Hyundai i20 N test: it was less than one!

If you are reading these first words, it is because you have already ignored the limit-limit typographical play in the title and just for that, thank you! It must be said that it was really less one. When the news of the disappearance from the French catalog of the only sports car in the range, the Hyundai i30 N, was announced, the Korean manufacturer's future in the sports segment derived from the large series seemed to be in jeopardy. Beyond our borders, the possibilities are however multiple! Thus, the i30 N in its facelift version (test of the original i30 N to find here) continues to have happy days elsewhere in Europe, the Veloster N sold across the Atlantic makes us salivate and the hope of seeing the eponymous version of the Kona SUV arrive on our market has evaporated. Suffice to say that I expected one more disappointment when I learned of the arrival in Hyundai's range of an i20 N and it did not happen since the i20 N has now been officially distributed in France for a few weeks! So being among the first French media to be able to get behind the wheel is really the icing on the cake.

i20 pissed off

Even more than its big sister i30, the i20 N is absolutely not in the lace when it comes to its look. The mass-produced i20 is already very aggressive, thanks in particular to its very pronounced lateral ribs in its particularly striking rear light strip. This is also the element that most divides fans of the genre, for my part, I am totally a fan! It gives a real visual identity to the small Korean sportswoman. As for the few additions specific to this N version of the i20, there is a specific front bumper and a red highlighted blade whose design goes around the body through the side skirts to the diffuser. We also find the inscription “N” on the raised edge of the skirt just in front of the rear wheels. At the rear the changes are numerous with the presence of a very marked diffuser, a specific oval exhaust outlet and a fixed spoiler. Finally, the 18-inch rims, also specific, the color of which contrasts perfectly with the red calipers, are fitted with Pirelli P Zero tires developed expressly for this car (they can be recognized by their HN marking). 4 colors are available in the French catalog, Polar White, Dragon Red, Sleek Silver and Performance Blue, the 4 colors being associated with a contrasting black roof and the last 3 being invoiced at 550 €. the 18-inch rims, also specific, the color of which contrasts perfectly with the red calipers, are fitted with Pirelli P Zero tires developed expressly for this car (they can be recognized by their HN markings). 4 colors are available in the French catalog, Polar White, Dragon Red, Sleek Silver and Performance Blue, the 4 colors being associated with a contrasting black roof and the last 3 being invoiced at 550 €. the 18-inch rims, also specific, the color of which contrasts perfectly with the red calipers, are fitted with Pirelli P Zero tires developed expressly for this car (they can be recognized by their HN markings). 4 colors are available in the French catalog, Polar White, Dragon Red, Sleek Silver and Performance Blue, the 4 colors being associated with a contrasting black roof and the last 3 being invoiced at 550 €. 

The changes are far from being aesthetic. We thus find under the hood the 4-cylinder 1.6 L Turbo in-house developing 204 hp between 5500 and 6000 rpm for a maximum torque of 304 Nm obtained at 6700 rpm which incorporates Continuously Variable Valve Duration technology allowing optimized management of the fuel. duration of opening, setting and lifting of the valves to obtain a perfectly regular torque curve over the largest possible range of use (between 1750 and 4500 rpm in this case). With 1190 kg empty on the scale, the 0 to 100 km / h is dispatched in 6.2 seconds and the top speed is announced for 230 km / h. The chassis has also been largely optimized with the presence of a mechanical self-locking differential on the front axle, thickened anti-roll bars and specific Sachs shocks lined with short springs. The different driving modes (5 in total: Eco, Normal, Sport, N & N-Custom) allow adjustments of the electric steering assistance, ESC and engine response on 3 levels. Finally, a “Rev-matching” function, namely a slight recovery of throttle on downshifting, has been added and can be activated from Eco mode via the red button dedicated to this effect on the steering wheel. 

The interior has received some special attention, starting with the original semi-bucket seats, Performance Blue stitching all along the interior, the two N & N-Custom shortcut buttons on the steering wheel, the red “Rev” button, the digital dashboard, the visual animation of which changes depending on the driving mode and finally a specific gear lever. Slightly in Japanese fashion, the Hyundai i20 N is only available in one version in France and thus includes all the equipment necessary for a city car worthy of the name in 2021. Help to keep in the traffic lane, camera reversing, intelligent high beams, navigation system and connected services, Bose audio system and so on ...

i20 ENTHUSIASTICAL 

We're not going to beat around the bush. In terms of sportiness, I am totally enthusiastic and the first start only confirms this feeling, we will address this aspect in a few lines. In terms of versatility, however, the latter falls a little after a few maneuvers in the underground car park of Hyundai France. Not that it is not practical, it looks in every way like a parking lot with standard standards, but the turning radius of the i20 N will quickly prove to be a handicap for your maneuvers in town, a bit of a shame for a city car. sport whose versatility is often part of the specifications of the customers. A few speed bumps and hen's nests further on (on this plan, the Paris region is a real intensive breeding farm), my back cries out “help” after only an hour. I manage to better fix my back by lowering the seat to the maximum (which allows me a very good driving position by the way) but nothing helps, the i20 N does not have adaptive suspensions or combined threaded (extremely rare standard on a small sports car on the market), I'm afraid that the damping will become my pet peeve of the weekend during my few “daily” uses. It will also be the same on my motorway route to reach the Morvan Regional Natural Park: between the lifts of the slightest asperity and the permanent purring of the exhaust, long trips aboard the i20 N will for some all of a punishment. It will be necessary to do with a good number of stops at the pump, 

However, rejoice, on a winding course with the look of rally specials, the i20 N reveals the full extent of its expertise. The opposite would have been a shame but at an adapted pace, the little Korean scabbard even exceeds my expectations. The accelerations will not stick to you in the seat (despite the presence of a Launch Control function) and are not as demonstrative as those of an Abarth 695 but show a regularity in the welcome thrust to lengthen the reports until end of the tachometer, ie 7000 rpm before a clear cut of the throttle and without appeal. Beware of trackers who will lose a few precious tenths if they do not pass the gear just before. Through the thick forests of the Morvan, the N mode is ideal for a course with landscapes sometimes worthy of the mythical rally of 1000 lakes in Finland. The colleagues rise very high in the sky and the rather graying weather gives a very special atmosphere to this test day. The chassis settings here reveal all the magic of the engineers of Hyundai's sports division. It is at a sustained pace that we appreciate such rigidity that it is easy to lift the inside rear wheel during heavy braking when attacking a tight turn. The ESC in Sport mode is not very castrating but nevertheless reminds you to order if you try to place the rear too violently under braking. Even deactivated, the butt of our Korean remains mobile and will roll up only very slightly if you show finesse by maintaining a very slight brake at the point of rope. Not enough to require an ounce of counter-steering (don't mind my unorthodox behavior on the video).

Helped by a mechanical differential and steering assistance adjustable on 3 levels, the front axle constitutes the centerpiece of a successful chassis and this is undeniably the case for this i20 N. The sound environment accompanying the N mode (already present in Normal mode, slightly accentuated in Sport mode and completely released in N) does not seem to make me regret the pre-DPF period of gasoline engines. Hyundai seems to have found the ideal recipe for a few light backfires when getting off the pedal and a few brief but sharp explosions when shifting on the fly. A subtle mixture accompanied by the speakers in the car (the sound comes mainly from the exhaust) without falling into the caricature of certain other manufacturers, I appreciate it! To complete this almost faultless, a 6-speed manual gearbox completely within the standard, little handicapped by anti-pollution standards. The deflections, the fairly straightforward locks without being catchy, Hyundai gives us a very good lesson in driving pleasure. 

i20 N enabled

For this test, I left very clearly with good assumptions. The English having returned their copies a few weeks before us, continental media, it was a safe bet that this i20 N would satisfy me on many points and it was the case, at least in terms of sportiness. Because in terms of practicality, if the habitability and equipment are in no way affected by the passage under the letter N of the Korean city car, driving comfort is very clearly impacted. While the sensations aboard the Polo GTI are too watered down, the Fiesta ST last generation would ultimately constitute an ideal mix between it and the i20 N to also constitute the only surviving trio in the segment, the Yaris GR playing in a court clearly above. What would be my choice among the 3? Undeniably the Korean! More exotic, more demonstrative, more for me in the end and that is not really justified. With a call price of € 27,800 to which it will be necessary to add € 550 for a special paint and € 1,276 in malus in 2021 (€ 1,901 in 2022), the i20 N achieves the feat of not crossing the fateful bar from € 30,000. Attempted ?

Otherwise for around € 8,000 less, opt for the i20 N-Line special edition Michel Vaillant. A copy with a somewhat exuberant covering was not unworthy as a logistics car during this test!