Hyundai i10 Hatchback (08 on) - Review

Standing taller than its rivals, the i10 is also wider than most giving it good interior room. By city car standards, the passenger compartment is unusually generous in proportions and has seating for five, although three adults would find rear seat accommodation a bit of a squeeze. Thanks to relatively tall styling, space at the front is good with ample headroom. Legroom in the rear is ample for children and adequate for adults over short journeys.

The i10 is only available as a five-door and the wide-opening doors provide easy access to all seats while a high-rise tailgate makes light of loading. Normal luggage capacity of 258 litres is good for a small car and 60:40 split rear seats are standard on all models. Folding them down provides a flat load floor while the maximum volume rises to a useful 910 litres. Particularly useful on Comfort and Style models is an underfloor box in the boot where valuables can be stowed out of sight.

Though no bigger overall than its predecessor, the Amica, the i10 uses clever design to offer the interior space of a supermini and despite the budget pricing, all versions are fully trimmed and use good quality materials with the top car offering a power-operated sunroof, a feature never before seen in the sector. Tilt-adjust steering is standard on all versions and the modern dash design and clear layout are anything but budget. The one let down is the cheap feeling plastic steering wheel on the entry-level models but the neat stereo is intuitive and comes with an auxiliary input for connecting iPods or MP3 players.