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I like the new Hyundai

Tuesday, 09 June 2009

KOREAN company Hyundai build some fine cars and jeeps like the Sonata and Santa Fe. Recently they have been focussing on inexpensive small cars in the ‘i’ range. We have had the i30 and i.10 and now the i20 which I have been testing recently. This supermini replaces the Getz, which has been Hyundai’s best-ever seller, so it has a big reputation to live up to in what is a very competitive sector. I drove a ‘Berry Red’ model and it was very pleasing on the eye. The front headlamps are very attractive and reminded me of the lights used on the new Opel Astra. I had the i20 immediately after the VW Golf and I suppose internally there were similarities. The i20 is definitely not as smooth a ride as the Golf, but then it’s also much cheaper. So it’s up to you the driver, you pay your money and you get different levels of comfort. Internally there is room for five adults, but once again I suppose it’s unlikely that someone with a supermini like this would be asked to carry five adults. But it could if you really had to. More than likely children will occupy the back seat. The interior is predominantly black, but it does get a ‘lift’ thanks to a strong touch of silver on the dash. The controls on the dash are well laid out and easy to use. You also get slave controls on the steering wheel for the radio/CD and there is also an iPod and USB port. The ride is a bit hard but a four-door motor with a few extras for five euro short of 16k is good value. The boot is a reasonable size, but there is no spare wheel, not even a ‘mini’ one, just a repair kit. One tip if you drive a car with a repair kit instead of a spare wheel; check it out when it’s bright, because you may get that dreaded puncture when it’s dark. I drove the top of the range four-door De Luxe model which has iPod and USB and will cost you e15,995. Prices start at e13,995 for the three-door classic, while the five-door classic is e14,995. All have 1.2 litre engines. After only one day in the car I noticed that the cigarette lighter wasn’t working. I’m not a smoker, but I normally use the cigarette lighter to charge my mobile phone. A day later the radio failed. Now I’m old enough to remember a time when radios were not standard in cars and I used to carry a transistor if going on a long journey. After a few days I began to fear for my sanity. I find it very difficult to do without a radio in a car and when I began talking to myself I really began to get worried. I only had the car for a week, but after two radio-less days I couldn’t cope any more and brought it back to Hyundai where they fixed the faulty fuse in 30 seconds. Once again I could get my fix of news, sport and music on the way to and from work. Bliss.