Hyundai i20 gets aggressive new look and tech upgrades

Hyundai has revealed a facelifted Hyunda i20 hatchback, which it hopes can revive declining sales for the Ford Fiesta rival.

With a subtle redesign, new interior technology and occupant safety systems as standard, the new Hyundai i20 will arrive in the third quarter of this year to build on last year’s 59,914 sales – a 5% decrease on 2021.

The supermini was the Korean manufacturer’s third best-selling car between 2021 and 2022.

A Hyundai spokesman was unable to confirm if the hot Hyundai i20 N will return, but said it will likely return to showrooms at a future date.

Hyundai has treated this regular Hyunda i20 to a redesigned front and rear bumper, new 16in and 17in alloy wheels and new Z-shape LED lights front and rear.

The low roof profile and relatively long wheelbase have been retained in order to maintain its aerodynamics and sporty stance, Hyundai said.

Elsewhere, the Hyunda i20 gets three new paint colour choices: Lucid Lime Metallic, Lumen Grey Pearl and Meta Blue Pearl.

Inside, it now comes with more equipment as standard. It gets a 4.1in LCD instrument display, over-the-air map updates, USB-C ports and 4G data connectivity.

Optional equipment remains the same, including a 10.25in instrument cluster, a 10.25in infotainment touchscreen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, wireless smartphone charging and GPS tracking.

An optional Lucid Lime interior package has been introduced to mark the arrival of the new lime paint colour, bringing redesigned seat fabrics and lime-coloured stitching.

As well as this, enhanced safety systems now come as standard. These include lane-following asstiance and forward collision-avoidance assistance, which applies the brakes when the car detects a coming collision at below 5mph and can now spot cyclists as well as pedestrians and other vehicles.

These systems are now required to be fitted to cars under the European Union's new GSR2 safety regulations.

Engines and transmission choices remain the same as before. All trims bring a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine developing either 98bhp or 118bhp, mated to a six-speed manual gearbox or optionally a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. 

Pricing has yet to be confirmed for the facelifted i20, and nor has Hyundai announced whether the Hyundai i20 N hot hatch will be returning.