The refined Hyundai i20 with the most powerful three-cylinder, seven-speed dual clutch and the highest Style Premium equipment attacks the price level of the excellent i20 N. Although both cars have a different character, the comparison is still offered.
Design, interior
The Hyundai i20 was the fourth most frequently registered new small car in the Czech Republic last year with 1,177 units. The domestic Škoda Fabia surpassed its Korean competitor from İzmit, Turkey, more than nine times (10,717 cars) as the most popular car in its class. The Czech hatchback is about five centimeters longer and is generally closer to the compact segment, while the Hyundai still maintains its original focus as a city and suburban car. But of course he can do much more.
The car underwent a decent modernization last year, which brought, among other things, modified shapes of the front and rear bumpers and the radiator grille. The offer has been expanded by three new shades – metallic Lucid Lime (the one used on the tested car) and pearlescent Lumen Gray and Meta Blue. Lime shades can also be found in the interior, which in selected versions is dominated by the new central display of the multimedia system with a diagonal of 10.25″. The Hyundai i20 does support Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but only after connecting a cable, which is obviously a Korean specialty. I also missed the wireless connection with the much more expensive Kie EV9 with a price of over two million.
Unbelievably annoying
Along with the refresh, the i20 also received a richer range of driving and safety assistants. The FCA autonomous emergency braking system has modes for driving in the city (City) and outside the city (Interurban). In addition to pedestrians, it is also able to detect cyclists. The LFA’s Active Lane Keeping Assist ensures that the vehicle stays in its lane. Other safety systems are also available as an option, such as warning of passing vehicles when backing up, active assistant to avoid a collision with vehicles in the blind spot, NSSC cruise control and others.
At Hyundai, however, they decided to equip the car with an assistant that warns of exceeding the speed limit, which has probably become the most annoying “helper” in the history of motoring. This soon-to-be-obligatory feature is activated after every start, and in the case of the Hyundai i20, it is turned off with four taps on the touch bar and the aforementioned center display.
Although it is new, its response to instructions is reminiscent of the wooden times. Not only after starting, it took a second or two to respond to my instructions, which is in the case of the “necessary” switching off of the aforementioned speed monitoring (it is practically impossible to drive with it in real traffic, as it constantly annoys and distracts you with its beeping) in a longer time horizon quite annoying.
Hyundai i20 1.0 T-GDI
In addition, I turned off the lane departure warning and lane keeping warning before each drive, which in most cases I find completely counterproductive and sometimes very annoying. Before the actual start, I therefore spent about 20 seconds “pre-starting”, which the little Hyundai didn’t help me much with.
On the other hand, I appreciate that even the i20 facelift did not remove the large physical controls for ventilation, driving modes, heated seats, stop/start switch and other functions that come up almost constantly.
The processing of the cabin is also a big plus. In the case of small cars, some car manufacturers save even where they shouldn’t because of the price. Fortunately, the Hyundai i20 does not suffer from this “bone torture”, or at least it is not visible. The dark plastics have a pleasant effect, although they are more hard pressed.
The internal dimensions have not changed in any way as part of the refresh. The car still belongs to the more spacious models in the class, and you won’t struggle with enough space even in the second row. After all, even an adult passenger or a child seat can be folded there comfortably.
It’s worse with the trunk. Although the standard versions carry 352 to 1165 liters, the tested most powerful engine in the form of a turbocharged three-cylinder 1.0 T-GDI with 88 kilowatts is much more modest. Mandatory mild-hybrid assistance took a significant 90 liters from the transport space. The luggage compartment is therefore quite shallow, you cannot put very tall objects in it.
Engine, driving characteristics
Peak in sight
If I do not count the sports derivative i20 N with a 1.6 T-GDI engine with 147 kilowatts, the liter three-cylinder with 88 kW represents the absolute top of the range. As standard, it is combined with a six-speed iMT manual transmission with an electronically controlled clutch, but for CZK 40,000 you can replace it with a seven-speed double clutch DCT from Hyundai’s own development.
However, if you also choose the highest Style equipment (from CZK 549,990) and pay an additional 30,000 for the Premium package (for example, 17″ wheels, rear heated seats, Bose audio system, active parking assistant, adaptive cruise control controlled by integrated navigation or autonomous braking with vehicle and pedestrian detection , cyclists and oncoming vehicles when turning left), you are entering the territory of a class larger Hyundai i30. And also the aforementioned i20 N, which starts at CZK 639,900.
From my own experience, I would definitely think twice about the Premium package. Although the car looks great at 17, the relatively large wheels significantly impair travel comfort. You can feel every unevenness on Prague’s roads (and that they have increased after this winter), it’s not much better on roads outside the capital either. The suppleness of the competing Škoda Fabia model i20 is simply missing. In this respect, Korean automakers are still a bit behind European ones. Even our 2020 Hyundai i30 family station wagon is less compromising on 17-inch wheels than the competition here.
From my own experience, the three-cylinder 1.0 T-GDI is not one of the most economical. The company’s 1.0 TSI unit is able to drive comfortably by a liter more economically. And the Korean four-cylinder 1.4 T-GDI with 103 kilowatts also shows better numbers, which even in the larger i30 station wagon can drive under 6.5 liters per 100 kilometers.
During the week, I reached 7.3 liters as part of my trips around Prague, over the weekend the consumption dropped by half a liter. The resulting 6.8 l/100 km is average at best, rather slightly below average. Especially in combination with a mild-hybrid with an electric motor with 12 kW, the meaning of which I often quite doubt, and a seven-speed automatic, which should save a few deci.
In his case, I would consider the forty thousand investment depending on the way the car is used. If you live in a bigger city and drive more often, an automatic transmission is almost a must. If you travel more smoothly, it probably doesn’t matter much. Especially when the gearbox here and there lacks velvety and faster reactions. This is especially evident at start-ups and at times when you need to accelerate more significantly. However, this is typical of many dual clutches, which also have to cope with increasingly strict emission regulations, which generally dull the reaction to stepping on the gas pedal.
Hyundai i20 1.0 T-GDI
But once you get going and hit a smooth road, the Hyundai i20 shows you a more welcoming face. Although the steering lacks feeling, it does not lack a pinch of stiffer response. For weekend games, there is the version mentioned several times with the epithet N, but the second most powerful variant can also handle occasional knocks.
The dynamics of the powerful three-cylinder are rather more lukewarm according to the numbers. With the seven-speed automatic i20 accelerates to 100 km/h in 10.3 seconds, the Škoda Fabia 1.0 TSI (85 kW) DSG is six tenths of a second faster. In addition, it has a higher maximum speed (202 vs. 190 km/h), which you can only legally try on selected highway sections in Germany.
Too sensitive warning
I’ll go back to the driving and safety assistants for a moment, specifically the collision warning that works with emergency braking. This couple has scared me several times in different cars with their unpredictable behavior, which unfortunately was not avoided even by the Hyundai i20.
Although I had a later warning checked in the on-board system, I was very unpleasantly surprised. When turning left across a two-lane road, I kept closer to the car in front because of oncoming traffic, but the system misjudged this as an imminent collision and braked hard to a stop with virtually no warning. If a car was coming up behind me, it would almost certainly hit me. Fortunately, it was a holiday, so no one was hurt. Still, it wasn’t an entirely pleasant or safe experience.
Conclusion
If it weren’t for the worse driving comfort, which for the most part can be solved with smaller wheels, the Hyundai i20 would “only” annoy me with the overly complicated switching off of increasingly annoying assistants, slow multimedia and the not particularly dazzling consumption of the three-cylinder 1.0 T-GDI with mild-hybrid, the real benefit of which I see neither better dynamics nor more economical operation.
As a result, I could make do with the weaker version of the liter unit with 74 kW, which costs 40 thousand cheaper, and spend the saved money on a double clutch, even if it is not perfect. However, it significantly increases user comfort. And I could also do without the unnecessary Premium package for 30,000 CZK, which would put me 70,000 below the level of the tested car, which costs a whopping 645,890 CZK.
The cheapest version of the model CZK 339,990 (1.2i/62 kW Start) Base with tested engine CZK 499,990 (1.0 T-GDI/88 kW MHEV iMT Smart) Tested car without surcharges CZK 549,990 (1.0 T-GDI/88 kW MHEV iMT Style) Tested car with equipment CZK 645,890 (1.0 T-GDI/88 kW MHEV DCT Style Premium)
Pros
- Interesting design
- Nice and well made cabin
- Decent interior space
- Preservation of physical drivers
Minuses
- Average dynamics and consumption
- Overzealous driving and safety assistants
- Slow multimedia system
- They don’t undercut themselves on price anymore
2024-02-28 11:57:00
#TEST #Hyundai #i20 #TGDI #i20 #straight
