Sprint Review: Hyundai i20 N-Line

VIEW THE ACCELERATION & BRAKE TESTS HERE

Hyundai i20N-Line

Before we even get started, please note: this is not the full-fat, swivel-eyed i20 N. What you ’ re looking at now is a mildly modiied 1-litre turbo-petrol derivative. But that’ s not necessarily a bad thing… Text: Hanjo Stier Images:Nico Boshoff

You should know: The proper i20 N has a 150kW 1.6L turbo engine but is not for sale in southern Africa. Without even researching it, I can guarantee that it has painted-on tyres, solid suspension, considerable traction issues and a hefty price tag. OK, maybe it’ s not that awful but I’d like to champion this lesser N-Line model for the following reasons. More info: It looks half-sporty with twin exhaust tips, shiny alloys and sporty seats. However, none of them produce an uncomfortable ride or sizable holes in the owner ’ s wallet. I shudder to think what a real i20N would cost because this one already requires R412,000. On the upside, it’ s incredibly well-spec ’d and has hardly any optional extras. Why you shouldn’t: Performance may be a deal-breaker to serious speed freaks as this 1-litre 3-cylinder turbo-petrol only puts out 90kW or 172Nm through a 7-speed DCT. That means 0-100km/h in 9.9 seconds (we managed 9.79) and a top speed of 187km/h. Compared to the proper i20 N’ s 6.2 seconds and 230km/h, that’ s rather pedestrian. Why you should: However. Power delivery is very eager and the chassis responds in a beautifully lively manner so all our testers remarked that this i20 N-Line felt much faster than its numbers suggest. It pops and burbles between gears, has excellent brakes and great headlights, while claiming to use an average of just 6.9L/100km from the 37L fuel tank. If you behave yourself… What else? We ’ re probably not making friends with the following statement but this i20 N-Line felt more exciting than a new Polo GTi we also tested recently. Of course the VW has far superior performance (in fact, close to the real i20 N’ s numbers) but if you ’ re 100k short of a Polo GTi’ s price… we can highly recommend this cheeky little Hyundai!

FULL SPEC SHEET

Engine: Drive Train: Power / Torque: Avg consumption: 0-100km/h: Top speed: List Price: 999cc i-3 turbo-petrol 7-speed DCT, FWD 90kW / 172Nm * 6.9L/100km 9.79 seconds (* 9.9) * 187km/h R419,900