Hyundai i10 Premium 1.2 MPi 2020 UK first drive

Hyundai’s humble city car enters its third generation considerably less humble than the version it replaces. But then it had to be.

In the seven years the previous model has been on sale, the entire concept of what a small car needs to be has evolved. Small, nimble and affordable isn’t enough; now customers expect active safety aids and technology that puts their smartphones to shame. Oh, and if it could not look like a boring econo-box, that’d be great.

So the i10 has grown up, with more eye-catching styling that borrows just as much from Hyundai’s larger cars as it does from the outgoing model. The distinctive front grille still hides the foglights as before, but the wheelbase has been stretched and body widened to give it a more purposeful look. 

It also affords front and rear passengers a bit of extra room in the modernised interior, which has filtered down from higher up in the range. An 8.0in touchscreen is standard on mid-spec SE Connect cars and above - the biggest you’ll find in any city car, according to Hyundai. Navigation is only included with the optional £1000 Tech Pack, which also adds goodies such as wireless phone charging and traffic sign recognition, but with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, it doesn’t feel like a necessity. Elsewhere, our top-spec Premium model gains heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and LED daytime running lights.

The one thing that hasn’t evolved is the engine. While the Volkswagen e-up, Skoda Citigo-e and Seat Mii have all embraced electric motors, the i10 is sticking with a choice of two combustion engines. This 1.2-litre four-pot is the most powerful - at least until the i10 N-Line arrives later this year with a turbocharged 1.0-litre triple.

It's perfectly happy in the environment for which it was designed, and refreshingly capable away from it.  Unlike the lesser-powered 1.0-litre car we spent time with on the Continent earlier this year, the more potent 1.2 doesn’t feel out of place once you find faster roads away from the town centre. Overtakes still take planning (and a downshift or two), but motorways aren’t the no-go zones they can feel like in some city cars.

The 1.2 feels more relaxed at slower speeds, as you don’t need to thrash it quite so hard to keep up with the flow of traffic, and for the most part it doesn’t make its presence felt inside the cabin. Stop-start traffic does highlight the rather high clutch bite point and a need to feed in more revs than you’d think to avoid stalling, though.