• Should be fairly cheap to run
• Pick 1.0-litre engine on facelift cars
• Watch out for insurance hit on base-spec i20s

Conceived from the outset as a car that should be cheap to run and maintain, the Hyundai i20’s running costs are pleasingly low – so whatever model you choose it won’t cost the earth over the course of your ownership. That said, upon launch the 1.4-litre petrol with automatic gearbox is the one that will come closest to ruinous running costs, with a quoted economy of 42.2mpg – which you can bet will be far closer to 30mpg in the real world – and CO2 emissions of 155g/km.

Choose the 1.1 CRDi Blue diesel if you want to save the most money as this model emits just 84g/km of CO2, meaning it’s currently exempt from annual VED car tax and promises to return 88.3mpg fuel economy. Though even the 1.2-litre petrol with 82bhp offers 119g/km of CO2 emissions and up to 55.4mpg economy. Plus every model comes with the firm’s famous five-year unlimited mileage warranty, so there should be no unseen maintenance costs for most owners.

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Following the facelift in 2018, the 1.0-litre T-GDI turbo petrol engine was the cheapest to run. However, if insurance looks like it’ll be a consideration, go for SE and above so you get the raft of extra safety kit on offer.

If you’re going to finance the car, take a long look at the options available to you because Hyundai isn’t known for its cheap PCP deals. It may be more cost-effective to look at a third-party provider.

Green credentials

The 1.0-litre T-GDi turbo petrol engine is the best in this regard, emitting 114g/km in SE or Premium Nav trims. You won’t incur any extra emissions by choosing the seven-speed automatic gearbox, but the 1.2 is slightly worse, emitting up to 130g/km in some specifications.

There’s no word on any hybrid technology making its way to the i20, but given its size, we’d perhaps expect a pure electric version instead.

Reliability

• Owners’ reviews report good things
• Hyundai’s reputation excellent
• Reliability shouldn’t put you off

The majority of our owners’ reviews for the i20 are positive, but we don’t have many to choose from – three scored it four or five stars, while there’s just a single one-star review, which means we don’t have a lot of data.

However, Hyundai has an exceptional reliability record in general, which is backed up by the standard five-year warranty offered on all its products.

In short, we don’t predict too many issues with the reliability of the Hyundai i20.