Hyundai I10 Car Lease

On the move, the i10 meets most of the main priorities that citycar drivers will have, so it’s easy to see out of, light to steer in town and easy to park, with a usefully tight turning circle. It even copes reasonably well at cruising speeds on the highway, feeling solid and relatively refined at the legal limit. It won’t be quite as at home though, if the need arises to push on a little over twisting secondary roads, though with the revised model, Hyundai has tried to improve things a little in that regard. They’ve modified the steering ratio for a little more feel at the helm and added larger front shock absorber bump stops so that the car won’t bounce around so much at speed over bumpy tarmac.

Engine-wise, there are two options, a three cylinder 1.0-litre 66PS unit and the four cylinder 1.2-litre 87PS ‘Kappa’ powerplant. If you favour the smaller three cylinder unit, you’ll be given the chance to choose it in a more frugally-orientated ‘SE Blue’ guise that sees an engine stop/start system fitted as standard. If your preference is for the 1.2-litre variant, you will have the option of a 4-speed automatic gearbox.

The main styling changes made can be found at the front, which adopts the more distinctive ‘Cascading grille’ that characterises several of Hyundai’s latest models. Upper-spec versions like this one get small, circular LED daytime running lights in the grille’s outer corners and even smaller front foglamps built into the more sharply-defined lower corner air intakes.

Back in 2013 when the second generation i10 model was originally launched, the interior set fresh standards for citycar quality and design and though some rivals have caught up since, it’s still one of the nicer cabins in this segment. If Hyundai could further develop things next time round, the ambience would be even better. For the time being though, the ambience can be lifted with optional blue or red trimming for the dashboard and the upholstery. Plus, on the top ‘Premium SE’ variant, the fascia has a more sophisticated feel thanks to the addition of the 7-inch touchscreen Navigation system.

Let’s take a seat in the rear. Once inside, you’ll find a decent level of roominess for this class of car, providing you stick with the carriage of just a couple of adults. Even with a couple of six-footers installed in the back, front seat occupants shouldn’t have to compromise space to accommodate them.

Finally, let’s take a look in the boot, where the tailgate rises to reveal one of the largest trunk openings in the segment and a 252-litre total boot capacity that’s one of the very biggest in the class.

Here, we’ve an A-segment contender that’s now almost everything it needs to be – and pretty much everything a model of this kind can be.

Which means that if you’re shopping in this segment, you have to consider it.