Hyundai i20

Start with what the Hyundai i20 is: a 3-door hatchback / 5-door hatchback with Petrol engine, built from 2008, in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Thomas Bürkle.

The background

The Hyundai i20 is a supermini car produced by Hyundai since 2008. The i20 made its debut at the Paris Motor Show in October 2008, and sits between the i10 and i30. The i20 replaces the Getz in nearly all of its markets, while several markets received the slightly larger Accent/Verna hatchback to replace it instead. Currently, the largest markets for the i20 are Europe and India, with two different variations being developed to cater to each market.

The engineering

The engine is Petrol engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Drive goes through a 5-speed manual / 6-speed manual / 4-speed automatic. The layout matters: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The wheelbase is 2525 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Where it sits

In the Hyundai line-up the Hyundai i20 has a clear place: it replaced the Hyundai Getz / Hyundai Accent hatchback; it handed the line to the Hyundai Accent#RB / Hyundai Accent (RB) hatchback (Australia) / Hyundai Grand Avega (Indonesia). The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Nissan 370Z, the Tesla Roadster, the Nissan GT-R. Its Hyundai stablemates include the Hyundai Accent WRC and the Hyundai Accent.