This is what Hyundai told us the new i10 would look like. Above is what the new Hyundai i10 actually looks like. How do you reckon the designers did?
If we’re honest, we can’t make up our minds. Yes, it might look a little frog-like from head-on, and the original sketches were clearly a little bit too good to recreate, but it’s 20mm lower and 20mm wider than its predecessor. And hey, at least there are some interesting styling touches.
Hyundai says: “The exterior body reflects its young spirit, while ensuring uncompromised accessibility and comfort to support its diversified users in their everyday activities.”
To us, that seems like PR speak for “we’ve tried to make it so old people can still use it, but young people might actually like the look of it.”
We jest, but this is actually pretty crucial for Hyundai – up until now the i10 has been a huge seller at both ends of the market. We won’t get our hands on one for a while yet, so we can’t comment on whether it works for old folk, but if the young people of the Internet wouldn’t mind commenting with their thoughts below we can check whether Hyundai has covered that base.
To try and attract those younger buyers, the new i10 will be available in 10 exterior colours and can be optioned with either a black or red contrasting roof. There’s also those new, but optional, 16-inch wheels that you see above.
For those who aren’t so bothered about looks there’ll be an ECO Pack, which includes adjusted gear ratios, four seats instead of five, and little 14-inch wheels for optimised efficiency.
Inside there’s wireless charging and an eight-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, whilst a rear-view camera is optional. It’s the practicality that’s worth shouting about though (exciting, we know). The boot will swallow 252 litres of your belongings, whilst the longer wheelbase means interior space is up on the outgoing i10.
There’s also a new suite of safety systems with corresponding acronyms. Ready? You’ve got Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), High Beam Assist (HBA), Driver Attention Warning (DAW), Intelligent Speed Limit Warning (ISLW) and a Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS). Lovely.
Two engines will be available from launch – both of which will be petrol-powered. The 1.0-litre 3-cylinder produces a tiddly 66bhp and 96nm of torque, whilst the 1.2-litre four-pot gets 83bhp and 118nm. Easy tiger. Both engines will be available with either a five-speed manual or five-speed automated manual.
We’ll see the new i10 in the flesh for the first time at the Frankfurt motor show in September
