Do you ever asked yourself how an i30 N would perform when it would have less weight for even more cornering? The anwser is the i20 N and it’s incredible!
The moment our local cardealer gave me the information about the i20 N testdrive i was very excited, since we just had an event at the racetrack with the i30 N DCT and i was very curious if the i20 N really can “fight” the new i30 N in terms of enough fun.
When the i20 N was driving up our street, i was first suprised by the sound. I test drove a Kia Ceed GT and a Hyundai i30-Turbo some while ago, and both are not nearly in the same ballpark like the i20 N. Sure, the i20 N does not produce as much “popcorn” sound as the i30 N does, but it still is with the open exhaust valve one of the more louder cars around. It has a rather deep sound and as the RPM gets higher and higher, it retains his sporty sound and does not start to scream in high pitch noises like other cars do.
We buckled up, started the car and the first thing the i20 N does better than the i30 N is the speedometer. The moment you look over the steeringwheel on it, you instantly have the first piece of racing-car-atmosphere. Pressing one of the two, left or right blue-flag-button, custom N modes (you now have two different custom options) let the speedometer change from the normal white (like in the current Hyundai Bayon) to a centered rpm screen with a cool looking flaming animation.
After the first few minutes on the road you instantly feel how the car wants to be pushed through corners. The car is greedy for cornering. Even with some “heavy” extras like the bose soundsystem and ambiente-light, the car is lightweight and it can not stop showing you the benefits of less weight. But there is also a tiny downside of the i20 N, since you do not have an adaptive suspension, unlike the big brother i30 N, the car can be a bit to stiff for people who want more comfort.
From corner to corner to corner!
The i20 N has a tiny special, in the settings you can activate an option which recommend the N/Custom mode when the traffic sign system notice a double corner sign. It will pop up in your speedometer info so you will not miss any cornering fun on the way to the supermarket, home, workplace or wherever you are driving to.
It is good to have this system because the i20 N is a bit slower than the i30 N with the acceleration, on the other hand you have around 200-300 kg less weight on your hips and since the i20 N has a rather strong camber (for a normal street car) they wont catch you if there are corners ahead. The grip level of the car is more than impressive but it is easy to handle all the time. If you force it you can for shure let it lift a tire, but with ESC On/Sport you will not come in dangerous situations.
Interior made for everyone
Even if you are a tall person like me (1,92m / 6,29 feet) you will have enough room in the front and in the rear of the car. The haptic and finish of the the interior are great, there is no rattle or squeaking at all time (beside the tires) and the Bose soundsystem we had, packed quiet a punch. The response of the 10,25 inch touchscreen was instant and it had a good resolution.
The prices for the i20n start at 24,990€ (in germany). Our car had some extras included and had a price of around 28,000€. If you think about a test-drive, GO FOR IT! I can promise you that you will have very much fun with it as long as you are not driving autobahn/highway all time. If you look for one, you should always consider the digital speedometer, since this is one of the features which impressed us a lot and it give you a great feeling while driving.
We can only say that this car is a nice addition to the current lineup. Even current i30 N driver where impressed by the speed this little car produce in corners.
If you want to have a sporty daily or look for a well balanced and cheap tracktool you should put the i20 N on your list, it is totaly worth it!
Thanks to
https://www.instagram.com/bjoern_project_c and https://www.instagram.com/autohaus_luebkemann for providing us with the car.
