Hyundai i20 N

You've read all about the i20 with its turbo-petrol engine. But here is what the i20 is truly capable of and if you enthusiasts scream loud enough, Hyundai might just bring it here!

- John Barker

HYUNDAI’S WRC CHALLENGER is an i20, but that’s based on a three-door that’s no longer sold in the UK. The standard five-door is a sharp-looking thing though, with crisp lines and distinctive ‘Zorro’ rear lights, and it looks good given the full N treatment.

Building family resemblance, the hot i20 is available with Hyundai’s Marmitey Performance Blue paint and features, bold red highlights on its lower trim that match the brake calipers for the upscaled discs. There’s a spoiler perched on the top of the tailgate, and filling the standard arches are 18-inch alloys with 215-section Pirelli P Zeros – the biggest that would fit.

Hop in and it feels a bit tall and narrow because, well, that’s how it is in the B-segment. The i20 feels a bit less intimate, a bit more ordinary than say a Fiesta, but also gives you the support of a well-shaped seat and adds all the expected trimmings: a sportier-looking steering wheel featuring Performance Blue ‘N’ mode switches and a red button for rev-matching, plus a metal-faced pedal set and footrest and the gearlever from the i30 N.

The fully TFT instrument pack offers a dial configuration for each mode (Eco, Normal, Sport, N and N Individual), while to the right (in this left-hand-drive car) is a huge touchscreen giving access to navigation, climate control and also the configurable drive modes, allowing you to adjust throttle response, the noise of the valved exhaust, steering weight and stability control settings.