The new Hyundai i10 city car has a hard act to follow. For, its predecessor catapulted the South Korean company into the top ten best-sellers list for the first time. The little car’s big feat came during the tenure of the government’s scrappage scheme. The allure of a couple of grand for disposing of your banger to put towards a modestly-priced, highly capable, showroom-new, five-door motor proved irresistible to many.
Two colleagues run i10s, clocking up a considerable mileage on lengthy commutes, and have nothing but praise for their cars. What would they think of theall-new incarnation? Both reckoned their next motor would be … the latest i10. And lots of other people seem to agree as the new generation car is the maker’s best-seller in the UK.
The model found 10,000 customers in the first four months on sale and won motoring awards in the city car class.Flush Magazine slipped behind the wheel for a week,road-testing a top-of-the-range1.2 Premium model. Where its predecessor could be described as cute/functional, the latest i10 has much more dynamic lines, and our car, sitting on 14in alloy wheels, boasted exterior detailing including body coloured door handles and mirrors, rear spoiler with integrated brake light and body-coloured side mouldings.
The cabin cleverly defies overall dimensions to feel spacious and, although we are in hard plastics territory for dash and doors, the surfaces are pleasantly textured. Once again, there is attention to detail, with chrome-effect door handles and metallic blue finely-chequered dashboard trim that gives the interior a lift, the colour repeated in door panels and seating. On the safety front, there’s a tech-fest . Besides anti-lock brakes and airbags aplenty, you’ll find the likes of electronic brake force distribution, brake assist system, electronic stability programme, emergency stop signal and hill start assist control.
Kit includes air conditioning, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors with integrated LED indicators, two cabin power outlets, Bluetooth, steering wheel-mounted controls, four-speaker sound system, leather-trimmed steering wheel and gearstick-knob, LED daytime running lights, luggage compartment light, cornering headlights and front fog lights.The on-the-road experience is pleasing and I found my ideal driving position fairly quickly – the steering wheel adjusts for rake only, but the driver’s seat adjusts for height.
The petrol engine is quiet and smooth, there’s an easy-changing manual gearbox, comfortable ride and assured handling – from twisty country lanes, town dawdles to motorway hauls, where the i10 feels solidly at home, a quality lacking in some city cars.
TECH SPEC
Technical: 1,248cc, 86bhp, four-cylinder petrol engine,
five-speed manual gearbox
Performance: 0-62, 12.3 seconds;top speed, 109mph
Fuel: 57.6mpg (combined).
Emissions: 114g/km.
Price: £10,495 OTR.
For more info visit www.hyundai.co.uk