Hyundai i20 Edition

Text: Jamie Fretwell / Photos: Otis Clay

May 2010

• Rating:

While the i30 is our current Driver Power champion, and the i10 has proved to be a Scrappage star, the middle-of-the-range i20 supermini seems to have been forgotten… Well not anymore!

In a bid to make it more attractive to buyers, the Korean firm has launched the striking new i20 Edition - designed to slot in between Comfort and Style trim levels and offer buyers even more choice.

Video: watch CarBuyer's video review of the Hyundai i20

Starting from £11,025, the i20 Edition easily undercuts rivals, and offers loads of kit as standard. The eye-catching Electric Green metallic paint on our test car is an optional extra, costing £325, but inside the newcomer gets half leather, half cloth trim for the seats, and special ‘Edition’ branded floor mats as standard.

There’s also a brilliant iPod connector that gives you full control of your mp3 player through the steering wheel mounted buttons, and the height-adjustable driver’s seat and a steering column that adjusts for both rake and reach. Further back, there’s a 295-litre boot, 60:40 split fold rear seats, and Isofix child seat mounts, making this a very practical five-door.

The Edition model is only offered with the Korean firm’s 1.2-litre four-cylinder DOHC unit. Producing just 77bhp, it occasionally feels sluggish through the gears. But the steering is light and accurate, the brakes powerful, and refinement is excellent too, meaning the Edition ticks all the boxes for a budget supermini.

Rival: Honda Jazz
Solid, practical and well-equipped, Honda’s supermini offers a marginally more style, and a nicer dash layout than the i20. The boxy styling also gives more rear-legroom than the Korean, and the boot is larger too.