Road test review: Hyundai i20 N

Sunday, 7 August 2022

HYUNDAI I20 N

• Base price: $53,990 (Estimated Clean Car Programme fee/rebate: neutral)

• Powertrain and economy: 1.6-litre turbo-petrol inline four, 150kW/275Nm, 6-speed manual, FWD, combined economy 7.7L/100km, CO2 175g/km (source: RightCar)

• Vital statistics: 4075mm long, 1775mm wide, 1440mm high, 2580mm wheelbase, luggage capacity 310 litres, 18-inch alloy wheels.

• Safety: Not tested

• We like: Brilliant fun to drive, nice and loud, not awful on fuel for the performance offered.

• We don't like: Expensive for what it is.

Hyundai is expanding its range of N models, and for that we should all be grateful. The i30 N is a beast of a hot hatch (or four-door fastback), the Kona N is a superb option for those who want to terrify their kids on the school run, and now there’s the i20 N, the impractical-by-design supermini.

OUTSIDE

This is the only i20 we get in New Zealand this time around, which means those after a baby Hyundai hatch are only allowed this one.

**READ MORE:

* First drive review: Hyundai i20 N

* Hyundai's i20 N baby hot hatch is here

* Hyundai Elantra N debuts as i20 N, Kona N priced in Australia

* Hyundai teases hot Kona N SUV

**

It’s a five-door, which means people can get into the rear seats fairly easily, and the doors have an awesome stylistic crease just below the windows. The crease is mirrored underneath the rear handles, continuing into the lightning-bolt rear lights.

The car sits on fat 19-inch wheels which look brilliant pushed right out to the corners of the car, wearing Pirelli rubber made in an i20 N-specific compound.

Up front are angry angular headlights paired with triangular corner ‘intakes’ that actually house the fog lights, and a wide grille with chequered flag inserts.

Nestled in the rear bumper and punctuating a diffuser is a triangular F1-style fog light, while a spoiler mounted on the roof and the full-width LED rear light complete the look from the back.

INSIDE

The i20 N gets racey seats up the front which are comfy and well-bolstered, and they drop down into the car quite far, which makes for a good driving position.

You get a steering wheel with two big blue buttons that toggle between N, Custom and regular driving modes, and another red button that says Rev. I’m not really sure why this one is so prominent on the wheel, considering all it does is switch the rev-matching on and off so you can have smoother downshifts in Normal mode, but there it is.

Behind the wheel is a digital dash, which I suspect is part of the reason why this car is priced the way it is. It’s a lovely screen, clear with a nice layout, and it has a cool flame animation when you turn the car on, because this is a slightly childish car, and, because I am also slightly childish, I love it.

A centre touchscreen offers control over the car, allowing you to set up the Custom drive mode with switchable engine characteristics, rev-matching, steering, exhaust sound and how much the stability control interferes.

The rest of the materials in the cabin are a bit plasticky, which is a shame. You don’t get dual-zone climate control or heated seats, but you do get a wireless phone charger, electro-chromatic rearview mirror and some blue LED lighting.

There’s a manual handbrake and an H-pattern shifter, which is a big reason as to why this car is so good.

UNDER THE BONNET

The 150kW/275Nm power figure comes from a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, sent straight to the front wheels through a new mechanical limited slip front differential and a six-speed manual. It shouts louder than it probably should – which, of course, is a good thing, it sounds like a baby WRC car at full noise – and it goes like hell too.

The engine gets something called ‘Virtual Turbospeed Control’ which uses computer wizardry to control the turbocharger’s wastegate pressure on the fly, ultimately reducing lag.

I did notice the engine showed some rev hang when upshifting, which is probably something able to be sorted via software. And if it’s not, you could get away with calling it a quirk of the car.

There’s also a “thoroughly honed” suspension set-up, with a coupled torsion beam axle, which increases roll stiffness and feedback, and a more rigid chassis along with 320mm brake discs on the front.

Fuel use isn’t too bad at a claimed 7.7L/100km, able to be largely met if you drive normally (best of luck, I couldn’t), but better yet is the fact that it will happily run on 91 RON.

ON THE ROAD

Often cars with power figures below 200kW are overlooked in favour of their gruntier siblings, but these are usually the ones that are the most fun, especially the hatches because of their tiny footprint. Just look at the Ford Fiesta ST or the VW Polo GTI. The i20 N is right up there with the both of them in terms of fun – it’s a riot through the corners, that front differential earning its keep shuffling power to either wheel.

The engine produces enough power, considering the car weighs about 1200kg, and the rev-matching tech is absolutely brilliant, allowing you to hammer down the gears with perfect precision. You can disable it too, if you’d prefer to heel-and-toe.

The chassis is lovely and neutral, and the fixed suspension is tuned just enough to prevent excessive rolling but also not break your spine over every bump. You would think Hyundai could squeeze in adaptive dampers for the price, though, as you do still feel most of them…

But because of that, and the manual gearbox, I could drive the car in N most of the time as it didn’t ruin the ride or keep the transmission in first while cruising. That means maximum volume and sharper steering all the time, which felt great. There’s also custom mode to let you adjust things as you wish, but the point is I didn’t really bother with Normal or Eco, or even Sport, considering they couldn’t adjust the things I usually want to adjust.

The brakes are fantastic too, by the way.

While the i20’s tiny shape is superb around the back roads, it’s a bit too small for the daily driving stuff if there’s more than two of you in the car. There are back seats and they do allow people with legs to use them but the boot is pretty minimal. There’s also no adaptive cruise control, which can be done with a manual transmission because the Suzuki Swift Sport has it. And, again, for the price you’d really want all the bells and whistles.

VERDICT

By this point you can probably figure out what I’m going to say. The i20 N is a proper firecracker of a car, worthy of any shortlist for “cars for fun and not functionality”.

It’s just that price. Hyundai had it up for $53,990 originally, but the website currently has it down to $49,990. But even that is a steep ask considering the i30 N hatchback with a manual is $58,990.

Then there’s the competition. Well, the interesting case of the competition. When the i20 N first got its local pricing, we all thought “well the Volkswagen Polo GTI is $15,000 cheaper and has the same power and the same kit…” But, jokes on us, Volkswagen doesn’t sell the Polo in New Zealand any more, in any form.

So that leaves the Ford Fiesta ST, held as the benchmark in hot supermini for the last four years or so. And it would be, but literally as I was writing this out, Ford sent a press release confirming the Fiesta ST will no longer be a part of the local line-up. You can thank “growing customer demand such as SUVs, commercial vehicles and electrification” for that.

So, Hyundai wins by attrition? Not really, the i20 N is still a brilliant car and would have brought a hard fight to the other two, and now its price isn’t quite as much of a sore point. Apart from the fact that it is still uncomfortably close to the Toyota GR Yaris which effortlessly out-muscles it and throws AWD into the mix as well. But then you really can’t get one of those at the moment either…