Hyundai’s fuel efficient new i20 boasts with a spectacular new shape

Vehicle: Hyundai i20 Fluid

Test driven by: Izahn van Huyssteen

Test Drive made possible by: Springs Hyundai

Hyundai designed and built this car for maximum fuel efficiency and also focused on safety.

When I sat in the driver’s seat for the first time, I noticed the 1.4 Fluid is a six speed manual transmission which brings back the point of fuel efficiency.

The headlights are designed to be scratch resistant, while the rear and front bumpers are made of polypropylene which is a special type of plastic and basically means that when the bumpers are dented from a small impact, the dent will push itself out in time.

The new i20 also has a built in alarm with a transponder which is an immobaliser.

What blew me away and converted me in its favour, was the built-in mini refrigerator which is located in the cubbyhole.

When the aircon is turned on, some of the cold blast gets redirected to the cubbyhole, allowing coldrink and other items to be kept cold while on the road.

Abdullah Rajah, a sales executive at Hyundai, says the weight of the engine and transmission is about 80kg, making the car lighter and faster.

When the driver reverses the 1.4 Fluid i20, with the rear park assist system, a beep will alert them to how close they are to objects behind them.

The frequency of the sounds increase as the driver gets closer, alerting them when they are too close or if they still have room to move.

The side-impact protection beams are made with high tensile steel which runs along the side panels inside the doors, protecting the driver and passengers from impact.

The new i20 comes in three different varieties namely the 1.2 Motion which is a five speed manual transmission, the 1.4 Fluid with a six speed manual transmission and the 1.4 Fluid four speed automatic transmission.

The 1.4 Fluid also boasts a six-speaker sound system.

The features are as follows:

Safety:

• ABS Braking along with electronic brake force distribution (EBD) which distributes weight evenly to keep the car steady

• Driver and passenger airbags

• Central locking with remote entry and alarm system

• PDC or Park assist

• Built-in side impact bars and roll bars to protect driver from heavy collisions

• Fog lights

Convenience features:

• Radio and CD

• Bluetooth

• USB and auxilary ports

• Aircon

• Power steering and steering wheel controls

• Electric windows

• Mini refrigerator in cubbyhole

The engine has a standard tank size of 45 litres.

It comes standard with all the features, so no add-on’s are really required.