Hyundai i10 Road Test

Hyundai i10

Another benefit is the tautness of feel; together with the electric power steering, the i10 goes where you point it without any vagueness giving the impression of sportiness and agility while making the driver feel confident - even if the figures don’t back that up.

Under the bonnet of every i10 sits a 1.1-litre, four cylinder, petrol engine, as seen in the Getz and Amica. For the i10, however, the engine has been tweaked for improved performance and economy.

Petrol heads may scoff at the size of the engine and the fact that it delivers just 65bhp at 5,000rpm and 99Nm of torque at 2,800rpm but it is not a sports car, it’s a city car and it does its job very well.

Motorways hold no bounds either, and the i10 is happy to mix it with the bigger boys. The 0-62mph dash takes a lengthy 15.6 seconds and the top speed is 94mph but at the top end, the engine doesn’t sound laboured or screaming although it can be a tad noisy, and in second and third of the five gears, a really nice noise comes from the exhaust.

On the subject of exhausts, the i10 emits 119g/km of CO2, putting it in VED Band B, that’s just £35 per year at current rates, even better it falls below the new London Congestion Charge, which comes into force in October.

Small engines equal economy and the i10 is no different with 46.3mpg for the urban cycle, 64.2mpg for the extra-urban and the combined is 56.6mpg, which will ease the pain when you eventually get to the pumps.

The i10 is so very different to the Amica, which it replaces. It’s a delightfully driveable, city car that’s just as fun on the open road. It is easy to park and the small engine is clean and economical without too much restriction in performance. It is and will continue to be, much in demand.

Hyundai i10