TG top tip: look no further for your next urban runabout
Europeans have fat fingers. At least, they do according to
Hyundai, and this bothers them. A lot.
As such, Hyundai’s Perceived Quality Team (yes, it does
exist) has worked out that if a Korean designs and engineers a doorhandle, it’s
generally a bit smaller and more suited to slender Korean digits – European
fingers might not be able to grasp it properly. So the presumably
large-fingered PQT is sent in to test the i10’s doorhandles. It needs to work
as a global vehicle and shortcomings will not be tolerated.
The good news is
that the future is looking rosy – the i10 is mostly comfortable
This is a serious point with wider implications. Because the
PQT doesn’t just look at doorhandles. They poke and prod at all aspects of the
i10 to make sure that it looks, and crucially feels, the right quality.
So there aren’t any exposed screw heads in the car (unusual at the budget end
of things), there isn’t any cheap metal on show in the cabin and all the
ergonomics are spot on. It’s all because Hyundai knows that it can’t simply
offer value for money any more – rivals are doing the same, so Hyundais need
another point of differentiation. This car needs to stand out because it looks
and feels good.
Has it worked? Very much so, but more on that later, because
we should really tell you about the engines first. The i10 comes with two
petrols – either a 1.0-liter three-cylinder, or a 1.25 four-cylinder – and no
diesel (Hyundai won’t offer one simply because not enough people would buy it).
The 1.25 is a straight carryover from the last car, but the smaller engine is
the interesting one. Partly because it will get 60 per cent of sales, but also
because it’s been more heavily revised. It’s got an offset crank, the valves
and tappets are coated in high-tech diamond- like carbon, the con rods have
been lightened and the piston rings have been treated to make them much more
durable.
Impressive amounts
of rear leg- and headroom. Four adults to squeeze in? No problem at all
Not that any of this has transformed it into a raging
powerhouse. The three-cylinder only produces 65bhp and 69lb ft – good for a
14.9 second 0–62mph time and a top speed of 96mph. Not exactly scintillating,
but it doesn’t matter. It has got just about enough poke to keep up with
motorway traffic, and it’s perfectly punchy at urban speeds. Which is what a
city car needs to do.
And besides, the three-cylinder thrum is entertaining, and
reasons enough to buy the cheaper 1.0-liter over the larger motor.
Our only criticism would be the long fifth gear, which means
uphill drags on the motorway turn into just that – anything with a long
gradient is a fourth-gear job. But the flipside is that it improves fuel
economy, so you should get close to the claimed 60.1mpg – we were thrashing it
and still got over 40mpg.
Hyundai no longer
the ugly sister of the Kia/Hyundai group. Much sharper than the old version
