WATCHING ONE of the satellite channels the other night, we stumbled across I married the Eiffel Tower – the type of programme mindless channel-surfing will reward you with – which centred on a lady who had, in fact, married the famous Parisian landmark.
Objectum-sexuals are people, mainly women, who fall in emotional – and, more scarily, physical – love with objects. This lady wasn't monogamous, either. She was also in love with the Berlin Wall. And with fences. Another poor creature was in love with a church organ and quite hopelessly besotted with a fairground ride called 1001 Nacht.
Sorry as one must feel for these people – although it’s unlikely they will ever be stood up by a toaster or have their hat stand run off with a younger girl – it did get me thinking about our relationships with our cars.
They are almost always called “she” – one notable exception is the Land Rover Defender, which one could never seriously consider female. We give them pet names, talk to them, spend hours polishing and restoring them and they last longer than many modern marriages.
But we used to be somewhat embarrassed about small cars. I “only” have a Fiesta; I have a “wee” Clio. However, the small car climate has changed forever. Now that the Celtic Tiger seems like some sort of plasma-inhaled dream, it’s okay to drive a small car again. It’s okay not to have a Range Rover Sport and, because you are hit more directly than ever for the fuel economy and emissions of your car, small petrol and diesel cars will become fashionable again.
But that doesn’t mean that you have to choose small friends and shop using a trailer. The current crop of superminis are big cars. And they are a good-looking bunch. Cars like the Opel Corsa, Mazda2 and new Ford Fiesta are handsome cars that neither gender would feel ashamed to be seen driving.
That wasn’t always something you could say about the Hyundai brand. Coupé aside, it used to be the case that driving a Hyundai meant keeping the head down until you got where you were going. But this has all changed, with the Korean brand flushing almost all of its deadwood down the plughole. Bizarrely-named cars like the Elantra, Accent and Atoz are distant memories, to be replaced by the current prefix of choice, the letter “i”.
The i30 started the trend, with more than just a trendy name. It was and is a fine car, boasting great value, superb quality and decent driving dynamics at a lower price than the so-called “mainstream” brands. The i10 followed – a dinky city car that is in many commentators’ eyes the best in its class.
The i20 replaces – although for now in Ireland it will be sold alongside – the Getz, Hyundai’s best-selling car in Europe. The Getz wasn’t a bad effort, but did nothing remarkable and was let down by some poor interior plastics. The i20 has been designed very much with Europe in mind. It is good-looking, if not striking, and could be from any one of a number of brands. It is a generous five-door that looks like a plumped-up i10 – or a narrow i30.
We drove the car a couple of weeks before Christmas at the European launch and at that stage we hadn’t driven what is for now, the main engine offering – a 78bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine. Having sampled the 1.4-litre petrol and diesel versions, which were pretty good, we didn’t expect to be too impressed by the 1.2-litre, but it really is okay. Sure enough, it takes just under 13 seconds to get to 100km/h, but that’s quicker than in an equivalent Ford Fiesta or Opel Corsa.
And once you get up to cruising speed, it is pretty quiet and refined; this isn’t a thrilling car to drive. While the steering and handling are good, the grip offered by the tyres fitted to the press car were not so good. If you buy this car – or, indeed, a Fiesta – budget for some proper tyres, because the ones fitted as standard do little justice to either car’s handling. As a colleague remarked, it’s like cheap ketchup on a gourmet meal.
The interior looks a lot better than that of the Getz, although Hyundai couldn’t resist the urge to fit silvery plastics to various parts of the dashboard and onto the gear knob, probably for the “upmarket” feel. It looks about as upmarket as a leopard-print mini skirt but, overall, the feel of the materials in the cabin is a marked improvement.
And Hyundai, as usual, hasn’t skimped on the equipment list. We were driving the Deluxe model, which costs €1,000 more than the Classic, at €15,995, but for that you get 15” alloy wheels, climate control air conditioning, front fog lights and somewhere to plug in your iPod or USB key. The €14,995 Classic still gets air conditioning as standard.
There is no sign of ESP, which isn’t even offered as an option, despite being standard in UK markets, but, for now, people are still not screaming our for it. They may do when they hit a patch of black ice or take a corner too fast, but at least the air conditioning will keep them cool.
This is a hugely crowded segment and one that this year is going to be busier than ever as people begin to downsize – so the obvious comparisons to the likes of the new Ford Fiesta and the Opel Corsa have to be done. The cheapest Fiesta will now cost you €15,395, and that’s without air conditioning and two less doors.
Like for like, the i20 represents a considerable saving. However, the Fiesta won’t have things its own way, as the Corsa was the top seller in the segment last year and it might take some impressive offerings to shift it off the top spot. Hyundai probably won’t expect to make too much of a dent in the sales of either the Fiesta or Corsa, but what it will do is tick more than a few boxes for buyers in this segment.
But anyone looking for a diesel version will be disappointed for now. We drove a 1.4-litre diesel at the European launch but there is no plan as yet to bring the car to Ireland, despite the fact that it has Band A emissions. Having driven most versions, we’d plump for the diesel – at the right price.
The Fiesta is probably the best of the superminis. It is a car you will actually love. The Hyundai isn’t quite as good but in other areas offers more – most notably in terms of value. The i20 is probably not a car you will get too emotionally attached to, but it certainly ranks in the top handful in its segment without too much effort.
Factfile
- Engine:1248cc four-cylinder petrol engine putting out 78bhp @ 6,000rpm and 119Nm of torque @ 4,000. Five-speed manual transmission, front-wheel drive
- Specification:Standard features include 15" alloy wheels, electric windows and mirrors, climate control air conditioning, height adjustable steering wheel, adjustable rear headrest, front fog lights, USB and iPod terminal, multifunction trip computer, height adjustable driver's seat, cup holders, leather steering wheel and gear knob. Driver, passenger, curtain and side airbags, ABS with EBD
- L/100KM (mpg):urban: 6.4 (44.1); extra-urban: 4.5 (62.7); combined: 5.2 (54.3)
- CO2 emissions:124g/km (Band B – 16 per cent VRT)
- Tax:€156
- Price:€15,995