Photo: Hyundai
After it made its world debut earlier this month at the Paris Motor Show, the all-new Hyundai i20 B-segment supermini in Euro-spec guise has finally entered production. Though it's wearing Hyundai badges inside and out, the South Korean urban dweller is manufactured in Turkey, at the Hyundai Assan Otomotiv Sanayi (HAOS) assembly plant.
Truth be told, differences between the first-gen and the new Hyundai i20 are as extensive as those between a PlayStation 2 and a PlayStation 4 video game console. The massive improvements in terms of aesthetics, materials used, fit & finish and oily bits are a tell-tale sign Hyundai wants a bigger slice of the ultra competitive and crowded supermini segment.
If the South Korean automaker keeps the starting price sensible and doesn't charge too much for the handy spectrum of the options list, then the 2015 Hyundai i20 has what it takes to be a much bigger sales success than its predecessor. Of course, the biggest drawback for these types of automakers will be the brand snobbery that's so common in Europe.
A class-leader in terms of passenger space and way more enticing as an overall package than its plasticky forerunner, the new i20 is going to be offered at first with a choice of four engines: a 1.25 and a 1.4-liter gasoline-fed mill, joined by a 1.1 and 1.4-liter turbo diesel powerplant for the more cost-conscious driver.
Sometime later in 2015, Hyundai announced that the i20 will receive the brand's first-ever 1-liter three-pot turbo petrol, which is Hyundai's answer to the recent downsizing wave from Ford, Opel and Volkswagen. Dubbed Kappa 1L T-GDI, this mill sources a hefty 120 PS and 172 Nm of torque and should be a blast to drive thanks to a snickety manual transmission and some cutting-edge engine technologies.
Just to name a few, we will highlight things such as an electronically-controlled waste-gate, a split-cooling system, an exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head and 6-hole direct fuel injectors.
If the South Korean automaker keeps the starting price sensible and doesn't charge too much for the handy spectrum of the options list, then the 2015 Hyundai i20 has what it takes to be a much bigger sales success than its predecessor. Of course, the biggest drawback for these types of automakers will be the brand snobbery that's so common in Europe.
A class-leader in terms of passenger space and way more enticing as an overall package than its plasticky forerunner, the new i20 is going to be offered at first with a choice of four engines: a 1.25 and a 1.4-liter gasoline-fed mill, joined by a 1.1 and 1.4-liter turbo diesel powerplant for the more cost-conscious driver.
Sometime later in 2015, Hyundai announced that the i20 will receive the brand's first-ever 1-liter three-pot turbo petrol, which is Hyundai's answer to the recent downsizing wave from Ford, Opel and Volkswagen. Dubbed Kappa 1L T-GDI, this mill sources a hefty 120 PS and 172 Nm of torque and should be a blast to drive thanks to a snickety manual transmission and some cutting-edge engine technologies.
Just to name a few, we will highlight things such as an electronically-controlled waste-gate, a split-cooling system, an exhaust manifold integrated into the cylinder head and 6-hole direct fuel injectors.
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