Three-door Hyundai i20 to start at 9.267 Euros
With the new three-door Hyundai i20, the largest South Korean car company aims at two groups of European buyers, the existing Getz owners and also younger first time car buyers. The three door i20 will make its official debut during the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, where it will be put on display alongside the stunning Hyundai ix-onic concept vehicle.
The all-new i20 model will be positioned between the successful Hyundai i10 and i30 models and the company. In addition to the fresh new look, the three-door model shares many of its styling features with the five-door.
The front and rear fascias retain the same look as we have seen on its five-door sibling model. The only distinction, that one can find, from the five-door are the elongated front doors and a sportier, upswept rear-side window.
The three-door i20 shares the platform with the five-door, meaning the i20 wheelbase of 2.52 meters remains unchanged. The 3-door i20 has lost 10 kilograms when compared to the five-door model and now weights 1.070 kilograms.
The spacious cabin can comfortably accommodate five adult passengers. Enlarged pair of front doors and Hyundais “quick-release” memory seats with walk-in functionality provide easy access to the rear seats.
The “quick-release” system enables the front-seat backrests to be tipped and the whole seat to slide forwards. This simple-to-use system returns the front seat to the originally selected position without the need for readjustment.
Safety is always at the forefront for Hyundai and the i20 has an extensive list of active and passive equipment. This includes six airbags on all models – front, side and curtain – as standard, plus active head-restraints.
The all-new three door i20 features a variety of diesel and petrol engines ranging from 1.2L to 1.6L and 78hp to 126hp respectively. While there are more powerful engines in the line-up, Hyundai projects the 1.2L engine, dubbed the “Kappa” engine, will have the highest demand of all.
The all-aluminium, 1.2L gasoline engine packs a class-leading 78 hp and 119 Nm of torque. Thanks to its lightweight structure the engine combines miserly fuel consumption and low CO2 emissions.
The three-door Hyundai i20 is already available to order, while first examples are expected to hit the Hyundais European dealers by April 2009. Its starting price in the UK market will be 9.267 Euros, 450 Euros lower than its five-door sibling.
