• Premium design with good layout
• Excellent infotainment
• Plastics feel hard and unyielding throughout

How is the quality and layout?

The i10’s interior looks more expensive than it is, thanks to clever use of textured plastics and glossy elements. While all the surfaces are all hardwearing rather than plush, most of the bits you touch – particularly the wheel and gearknob – are high-quality and comfortable to operate. Build quality is also very good.

The design is attractive and mature for a city car, with little of the contrived ‘cute’ or ‘funky’ detailing you’ll find in some rivals, such as the Fiat 500. This is best embodied at the top of the dashboard, which features a large enclosure covering both the dials and the infotainment screen.

It doesn’t look a million miles away from the dashtop of the latest BMW models. You even get a digital display in place of traditional instruments on all models. Sportier N Line cars benefit from a branded steering wheel, which also feels nicer to hold, and a gearknob similar in design to the sporty i30 N.

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You’ll also be treated to red seat stitching on the seats and steering wheel for these cars, but the liberal use of dark material everywhere else means it can feel a little dull and claustrophobic. As a result, some may prefer the Premium when it comes to cabin ambience. The two-tone interior really brightens up the dash and door trims, accentuating the textured plastics and making it easier on the eye.

It’s churlish to complain about the quality of the plastics, but the quality of the seat upholstery is another matter – it felt cheap indeed to us, despite our test model being the range-topping Premium.

Infotainment and tech

All models get an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system that’s one of the best available in a city car. The screen is sharp and responsive enough, with menus that aren’t too hard to navigate. This is helped by the shortcut buttons around the edge of the screen.

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It’s mounted high on the dash so you don’t have to look too far from the road to operate it, and comes packed with features. This includes built-in sat nav and smartphone mirroring. Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are also standard.

Is it comfortable?

• Lots of adjustment in driving position
• Ample space for all occupants
• A central armrest would be nice

Hyundai i10 comfort levels are high considering it’s such a small car. It’s easy to get a good driving position with lots of adjustment in the driver’s seat and steering wheel – though, for us, the wheel didn’t telescope out quite far enough to be spot on. All passengers enjoy soft and comfortable seats with loads of room for a city car.

Even more surprisingly, the rear windows roll down all the way – a stark contrast to most rivals, which either utilise pokey pop-out rear windows or else wind halfway down and stop. It’s a thoroughly pleasant place to be, considering it’s the rear seat of a city car.

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The ventilation system is quite weak, but also typical in a car of this size. We found ourselves having to set the fan on the higher speed settings in order for it to be strong enough up front, so on a hot summer’s day with four people on board, it might take a while to feel the cooling effect of the air-conditioning – likewise the heat in winter.