This was the moment I realised, before even driving it, that this was shaping up to be a great purchase. It was a mix of excitement and anticipation the day I went to pick the car up, as it was the first time I had seen an i20N in the metal. That gamble paid off with the wait times blowing out to almost two years now and some price increases to boot. I placed a deposit down sight unseen as I anticipated that it would be a car that would end up being highly sought after following the reviews coming out of Europe. How has the purchase and aftercare experience been with your car? To round out the ownership experience, to have N Australia properly engaged with N owners and putting on drive days, track days and other events it makes you feel you’re part of something a little bit more than just a car purchase. Sure there are some hard plastics used throughout the interior, but they are executed well with the introduction of various textures and I’ve never been one to see the need to fondle the dashboard or the door card material. Is it a coincidence that Hyundai’s design boss, Luc Donckerwolke, penned the likes of the Murciélago? The new angular design language from Hyundai is clearly apparent with some of the chiseled details looking more like something you’d see on a Lamborghini. Whilst on the subject of design, this little hatch really pushes the boundaries of automotive aesthetics in a very good way. In fact, it performs better than my partners Corolla where front leg room is very compromised with a rear facing child seat installed. In the i20N you have ample knee room in the front with one of these installed. One of the most impressive aspects of this became evident when we placed the rear facing child seat in the car, which are renowned for making front passenger’s knees becoming a semi-permanent fixture of the dashboard. You really do feel like you are in a bigger car thanks to this. The way the design team at Hyundai have packaged this car is very well executed. I think the first words I heard were “that’s louder than your old car!”, which I kind of took as bit of a badge of honour. With it being a Hyundai, it was much easier to get the purchase across the line with the minister for finance by framing it as “babe, it’s a sensible small Hyundai hatchback.” That line worked until I drove it into the garage for the first time and it was pretty evident that it wasn’t just a normal Hyundai. It’s these little moments where you realise how far Hyundai have come. It’s a nice feeling when you’ve got blokes in their track dedicated M3 BMW coming across to your pit garage for a closer look at what this new Hyundai is all about. Given there are so few i20Ns on the road in Australia it gives you a kind of cool sense that you are driving something unique, which is a bizarre thought to be having about a Hyundai hatchback. A car that you look back at as you walk away from it, much to the disdain of your wife/partner.įrom when you approach it and admire its angular design details to when you jump inside and sit in the body hugging seats, to when you press that smile inducing ‘N’ button on the steering wheel this car just makes you feel good. I have no regrets purchasing this car from the experience to date.Īs a car guy, the main reason to buy a car is to have something that you look forward to getting behind the wheel every time. What do you think of the ownership experience with your car? There are a few rattles within the door cards, but they have settled somewhat over the first 10,000km. And at the end of the day, drove it home and it didn’t feel like a smoking pile of proverbial.Ī slight knock has developed in the front left area from around 7000km, which is going to be looked at the first major service, but hasn’t affected the drivability of the car. It didn’t even cook the brake fluid as I thought it might. For an absolutely stock car to roll off the showroom floor and onto a track (don’t worry there was a lengthy run in period between the two) and run all day at a hot humid Winton Raceway and not miss a beat, was impressive. The track day is probably worth mentioning in a little more detail as this is where the car really shines and delivers what is claimed on the box. Is it even an ‘N’ car if you haven’t attended at least one track day in the first 10,000km? The i20 N has been very reliable after 10,000km, including one track day. How reliable has your car been? Tell us about any issues.
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