Over the past few years South Korean sister companies Kia and Hyundai have been engaged in a rapid ramping up of their cars’ quality. No longer cheap but rattly runarounds, vehicles such as Kia’s Sportage and Hyundai’s ix35 can now mix it with the best in terms of syle, quality and driving dynamics, while undercutting the opposition on price.
Here we have the iX20, a compact but roomy hatchback. It shares many of the same components as the Kia Venga, which is worrying because that car has been criticised for its harsh, unforgiving ride.
Fortunately, Hyundai boffins have been listening and have reworked the iX20’s suspension settings to make it more in tune with the UK’s roads. So, while it’s still no Lexus, the little Hyundai at least has a pretty comfortable ride.
It’s still a short and tall car so, although there’s plenty of grip, there’s a mite too much body roll through the corners. It does, however, handle bumps, lumps and potholes with reasonable aplomb.
I drove the 1.4 litre diesel version in mid level Active trim. The iX20 range starts at £11,995 and my test car weighed in at £14,445.
All iX20s are fairly well equipped and even entry-level Classic models come with air-conditioning, remote central locking, electric front windows and a CD player with a USB socket.
Active trim adds things like electric rear windows, Bluetooth, alloy wheels and parking sensors, while range-topping Style cars add a panoramic sunroof, rear privacy glass and front foglights.
Covering over 65 miles for every gallon of fuel, the diesel unit is very frugal, but with a 0-62mph time of 14.5 seconds, it’s a little on the sluggish side. I’d go for the 1.4 litre petrol, which is quicker and around £1700 cheaper. It’ only’ does 50mpg, but you’d have to drive an awfully long way to recoup your £1700 in fuel savings.
Inside, it’s Tardis-esque. There’s loads of headroom and leg and shoulder room is more generous than it should be given the car’s modest overall dimensions.
At 440 litres, the boot is a third bigger than that of a Ford Focus: fold the rear seats down and it increases to a vast 1486 litres of flat load space. Cleverly, the rear seats can be slid forward and backward to create extra legroom for rear passengers or increase the boot space when the back seats are empty.
The interior feels smart and sophisticated. It’s not as well laid out or stylish as the excellent new Focus, but it’s still very good. Nor is it quite as good to drive as the best of the opposition.
But it’s good enough, it’s one of the roomiest cars in its class, and it comes with Hyundai’s five-year unlimited mileage warranty.
For many buyers, that will be more than enough.
Price: £14,445. 0-62mph: 14.5sec. Top speed: 104mph. Fuel economy: 65.7mpg. CO2 emissions: 114g/km.