Hyundai i20 Hatchback (09 on) - Review

Review by David Ross on
Last Updated: 19 October 2010
The i20 is Hyundai's replacement for the Getz - previosuly its most popular model in the UK. It's a huge step forward from the car it replaces. This is a small hatchback from Hyundai that's good enough to be a realistic alternative to models like the Vauxhall Corsa and Toyota Yaris. It's neatly styled and robustly built too with a solid and well laid out interior while refinement is excellent - all the engines are smooth and the i20 cruises quietly on the motorway. Two new engines feature - a 1.2-litre petrol and a 1.4-litre diesel - while the handling is impressive and the ride composed. Add in generous equipment levels, even on base-level cars, a five-year warranty plus low running costs and the i20 looks a great package.
4 out of 5

Other Hyundai reviews

5 out of 5

Running costs

The i20 is well equipped, good value and cheap to run too. The five-year unlimited mileage warranty means any unexpected costs are taken care of - plus this can be transferred to a new owner should you decide to sell. Servicing is very reasonable at Hyundai dealers and fuel economy on all models is impressive. The diesels are also cheap to tax and capable of 67.3mpg.

* based on most recent data

Estimated fuel cost for 10,000 miles per year

Unleaded

£1,077 - £1,306 *

Diesel

£843 - £1,034 *

The estimated fuel cost figure is a guide to how much this model will cost to fuel each year, so you can compare between cars. It's calculated by using the model's average mpg (calculated from both town centre and motorway driving) and the average fuel price. It's based on the following cost-per-litre: petrol 135p and diesel 141p. Prices are updated daily.

Summary Running Costs

Servicing period

12,500 miles/12 months.

Warranty

Five years/unlimited mileage.

Road tax (12 months)

£0.00 - £120.00

Vehicle excise duty (VED) varies according to the CO2 emissions and the fuel type of the vehicle. For cars registered after March 1st 2001 VED or road tax is based on the car's CO2 emissions. For cars registered before March 1st 2001 it is based on engine size.

Full running costs data

4 out of 5

Green credentials

  • A
    84
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
    140
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M

CO2 emission figure (g/km)

Fuel economy rating

The arrows indicate the best and worst CO2 bands for this model.

Emissions summary

It's disappointing that the original entry-level 1.2-litre engine didn't emit 120g/km of CO2 or less, which would have made it cheaper to tax. From July 2010 upgrade to aerodynamics and engine did drop this model to less than 119g/km. However, it's economy remained at a useful 54mpg. The diesel engine is the most efficient though - from launch both the low and high power versions were capable of 64mpg and emitted 116g/km and 118g/km of CO2 respectively. The improvements made in 2010 means economy for both went to 67.3mpg and the emissions dropped to 110g/km for the lower-powered model and 111g/km for the higher-powered engine.

Find the exact engine and CO2