SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


Actively engaged: 2018 Hyundai i20 1.4 Active

Serious competition

Posted: 17 August 2018

The numbers
Price: R279 900
Engine: 1368 cc, DOHC with D-CVVT, 16-valve, four-cylinder
Power: 74 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 133 Nm at 3500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11.6 seconds
Maximum: 182 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.1 l/100 km
Tank: 40 litres
Maximum braked towing mass: 1000 kg
Luggage: 285 – 1001 litres (VDA)
Turning circle: 10.4 metres
Warranty: 5 years / 150 000 km with roadside assistance and additional 2 years/ 50 000 km on the power train
Service plan: 3 years / 60 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

•    New styling
•    New features
•    New model

New styling: Up front are reworked headlamps, grille and bumper and new fog lights for Fluid models. Side-on, we see redesigned 16” alloy wheels for Fluid versions while the rear end sports reshaped panels and lights. The most obvious change is that the number plate panel has been moved up to just below the Hyundai badge.

New features include a four-speaker infotainment centre with 7” touchscreen, MP3 capability and Bluetooth telephone connection, a USB music input that doubles as a charging point and optional navigation. Just add the SD card. Fluid models also gain a central armrest, automatic light control and rear parking assistance.

The model range remains essentially as before: Plain Jane Motion versions with steel wheels and fewer toys; more upmarket Fluid models with front fog lamps, LED running lights and automatic climate control; choice of 1.2- and 1.4-litre engines; five- or six-speed manual gearboxes and a couple of four-gear automatics that are available only with the bigger motor. Brakes (disc/disc), safety features and suspension systems are common across the range.

Speaking of which, revised front geometry and tie rod design help to enhance steering feedback, precision and handling characteristics. At the rear, improved springs and trailing arm angles contribute to a more stable and comfortable ride.

Finally, that new model: The 85-kW, 160-Nm Sport version has been retired. In its place is a more youth-oriented Active model. It’s what competitors have, for years, been calling Cross, so you probably know what to expect. It begins with black plastic skirts, extra cladding on doors and around wheel arches, faux aluminium skid plates front and rear, roof rails and 20 mm greater ground clearance that bumps it up from 150 mm to 170.

It’s similarly equipped to 1.4 Fluid versions but this particular “Cross” gets its own front face, different fog lamps that double as cornering lights, pretend Jeep-style filler lid, rear panel with different lights and the lower number plate location. And it gains coloured interior highlights; red or blue, dependent on body colour.

Driving: Its 1400 cc, naturally aspirated engine pulls willingly and can be quite spirited provided one uses its six gears to stir the pot and keep it boiling. It turns over at about 3250 rpm for 120 km/h in top gear and rolls on fairly strongly. That’s because although torque peaks at only 3500, 125 Nm (94 percent) of it is available between 2700 and 5300 rpm, keeping the driving experience flexible and pleasant. The gearbox shifts easily and cleanly, the clutch has no obvious vices, there is a proper rest for the left foot, steering is light, it turns in 10.4 metres and the parking brake, placed for RHD, works solidly.

Comfort: The driver’s chair adjusts for elevation and offers plenty of reach for taller drivers although such pilots, seated “behind themselves” in the back seat, might find knee room restricted. The rake- and reach-adjustable steering wheel offers the usual satellite controls for music and phone and seats are comfortable without being overly “embracing.” Suspension upgrades mentioned earlier contribute to a supple and comfortable ride.

Controls are within easy reach and straightforward, there is sufficient storage for most people’s needs and it feels solid. If we were to niggle, we might complain that there is only one visor mirror rather than the two we have come to expect, and the soft dash and door panels mentioned in 2015 have gone. All interior plastic surfaces are hard but neatly fitted.

Cargo: The hatch opens down to 72 cm to expose a well 21 cm deep. The space is neatly rectangular and is fitted with a light and two bag hooks. A useful standard fitting is a luggage net that keeps sensitive shopping, like a 30-pack of eggs, from playing tag with heavier items. The 60:40-split seatbacks fold with a step to increase loading volume from 285 litres to 1001. The spare wheel is a fully sized alloy unit.

The build quality of Korean cars has, over time, progressed from fair to pretty good and now provides serious competition for established European brands. It’s just a pity that Hyundai couldn’t maintain those soft touch dash and door panels. It could simply be psychological and unimportant, but we will miss them.

Test car from Hyundai Automotive SA press fleet

The launch report on 2018 Hyundai i20s is here

We tried the new, more spacious version in 2021

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
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