a beautiful car: that front overhang is a little too long and we think the wheel design is a little chintzy but at least the new MG3 feels differentiated in the class.

It has a distinctive face and confident character lines down its flanks while the Brighton blue hero colour (pictured) is eye-catching – we'd skip the '90s inspired Pastel yellow hue, though.

Inside, a hexagonal steering wheel borrowed from the MG4 is complemented by confident horizontal volumes. The MG3's interior is largely uncluttered by buttons and, in a nod to the previous MG3, there's an off-axis Tartan flourish ahead of driver and passenger.

MG has placed a piece of soft vinyl prominently, situated just in front of the high resolution 10.25-inch touchscreen to give the cabin a tactility lift. The rest of the materials are typically plasticky yet there is a pleasant grain that takes some of the shine away and restore a more quality feel.

Although it’s just 4.1m long, the i20N is impressively space efficient with decent room up front and a surprising amount of head and legroom in the back.

Sitting behind the driver's seat, set for my 183cm position, I had plenty of head and legroom, although, understandably, three people across the back will need to be kids or understanding adults, on a short journey.

And there are plenty of storage and power options, including the wireless device charge pad in front of the gear lever, which doubles as an oddments tray when not in use, two cupholders in the front centre console, door bins with room for large bottles, a modest glove box and a lidded cubby/armrest between the front seats.

No armrest or air vents in the back, but there are map pockets on the front seat backs, and again, bins in the doors with room for bottles

There is a media USB-A socket and another for charging, as well as a 12V outlet in the front, and another USB-A power socket in the back. Hyundai suggests the latter could be handy for powering track day cameras. Great idea!

Boot space is impressive for such a compact hatch. With the rear seats upright there’s 310 litres (VDA) available. Fold the 60/40 split-folding rear backrest and no less than 1123 litres opens up.

A dual-height floor can be flat for long stuff, or deep for tall stuff, there are bag hooks provided, four tie down anchors, and a luggage net included. The spare is a space saver.

The brand has clearly worked on the functionality of its multimedia system since debuting in the MG4. It looks familiar but the touchscreen is more responsive and there are intuitive shortcut buttons for the screen-based HVAC controls.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto remains wired via a regular USB port, unfortunately, and there is no wireless charging on either grade. A USB-C port and 12-volt socket are present for extra cabled charging.

The digital driver's display has adequate functionality and includes an instant tyre pressure monitoring display – a key safety feature.

The steering wheel controls have been updated with clearer labelling. The right side controls the media volume and driver's display and left panel manages cruise control and driver assistance features.

MG's Excite doesn't feel like a de-contented base model with quite agreeable cloth upholstery, The driver's seat offers six-way manual adjustment and is comfortable with good back support.

The driving position was good for me, however, without telescopic steering wheel adjust you may find it more difficult to find an ideal spot.

There are two cup holders in the centre console ahead of the rotary gear selector (base petrols get a normal shifter). A further tray for phone and wallet storage sits ahead and the door bins are generous for a small car.

Not to be taken for granted in the class is a padded centre armrest with covered storage for valuables.

Measuring just over 4.1 metres long, don't expect palatial back seat space but the MG3 is certainly passable for a city car. At 188cm I could just squeeze in behind my driving position and soft-backed chairs aid comfort.

There are even adjustable vents and a USB port for rear passengers. Unfortunately, the window switches are not all auto up and down.

The standard trio of top tether anchors and pair of ISOFIX anchors for outboard seats are present for child capsules and chairs.

It's in the boot where the MG3's cost cutting becomes most obvious. The floor material is flimsy, there's only one shopping back hook and the back rest is a rare case of non split-folding. It is an awkward task flicking the seat down as you need two hands to unlatch the rest.

At 293 litres the boot is generous in size, though, and petrol models feature a space-saver spare. The hybrid places its 12-volt battery in the cavity under the floor.

MG offers two trims – Excite entry level and Essence range topper – and a pair of powertrains. They're difficult to tell apart in the flesh using the same exterior garnishes, matching mirror caps and identical wheels.

Start price is up a whole lot from the previous model and it is no longer drive-away. It pushes the current run-out $18,990 drive-away price up to $23,990 before on-road costs.

The Hybrid+ powertrain is an expensive option adding $4000 to the price.

You do get a lot more for your money, though. A set of 16-inch alloy wheels (no hubcaps here), a CVT automatic, a 10.25-inch touchscreen, a digital driver’s display, cloth upholstery, manual seat adjust and polyurethane-appointed steering wheel feature on the Excite.

Outside, you can only tell the difference between our base car and the $2000 more expensive Essence by the LED headlights and a sunroof, otherwise they’re visually very similar.

The Essence gets rain-sensing wipers, white artificial leather upholstery on the seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel, a 360-degree camera and remote smartphone control of the air conditioning and heating.

The Essence adds a few goodies but it's not a transformative jump. The Excite feels like all you need.

Growing more expensive than the Kia Picanto (GT-Line at $23,490 drive-away) is probably no bad thing either, as the Korean car is significantly smaller than the MG3. Pricing for the new Suzuki Swift is set to be revealed shortly, but it is likely to undercut the MG3, too.

The MG3's powerful hybrid allows it to compete with the Toyota Yaris Ascent Sport hybrid on more level terms... but it needs to because its price is only $501 shy of the Toyota.

The i20 N is powered by a turbo intercooled 1.6 litre four-cylinder petrol engine, driving the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and Torsen-type mechanical limited slip differential.

The all-alloy (G4FP) engine features high-pressure direct-injection and an overboost function, producing 150kW from 5500-6000rpm, and 275Nm from 1750-4500rpm (rising to 304Nm on overboost at max throttle from 2000-4000rpm).

And the engine’s mechanical ‘Continuously Variable Valve Duration’ set-up is something of a breakthrough. In fact, Hyundai claims it as a world’s first for a production engine.

Not timing, not lift, but variable duration of valve opening (managed independently of timing and lift), to strike the optimal balance between power and economy across the rev range.

The 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder is a new direct-injected item that produces less power (81kW at 6000 rpm – down a kilowatt) and torque (142Nm at 4500 rpm lower by 8Nm) than the item it replaces.

It now drives the front wheels via a CVT automatic instead of a four-speed slushbox.

The 'Hybrid+' option is much more interesting. It uses a different 1.5-litre petrol engine running in Atkinson cycle and, unlike the Suzuki Swift, is a proper system.

MG's hybrid is different to Toyota's 'e-CVT' transaxle set up, the brand calls its transmission a three-speed automatic. We have not seen diagrams but in operation it feels similar to GWM Haval's 'Dedicated Hybrid Transmission' solution in the Jolion.

That means impressive peak outputs of 155kW and around 420Nm but those figures only occur at very specific times – peak torque, for example, is only delivered at 50km/h in second gear when the 1.83kWh battery is suitably charged.

The resulting 0-100km/h sprint claim is 8.0 seconds for the MG3 hybrid.

Hyundai’s official fuel economy figure for the i20 N, on the ADR 81/02 - urban, extra-urban cycle, is 6.9L/100km, the 1.6-litre four emitting 157g/km of C02 in the process.

Stop/start is standard, and we saw a dash-indicated average of 7.1L/100km over several hundred km of city, B-road and freeway running on the occasionally ‘spirited’  launch drive.

You’ll need 40 litres of ‘standard’ 91 RON unleaded to brim the tank, which translates to a range of 580km using the official figure and 563 kays using our launch test drive number.

The petrol-only model's rated fuel consumption falls from 6.7L/100km to 6.0L/100km. It requires 91 RON unleaded and is rated to Euro 5 standards.

The hybrid scores 4.3L/100km in the ADR combined consumption. That's not as good as a Toyota Yaris hybrid (3.3L/100km) but the trade-off is way more grunt.

From the 36L fuel tank – that requires 95 RON unleaded – you can expect over 1000km total driving range.

In reality, we managed to come close to the figure on a 200km country and suburban loop with the trip computer reading 4.8L/100km. A 50km suburban commute was better returning 3.4L/100km.

The MG3's hybrid system can be a little fickle, though.

For the first 10 minutes of driving the petrol engine has to rev at 1500-2000rpm to charge the battery. We saw consumption climb to 10L/100km when the car was cold.

It also proved more sensitive to driving style than Toyota's hybrids which seem to be extremely efficient no matter how heavy your right foot is.

Unusually for a manual car, the i20 N features a launch control system (with an adjustable rpm setting), which we found fiddly to get working, but with or without it, Hyundai claims a snappy 0-100km/h time of 6.7sec.

And it’s such a pleasure to steer a car with a slick-shifting manual gearbox. The six-speed unit features a rev-matching function accessed via the press of a racy red button on the steering wheel. 

Buf for those who prefer an old-school, double-shuffle, heal-and-toe tap dance across the pedals, the relationship between the brake and accelerator is perfect. 

And if you’re keen on Walter Rohrl-style left-foot braking, to help steady the car or steer it in fast cornering, the ESC is switchable through to Sport mode or completely off, allowing fuss-free simultaneous brake and throttle application.

There’s even a shift-timing indicator near the top of the instrument cluster, with colour bars closing in on each other as the tacho needle pushes towards the rev limiter. Fun.

Engine and exhaust noise is a combination of a raspy induction note and adjustable crackle and pop out the back, courtesy of a mechanical flap in the exhaust system, adjustable through three settings in N mode.

Traditionalists may not be thrilled by the addition of in-cabin synthetic enhancement of all of the above, but the net effect is thoroughly enjoyable.

It’s worth remembering in this context N stands for Namyang, Hyundai’s sprawling proving ground south of Seoul where the car was developed, and the Nürburgring where this go-fast i20 was fine-tuned.

The body has been specifically reinforced at 12 key points, along with additional welds, and “bolt-in underbody structures” to make the i20 N stiffer and more responsive.

The strut front, coupled (dual) torsion beam rear suspension has also been set up with increased (neg) camber and a revised anti-roll bar at the front, as well as specific springs, shocks and bushings.

A compact, mechanical LSD is added to the mix, and grippy 215/40 x 18 Pirelli P-Zero rubber was produced specifically for the car and is stamped ‘HN’ for Hyundai N. Impressive.

The end result is outstanding. Low-speed ride is firm, with suburban bumps and lumps making their presence felt, but that’s what you’re signing on for in a hot hatch at this price point.

This car feels balanced and well buttoned down. Power delivery is agreeably linear and at a fraction over 1.2 tonnes the i20 N is light, responsive and nimble. Mid-range urge is strong.

Steering feel is good, with assistance from a column-mounted motor taking nothing away from an intimate connection with the front tyres.

The sports front seats proved grippy and comfortable over long stints behind the wheel, and playing with the multiple N drive modes tweaking the engine, ESC, exhaust, and steering just adds to the involvement. There are twin N switches on the wheel for quick access to custom set-ups.   

And that Torsen LSD is brilliant. I tried my best to provoke a spinning inside front wheel on the exit of tight corners, but the i20 N just puts its power down without so much as a chirp, as it rockets towards the next bend.

The brakes are 320mm vented at the front and 262mm solid at the rear. Calipers are single piston, but they’ve been beefed up and fitted with high-friction pads. The master cylinder is bigger than the standard i20 and the front rotors are cooled by lower control arm mounted air guides blowing through vented knuckles.

The launch i20 N fleet of around half a dozen cars copped an hours long hot lap pounding at Wakefield Park Raceway, near Goulburn NSW without drama. They’re well up to the task. 

One niggle is a large turning circle. The data sheet says 10.5m but it feels like the car is carving a wide arc in U-turns or three-point turns.

A 2580mm wheelbase between the bumpers of a 4075mm car is substantial, and the steering’s relatively low gearing (2.2 turns lock-to-lock) no doubt has a lot to do with it. The price you pay for quick turn-in.

The MG3 continues the theme on the road. An impressive effort at first glance – certainly enough to impress on a test drive – yet spend an extended period behind the wheel and some cracks begin to show.

The steering is light and easy in town with two and a half turns lock-to-lock and a tight turning circle. There is good visibility out and driver aids are mostly unobtrusive.

Borrowing from its EV stablemates, the MG3 has three levels of regenerative braking. It defaults to '2', the mid setting, which we found a bit too bitey – '3' is way too much. The lowest level is relatively natural, though no setting is a one-pedal mode.

Its ride is really good for the class being more compliant than a Kia Picanto. The front end is especially absorbent though the rear can be a little abrupt on sharp bumps – this is common on small cars with front struts and rear torsion beams.

The MG3's hybrid powertrain is smooth and slick around in the city with a reassuring brake pedal.

And while the torque figure doesn't always ring true when the battery is discharged, with it juiced up the MG3 is rapid between 35-60km/h. The fairly light 1298kg kerb weight keeps it feeling quite peppy.

Not all is perfect, though, and the MG3 isn't so talented on the open road.

This little car is very noisy on coarse chip road surfaces at above 70km/h and there are pronounced steps in the power delivery at higher speeds, making it hard to trust the MG3 when merging into gaps.

Be wary of the speedometer as well – it is more accurate than most cars with almost no error. Our GPS lined up exactly at 100km/h.

The MG3's steering has poor on-centre feel at pace. There is a lot of body lean to the chassis and it reacts nervously to small corrective inputs in crosswinds and cambers.

Wrapped around its 16-inch alloys are 195/55 R16 sized Kumho Solus HS63 tyres which are reasonable but nothing special.

A brief test drive could convince you the MG3 has moved ahead of the Suzuki Swift, Mazda2 and even Volkswagen Polo. A longer drive confirms that, though the MG3 has come a long way, the more expensive nameplates in the class are more polished all-rounders.

The MG3 has yet to be rated by independent safety testing bodies, including ANCAP.

The MG3 follows the MG5 sedan which was awarded a zero-star rating by ANCAP. Not only did it lack safety features, it scored zero in various adult occupant protection criteria including frontal offset, full width, far-side and whiplash protection. 

Unlike the 5 the MG3 is a key vehicle in Europe and the United Kingdom so a high rating in crash testing is important.

All MG3s are fitted with adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, speed sign detection, lane-keep assist and lane-departure warning. The Essence gets blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert on top.

The systems aren't intrusive in town but the lane-trace assist and adaptive cruise control are not great. The lane-assist bounces the MG3 between lane markings and the adaptive cruise slows down too early and quickly when approaching another vehicle.

The MG3 features six airbags: front driver and passenger, curtain and side though there is no centre airbag.

Hyundai covers the i20 N with a five year/unlimited km warranty, and the ‘iCare’ program includes a ‘Lifetime Service Plan’, as well as 12 months 24/7 roadside assist and an annual sat nav map update (the latter two renewed free-of-charge each year, up to 10 years, if the car is serviced at an authorised Hyundai dealer).

Maintenance is scheduled every 12-months/10,000km (whichever comes first) and there’s a pre-paid option which means you can lock in prices and/or fold service costs into your finance package.

Owners also have access to the ‘myHyundai’ online portal providing details on the car’s operation and features as well special offers and customer support.

Service for the i20 N will set you back $309 for each of the first five years, which is competitive for a hot hatch in this part of the market. 

MG's seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is equal best-in-class with the Kia Picanto.

The brand has yet to detail service pricing and scheduling for the new light car.