Hyundai i20 road tests and consumer car reviews

Hyundai i20 Classic 2009

I have had the car for 2 years and 6 months. It is overall a good car and has proven very reliable. There are a few niggles: The a/c comes on automatically when you put the fan on; the seat belt warning beeper is a real pain; it is impossible to ride in the car with the recommended tyre pressure - I run the tyres at 27 psi, the ride then being just acceptable; the fold down rear seat bases are very difficlt to operate. Fuel consumption local is 44 mpg. I have covered 33000 miles and the car has never let me down. I am told that the discs are worn down to the minimum thickness. This is suprising.

Hyundai i20 2010

The engine and transmission are excellent, the car is only let dowm by the poor paintwork finish.

Hyundai i20 2009

We have an i20 that is only 18 months old. All in all it’s been great, no issues, except the bonnet has excessive stone chipping. There are lots of chips, right through to the bare silver underneath. As the car is bright blue these are very noticeable and it looks like someone has danced on the bonnet in football studs. When the car was purchased it had an extra paint protection coating on it but this is obviously a total waste of money. My husband drove the car to the dealership and they took pictures of the damage and seemed to agree that stone chips down to the bare metal did seem strange. The Hyundai dealership forwarded the images and complaint to a higher power who did not agree that it was their issue and a repair was not going to be covered, I think this is amazingly poor customer service. When I saw the anti corrosion warranty I thought that was an impressive claim. I didn’t realise rusting from the outside would not be covered. Our faith that the car will last out its warranty has gone.

Hyundai i20 2011

At first I was apprehensive about using the i20 as a rental substitute for my Mercedes 450 SLC, but I was pleasantly surprised by the nippy vehicle and the frugal fuel consumption. I drove from Cape Town to Knysna and back and was really very impressed with the it. Obviously it does not have the power of the Mercedes but for it’s class it was really excellent. I was also very chuffed with the aux input, USB port, MP3 players and other multitude of extras. It was great being able to see how much mileage one can do with the remaining fuel. The boot seems a bit small but this was no problem as I was carrying very lightly. I have no hesitation in recommending this vehicle and am now also keen to purchase one.

Hyundai i20 1.4 CRDi 75 Comfort 2009

Hi, I bought my i20 1.4 CRDi 75 Comfort from a local Hyundai Dealership (Saltmarine Cars, Dungannon) in August 2009, so far I’m loving it! Interior feels a little bit cheap but looks stylish. I have 4500 Miles on it so far and I have had no problems what so ever. I traded in my old 2005 MG ZR 2.0 TD for this car, it was the worst car I ever have ever owned (Had a Peugeot 306 before that, excellent car!). The interior was horrible, it was very noisy, didnt handle that well, alot of engine problems and electrical problems. Also I love the fact the Hyundai has 5 years unlimited mileage warranty!

Hyundai i20 2009

This is an enjoyable nippy little car to drive, even when you are over 6’3" tall!! The main dealer in Warrington is very good and they look after you very well. The whole family enjoy driving the i20, the only minor faults I would say are; 1) With the 2 door the annoyance of the tilt and slide mechanism of the passenger seat for access to the back seats and the fact that the drivers seat doesn’t even do that. 2) The clutch mechanism is too light making it difficult to judge the bite and therefore very easy to stall if you don’t want to over-rev it. 3) Mid-range torque is poor (but surprisingly good at low revs) I would recommend this cheapish car to anyone.

Hyundai i20 Pony 1994

Bought second hand. Best buy ever. Always starts up first time even after being left for days. Economical on petrol, easy to drive, comfortable. Has got us out of trouble on many occasions when the main family car was off the road. Didn’t cost a lot to buy, not all singing, all dancing, only a P registration but wouldn’t change it for the world, will run it until it drops!!

Hyundai i20 1.2 Classic 2009

Great specc’d car. Air-con, 6 air bags, ESP and all round disc brakes for the base 2010 model. Good power, mpg and emissions - top of the class! Good looks and unbeatable 5 year warranty. Only tiny gripe is: could try harder in the boot area! :-) Engine bay is very open - I’d say it looks easy to work on and find all the bits and check up on fluid levels. Hopefully someone from Hyundai will read the next bit about the boot and seat tipping (the ONLY bit I could find fault that makes any difference - and I’ve seen a lot of cars): Interior is ok, nothing fancy and a bit plain. The seats in the 2 door model don’t offer the best access to the back, the back tips and then the whole lot slides forward - unfortunately you have to reposition the angle of the back and slider every time. A lift/tip seat that goes back to the original position automatically would be much better. The boot floor isn’t level when the seat are folded, there is a step - but the bottom section does tip forward stopping bits sliding into the backs of the front seats (take note Mazda!) The space in the rear corners of the boot are covered by a piece of plastic. There must be a big empty space that could make the boot bigger - very useful for putting those odd bits in. From looking in the dealer the boot carpet is a shame - the ’cheaper’ i10 has a neat black moulded board, the i20 has thin floppy carpet that is backed by a piece of hardboard only covering 2/3 of the floor. The loose bit of carpet isn’t held down by anything, creases up and looks very cheap. This lets the rest of the car down!

Hyundai i20 basic 1.2 2009

Hi everyone, I got a red basic 1.2 i20 about three weeks ago. Nice car to drive, smooth etc. My version doesn’t have the automatic mpg calculator. Looks like I’m getting somewhere in the neighbourhood of 46mpg on a long run and about 40 around town - avg about 44 anyway (I only got 37 on a tank when my wife drove it - her run is 4 miles much stop-start). I’ve done about 1000 miles so far (2 long journeys) Does this all sound about right to everyone? (I was looking wistfully at the govt figures - 54mpg overall, but was I being a bit hopeful with that?) Any feedback helpful Stu, Durham

Responses to this review

After around 2000 miles on the clock, the not so little i20 was taken on a 300 mile round trip of mostly motorway speeds of 65 to 70mph. It managed to achieve 53mpg avg, so not too bad. I estimate stop/start driving lowers this to around 38mpg on a 75min 18 mile journey. The biggest difference seen is the incredible performance increase since new. It now can easily keep up with the big boys, although the take off still is a little restricted especially when cold. Overall still very impressed - AJ West from Yorkshire

Hyundai i20 Comfort 1.2 2009

Waited 3 months and 30 days for the my i20 (the dealers were cutting it fine a bit to abide by the scrappage deal rules!) but it was well worth the wait. Due to the delays, I even got the latest 2010 model with ESP so effectively got this without paying the extra - fantastic! It looks fantastic in sparkle blue. Surprisingly nippy for such a low powered engine and very easy to drive. The clutch and steering is amazingly light and the gear changing is very smooth. Have only done 200 miles so far and getting 35mpg at the moment. I’m hoping this will improve but have only been doing short distances and with the stop/start of South London traffic, it’s not too bad. The seats are nice and firm and you should be able to get the right position with all those seating permutations. However, saying that the missus struggles to find the right position; if she sits too close, here knee rubs against the dash. I reckon if you’re over 5" 2 then you should be okay. All in all, a great little car and really happy with it considering it was just over 7K with the scrappage deal. I say it was a bargain.

Hyundai i20 1.2 Classic 5dr 2009

Can’t fault the value in this car. No other supermini can match it, even our base model. Looks great in sparkle blue metallic. Standard fittings are just awesome, remote CL, A/C, tilt/reach column, 4spkr CD, Ht adj seat, el Frnt windows, etc You even get a spacesaver spare and not the can of gas so regularly being offered these days. The thing that strikes you the most is the internal width of this car plus space; it makes for a very comfy feel; very palatial! The practicality of the 1-20 is about as good as it gets with flat folding seats (Ford take note) and a huge boot that can swallow suitcases. Top marks Hyundai. Not as quiet as a Mazda2, but much better at speed ~40-60mph where the engine pulls like a dream and is very smooth witha a nice gear change. Only neg point is the take off bogging down, strange cos it is only just as you take off but this prob helps economy (or could it be an engine mapping prob?). Dash is very nice & not gimmicky unlike some recent cars (Fiesta and Corsa inc). The ride is excellent,as is the steering.Brakes are brill. The paint and fabrics are also 1st class. The high driving position reminds me of an MPV. Overall a very easy car to drive. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED esp if the low % depreciation that is forecast is to be believed.

Hyundai i20 1.2 Comfort 2008

Done about 600 miles so far and taking it easy to run the car in. The trip computer shows up to 54mpg on the motorway and 47mpg on short journeys which is particularly green. I was too tight-fisted to pay for anything other than the standard ’Electric Red’ and quite a few people have noticed that this is particularly red. My favourite car is still my red 1987 1.4 Mk2 Vauxhall Astra which made 220,000 miles at an average of 6500 rpm without breaking a single part of note but after ’Corsagate’ they can whistle for my money and beg to the taxpayers. Sad to say I really can’t see much reason to buy a European made car anymore. £9400 for a new car and the Indians were even on our side in the second world war..... Bargain!

Responses to this review

You likely meant the Koreans, not the Indians, right? Well then, I am afraid you got it wrong, because Korea was occupied by the Japanese during WWII, so it could not and did not fight alongside the Allies. Seems you might be better off with such a great product of British engineering as the Reliant Robin. No, really, I mean they are still being manufactured in... India! And Indians were on our side for sure. You might wish to check them out: Sunrise Automotive - Coriolan from Western Sahara

He’s correct as regards the car. It’s built in India - good build quality too! It was designed and tested in Germany and that must be the icing on the cake. A good value for money car. Low running costs apart from the servicing - Tony from Leicestershire

Actually built in Turkey for the European markets - Dave Shave from East Lothian (Haddingtonshire)

Hyundai i20 1.4 Comfort 2009

I’ve had my 1.4 Comfort 5 door in black for nearly 3 weeks now and so far I can’t find any fault... I’m currently getting 45mpg and it’s going up each week as the car runs in. Lots of features that I’m still discovering and getting used to... Fab, would recommend one to anyone.

Hyundai i20 1.4 Comfort 2008

Just taken delivery of 1.4 Comfort 5 door, colour solid red, averaging 42mpg, engine good, good feel on brakes and precise gear change, handling good, ride a little on hard side but overall comfortable. Good driving position and lighting. Comfortable on motorway and not too noisy. Current dislikes: dashboard shows finger marks, audio quality could be better and is over complicated to adjust, boot floor covering creases up - most irritating.