2013 Hyundai I20 Reviews

Competent rather than thrilling, the i20 is a popular town commuter car. New With our cities becoming more and more clogged with traffic it's not surprising that smaller cars, such as the Hyundai i20, are gaining favour with buyers Hyundai launched the i20 in 2010, following in the small car tracks of the Excel and

Light cars used to be the second car, the one that'd begrudgingly be taken to the supermarket when the real car was out. Not anymore. Light cars now make sense as the sole vehicle for city dwellers without kids - they're easy to park, will carry four adults in varying degrees of comfort and don't cost a fortune to fuel up.The rush to downsize means more than one in 10 cars sold today is from the light category. Carmakers have responded to that growing market with more standard gear at lower prices. They also understand a positive first experience could get you back to the dealership for your next vehicle, so you won't be ignored for looking at the “cheap” cars.They will try to upsell you into a higher model, though, so beware of alloy wheels and dual-zone aircon if steel rims and a power window is all you need. The average cost of the light cars in this field - entry level autos - is just north of $17,000. The Volkswagen is the dearest at $19,490 and is the only car here to demand premium unleaded petrol. It also feels to be the best built, but all of these cars are sturdy, reliable transport. Budget buyers should consider the Mitsubishi Mirage if outright performance isn't an issue. It costs $15,290, is the cheapest to refuel and annual servicing costs are just $250. The Mazda2 proves this segment isn't entirely price-driven. The little hatch leads the sales field this year, followed by the Toyota Yaris and Hyundai i20.They're not the cheapest cars to buy or run but they have a reputation for reliability and value that - at least in the case of the Mazda2 - has it campaigning strongly despite its age. Honda's Jazz has the best resale of this bunch, reflecting the brand's (slowly waning) reputation for producing better-built vehicles. The Barina is the thirstiest, needing 7.3 litres to travel 100km. That's half a litre more than the Mazda2.Carsguide has used the national average of $1.49.4 for unleaded petrol and added 8 for the 95RON fuel needed to keep the VW on the street. We have each car travelling 15,000km a year for three years. Price: from $17,290Residual value: 48 per cent $8299.20Servicing: $780 ($260 first year)Thirst: 6.3L/100km $4235.49   Price: from $17,490Residual value: 46 per cent $8045.40Servicing: $840 ($280 first year)Thirst: 6.1L/100km $4090.05   Price: from $17,990Residual value: 46 per cent $8275.40Servicing: $740 ($246.67 first year)Thirst: 7.3L/100km $4907.79      Price: from $15,240Residual value: 45 per cent $6858Servicing: $750 ($250 first year)Thirst: 4.6L/100km $3092.58   Price: from 17,690Residual value: 48 per cent $8491.20Servicing: $1284 ($398 first year)Thirst: 6.2L/100km $4168.26   Price: from $17,440 (Neo)Residual value: 48 per cent $8371.20Servicing: $1949 ($599 first year)Thirst: 6.8L/100km $4571.64   Price: from $17,990Residual value: 55 per cent $9894.50Servicing: $1711.58 ($537.42 first year)Thirst: 6.6L/100km $4437.18   Price: from $19,490Residual value: 50 per cent $9745Servicing: $1085 ($347 first year)Thirst: 6.0L/100km $4249.80   Price: from $18,590Residual value: 50 per cent $9475Servicing: $567 ($189 first year)Thirst: 5.9L/100km $3966.57   Price: from $18,290Residual value: 42 per cent $7681.80Servicing: $841 ($239 first year)Thirst: 6.3L/100km $4235.49  

The base model Hyundai i20 Active is part of a formerly rare but now growing breed of car on Australian roads - a cheap, three-door hatchback.We don't really like our cars without rear doors in Australia, but with the availability of the India-sourced i20 to whet our bargain-hunter appetites, the question must be asked: what am I getting for my lowly dollar?The range kicks off at $15,590 for the three-door six-speed manual but it's highly unlikely you'd ever pay that much given Hyundai's fondness for driveaway deals. For your closer to $14,000 spend, you get a 1.4-litre 16-valve engine good for 73.5kW and 136Nm of torque. Neither of these figures are world --or class-- beating, but it moves its slightly chubby 1121kg kerb weight with ease.Inside is a passable stereo, mildly comfortable seats front and rear, bluetooth, dodgy USB connectivity (which doesn't work) and old-school Hyundai design and quality. The carpets don't quite fit, there's exposed metal when you flip the rear seats up to fold the backrests and not everything works the way it should.Outside you get steel wheels and Hankook tyres but an otherwise classy look from the update of a couple of years ago.The light hatchback segment is fiercely competitive.A recent entry into the fray is the five-door only Thai-built Mitsubishi Mirage ES. The launch pricing of $12,990 for the base model ES is shortly to be revoked, sending the price northward to around $16,000 on the road. In every way it is a poorer car than the i20, with the exception of its 5 star ANCAP rating and operational USB port. It is noisy, uncouth and wobbles around in an alarming fashion on its skinny 14-inch wheels. It's also missing a gear and a cylinder, but is much lighter. It is absolutely no fun to drive or look at.The Nissan Micra ST is reaching the end of its life, but still looks and feels good. Like the Mirage, it's a missing a cylinder and a gear but is otherwise a reasonable little car and has added benefit of rear doors. It's rather more expensive than either the Hyundai or the Mirage, which is curious given it is made in low-cost India, as is the i20.The Volkswagen Up might be down on power and doesn't have an automatic option, but it's a Volkswagen. The i20's interior may be slightly more spacious, but he VW's is smarter and for $500 you can add satnav and Bluetooth. It also comes standard with city emergency braking, unique in this class. Yes, it is a fair bit more expensive to run and own, but sometimes the brand power is too much to overlook.The i20's nose got a good going over in 2011 and this yielded quite a change in character. Whereas the original 2007 model looked like it was trying to look like a Mazda and a Getz at the same time, this one has a distinctly European feel, almost Volkswagen-esque. Once you're past the B-pillar, it certainly looks like a Hyundai. The chintzy wheel covers don't help maintain the classiness, but it is quite sharp.The three door also looks better than the five door, which has that heavy-handed crease down its flanks.Inside there are echoes of the Getz in the dashboard architecture and the cheap stereo sticks out a bit, looking a little aftermarket. Everything fits, though, and there's a spot for your phone, wallet and a cup of coffee.There are some jarring moments - as with the steering wheel, the gear shifter is horrible urethane. There are also obvious seams in the dashboard and the little screen up on the top of the dash is hard to read.The i20 has a five star ANCAP safety rating by virtue of six airbags, ABS, traction and stability control. Such is the lack of power, the traction control light didn't wink once.The 1.4 litre engine nestling in the engine bay looks pretty agricultural and is, in a sense, quite simple. It's a 16-valve twin cam (what isn't these days?). Its 73.5kW is more than competitive from its displacement although a bit more torque would always be welcome.Power comes high in the rev range at 5500rpm but it doesn't feel peaky.The suspension is very traditional MacPherson struts up front and torsion beam axle at the rear, which may explain the relative liveliness of the handling.The technology in the car is quite straightforward, too. Apart from a half-decent stereo, the bluetooth works fine but the proprietary 30-pin iPhone/iPod connector was unable to coax the stereo into playing any music. Switching to bluetooth didn't help either, so we've no idea if it's any good.The i20 is a surprising amount of fun on the road. It definitely rolls in cornering, but not too much. The tyres on the base car are pretty ordinary but the tuned-for-Australia steering is, bizarrely, the best of any Hyundai I've tried, and that's most of them.The noisy engine comes to the party but is let down by the gearing - it's too tall and on slower ninety-degree corners, first is preferable to second. The clutch is also completely lifeless and you've no idea where the bite point is. On the upside if you just step off the clutch pedal on a downshift, you can coax the back end into a little waggle.It's quite lively when you push it, but the tyres quickly give up - with decent rubber, the i20 would be a lot more fun than it already is.Around town the i20 is quite relaxed as long as you're aware of the vagaries of the long ratio gearbox. It's quiet enough, too, although the tyre roar overcomes the engine noise once you're doing about 60km/h, and it can be tiring.The most annoying thing about the car is the driver's seat - there's a sturdy bar that neatly digs into your kidneys and the supportiveness of the seat leaves much to be desired.The Hyundai i20 is entering its twilight years with us and serves as a constant reminder of how rapidly the Korean giant is improving.It's cheap and cheerful, has enough power and handling to be almost fun and feels like it will hang together for some time to come. There's plenty of other cars vying for your sub-$15,000 spend, but the i20 is slightly bigger, gruntier and will be cheaper to own and run than almost any of them.

We turn the spotlight on the car world's newest and brightest stars as we ask the questions to which you want the answers. But there's only one question that really needs answering -- would you buy one?Our test car has the honour of being the cheapest car that Hyundai's currently makes and sells in this country. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you don't have much money to spend. I always get i20 and Accent confused but Accent is actually larger and more expensive.Prices start at $15,590 or you can have the five-door for another grand. That buys you a basic car with five-star safety, hubcaps/steel wheels, manual airconditioning, power windows and a Bluetooth equipped audio system.Kia Rio, Ford Fiesta, Holden Barina, Honda Jazz, Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Micra, Suzuki Swift, Toyota Yaris  to name a few (it's suddenly getting crowded down there in tiddlerville).Before the Accent arrived on the scene it scored the 1.6. Now it just gets the old school, multipoint injected 1.4-litre four with 73.5kW/136Nm paired with either a 6-speed manual or optional 4-speed auto.Surprisingly zippy, at least with one person aboard. None of the nasty throttle overrun that you usuallyt get with small engines either.Manual 5.3/auto 5.9 litres/100km. The tendency is to thrash it however and this impacts on economy (we were getting 6.5 litres/100km).Gets 5 stars from the Govt's Green Vehicle Guide, just like the Prius with emissions of 126g/km CO2.Gets a full complement of safety systems including six airbags and electronic stability and traction control.Hmmm? Unless you get the seat in just the right position, a ridge at the base of the seat tends to stick into your butt (it did for me anyway).Acceptable within limits. If you start to push it you'll find the tyres/wheels are the limiting factor, with plenty of early tyre squeal.We miss cruise and steering wheel audio controls but that's about it. The audio/communications package includes Bluetooth telephone and media streaming, CD player, MP3, WMA and AM/FM tuner. The auxiliary audio and USB inputs allow full iPod connectivity and connection to other external audio sources.You could do a lot worse than this car. It looks good, has a five-star safety rating, Bluetooth connectivity and a trip computer  all of which make it an attractive proposition.

The reliability of the Getz is translating into repeat sales for Hyundai's i20 light car. Sales figures say the i20 hatch is the third-best vehicle in the class. It trails the Toyota Yaris and Mazda2 by a long way but is ahead of the Holden Barina, Suzuki Swift and Kia Rio. And the five-year warranty can't be the