Is the N mightier than the Ford? Hyundai i20 N vs Fiesta ST

On that note, before you even get going in the Hyundai, you have to fathom its settings. Naturally, there are your standard Eco (yeah, right), Comfort and Sport modes. But hit the N Mode symbol on the big touchscreen and you enter a world of options. There are no fewer than three settings each for the engine, steering, traction control, rev-matching system and exhaust. All can be fiddled with individually and then saved to the two N Modes that you access via steering wheel-mounted buttons. On top of that, you can adjust the gearshift light and launch mode parameters.

What’s perhaps most puzzling about Hyundai’s adaptive buffet is that, no matter what you poke in this expansive command bridge, the i20 N is only ever one thing: committed. From the bassy exhaust note to the restless ride and neutral handling, this is a car that’s always ‘on it’ in a big way. It has echoes of the Subaru Impreza STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution in its fiercely grippy cornering attitude. I even found myself comparing it to the Nissan GT-R for sheer directional bravado.

Around a tight, not-quite-a-hairpin that’s a deep delight in both cars, the i20 N turns in with quick, darty responses before sticking to your chosen line with shocking neutrality and just getting on with it. It doesn’t frolic joyfully through corners like the Fiesta ST; it chews them up and spits them out with relish. And that’s not a criticism.

The i20 N is one of the most affordable performance cars on sale, and it will do 43mpg at 70mph despite brapping along at 2750rpm. It’s sensible on the pocket by any measure. Yet Hyundai’s World Rally Championship efforts are clearly paying off, because the i20 N also appears to be channelling the spirit of a heroic era of rally-bred cars that died out not least because they became too expensive. Work that one out.

Even just pottering around in Comfort mode, the i20 N feels raw. That’s largely thanks to that lairy exhaust note that never quite quietens down, but the suspension (which is about the only bit that’s not adaptive) has a lot to do with it too. Taut, short-travel springs keep body roll impressively in check and the damping is good enough to stop things from being jarring. But it does bob and fidget endlessly, waiting for the next corner and N Mode moment like a toddler kicking the back of your seat until the next packet of crisps. Hyundai rarely lets you forget that you chose the fast and noisy model, and that might get a bit tiresome for some.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t flaws in the way the i20 N goes down the road, mind you. The clutch is a bit vague and the steering feels too heavy in Sport+ mode. You get a more natural-feeling response in the steering’s mid-setting, and while there’s a good sense of connection to what the front wheels are doing, the Fiesta ST certainly has more delicate, more tactile steering.

In fact, everything about the Ford feels more delicate. While the i20 N tackles corners like they’re territory to be conquered, its electromechanical diff dragging it out with diaphragm-squeezing tenacity, the Fiesta ST goes into a bend like it never wants it to end.

It should be noted that the ST Edition tested here brings some big changes over the standard ST – namely a ride that has been dropped by 15mm at the front and 10mm at the back and new coilover springs from KW that offer adjustability if you’re willing to get your spanner and axle stands out.

Our test car rode on the factory settings, and I can imagine that very few owners will bother fiddling with them, because they make the ST Edition a touch more comfortable yet even more playful than the standard Fiesta ST and the i20 N alike. There’s firm vertical damper compression, which gives a tautly sprung, bobbing ride comfort over scruffy roads similar to that of the Hyundai, but the bump absorption is smoother and touring comfort and refinement are usefully better.

Sure, the payoff is that the Fiesta ST has a softer turn-in than the i20 N and a bit more body lean, but the way that you can steer it on the throttle, changing your line with little dabs of lift-off oversteer or getting it to cock a wheel through tight corners, is one of the greatest delights of any performance car at any cost. It’s perfection on a good British B-road, playful and light-footed next to the Hyundai’s addictively forceful pace and grip.

Talking of pace, both of these engines are fun and flexible, yet neither is the star of the show. The four-pot in the i20 N is raucously noisy but actually needs a few more revs than the Fiesta ST’s triple to find its stride, which it does a heartbeat before 2000rpm, and then you can keep going to well past 5500rpm and on up to the 6750rpm redline if you wish, even if its best is done well before that.

The pedals are also perfectly placed for heel-and-toeing fun (should you wish to shun the very effective rev-matching feature) and there’s a sweet, short-shift action to the gears. Altogether, the i20 N is a surprisingly analogue-feeling car, despite being dominated by digital, adaptive-happy facets.

The Fiesta ST’s engine is also not the reason you buy the car, but it is full of energy. It eggs you on to work it hard, and it’s a little more sensitive on the throttle than the Hyundai if you put it in Race mode, but both of these cars allow for precise metering of the power on offer.

As for the practicality of these cars? Well, how much stuff you can get in your dinky hot hatch is unlikely to be a headline consideration, but real life always demands some concessions, otherwise we would all be driving Porsche 911 GT3s. So if you do have kids to worry about, the Hyundai has a bit more space for people in the back and things in the boot. Indeed, it’s actually one of the most practical small cars. It also has the bigger, glossier and more logical touchscreen infotainment system.

The Fiesta ST isn’t without practical merits, though. Its Recaro seats are more comfortable than the Hyundai’s, particularly on a long slog, and keep you a touch more firmly in place while you’re flinging yourself about the countryside.

In short, both of these hot hatches are strikingly brilliant for whizzy kicks on a good road, with ease of use, loads of comfort and safety kit and very reasonable running costs all there to make daily life convenient. I would add that all of this stands for the Fiesta ST-3 that’s closest to the i20 N, too, even if the upgrades brought by the ST Edition are worth the extra cash in my book.

The fact that these rivals have such different characters, from the i20 N’s overt machismo to the Fiesta ST’s more subtle playfulness, is only to their credit. But while it’s easy and correct to say that both are illuminatingly brilliant, we’re giving the nod to the Ford. It wins by such a tiny margin that even a half-star difference feels too much like overstating it, but it’s ultimately still peerless for depth of handling adjustability.

That finer moment of playfulness as the Fiesta ST lets its rear axle slip while, in the same moment, the i20 N is hunkering down for a grip-and-go exit? That tips it in the Ford’s favour. If you want the fastest cross-country runner or the most theatrical small hot hatch, there’s no competition here. But if you want the sweetest-handling, more purist experience, and never mind the speed, the Ford is the one for you, for me and, well, as the last decade or so has already proven, for just about everyone.