2021 Hyundai i20 Review.

THE 2021 HYUNDAI I20 

The Born Magnetic Hatchback!

The Hyundai i20 is a supermini that's long held a reputation for being sensible and practical, pitching itself as an alternative to India's favourites in the premium hatchback section.  

Once understated in style, but decently practical and sensible in how it went about its business, this new i20 looks comparatively wild at a first glance.

Now, the brand is back with its top selling car in India in the premium hatchback section.

So, What's it all about!

Up front, a huge grille consumes the front of the Hyundai i20 and is headed up by angular headlights. The side is sprinkled in sharp creases while the rear looks a bit like the designer discovered what an angle was and went a little bit mad. It looks pretty good from the front, but the rear is just an overstyled mess.

Things are rather bold inside the Hyundai i20 too. The dashboard is two-tone and broken up by straked trimming that looks ripped straight off the side of a Ferrari Testarossa. Wild though it may be, it doesn’t feel very good, with the cabin loaded with hard scratchy plastics.

It is redeemed by its space, though. There’s plenty of adjustment in the driver’s seat and steering wheel, so you won’t struggle to get comfy there, while passengers in the back get a good amount of head and legroom for a car of the i20’s size.

"There's loads of stuff to help you avoid a crash, and loads of stuff to make every trip feel quite luxurious"

The Hyundai i20 does tick all the basics for pottering around town, which is probably why you’d look at this kind of car. Its steering is light, the turning circle is impressive and it’s super easy to park. A light clutch makes stop-start traffic effortless plus a seamless mild-hybrid system helps cut emissions and boost economy without you ever really noticing it — though firm-set suspension means you’re going to feel bumps a bit more than you might like.

The Inside Story.

The interior of the Hyundai i20 is a practical one, but it feels cheap and over-styled.

Every i20 gets a 10.25-inch screen instead of conventional dials and instruments. It’s not the most configurable display out there, but you can cycle through trip/navigation/media info easily enough using the buttons on the rather large leather-wrapped steering wheel, and the design changes depending on which of the three drive modes you’re in.

In base-spec cars it’s paired with an eight-inch centre touchscreen, but you’ll want to go for a mid- or high-spec car to get the 10.25-inch widescreen. The graphics are crisp and it’s easy enough to prod, pinch and swipe your way through the menu system. Both systems get Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, but only the higher-spec system gets Hyundai’s clever “Bluelink” suite of connected services.

As for the design – the i20’s cabin does look good from afar. Especially with the big touchscreen and automatic climate controls. But up close it’s done precisely no favours by Hyundai’s choice of materials. The smooth plastic across the bottom of the dashboard looks and feels quite cheap. The textured stuff elsewhere is better and the overall construction feels solid and hardwearing, but the i20 just doesn’t feel as upmarket inside as many of the cars it competes with.

The Hyundai i20 is among the class leaders for boot space, but interior storage is average at best.

What's it like to drive?

The Hyundai i20 ticks all of the town boxes and offers a surprising amount of fun. Others does the motorway stuff a lot better, though.

Driving.

The Hyundai i20 does tick all the basics for nipping around town, which is almost certainly why you’d look at this kind of car. Its steering is light, the turning circle is impressive and it’s super easy to park. A light clutch makes stop-start traffic effortless plus a seamless mild-hybrid system helps cut emissions and boost economy without you ever really noticing it — though firm-set suspension means you’re going to feel bumps a bit more than you might like.

Verdict

Final thoughts and pick of the range

A big improvement over the old car, in that you might actually remember it. The new i20 looks the part and drives nicely, which bodes well (if very firmly) for the forthcoming i20N hot hatch (Currently Not Available in India). Moreover the normal car’s 1.0-litre engine and high-tech manual transmission are impressive and the level of kit on offer is very good. Practical, too, though the interior could do with some plusher-feeling materials.

That quiet kid-turned-Indie rocker will still be the smart, sensible mind at heart and that’s the same with the Hyundai i20. It’s practical, good to drive and ticks all the basics of town driving — but the visual transformation is maybe just a bit too much.

Image Source :- Google Images. 

Information help taken from TopGear.com