Buoyed by the success of the i30N hot hatch, Hyundai has followed it with a N-badged version of the i20 city car. This class has long been dominated by the Ford Fiesta ST, but has the i20N got what it takes to topple the little giant?

PROS:

+ Great fun to drive

+ More practical than Fiesta ST

+ Good value for money

CONS:

- Slightly muted engine

- Firm ride gets tiring 

- Less agile than the ST

Verdict: When the competition is as good as the Ford Fiesta ST it takes a herculean effort to engineer something that can even come close to being at the top of the hot city car segment, but Hyundai has pulled it off. In some ways it is beaten by the Ford but in others it comes out on top. On balance the i20N offers better value for money, but we would be hard pressed to say which we would prefer in our garage. 

2021 Hyundai i20N review: the five-minute read

Thanks to the success of the Hyundai i30N hot hatch, which proved Hyundai to be more than just a builder of affordable and reliable family cars, an introduction to the i20N seems a little redundant.

As the name explains, it’s a hot version of the i20 city car and has been developed with the knowhow honed by the engineering process of the excellent i30N, a true Golf GTI worrier. 

Small car, powerful engine. So it’s a Toyota GR Yaris rival, right? Not really. While Hyundai predictably points to its i20N WRC rally car to whip up some hype, it’s not got the gravel and mud credentials of the all-wheel drive GR Yaris. 

With all 201bhp of power going to the front wheels but kept in check by a mechanical slip differential, it’s a direct rival to the Ford Fiesta ST - an absolute belter of a car. You could say the Mini Cooper S and Volkswagen Polo GTI also sit in this class, but they are both more ‘city car with a bit of poke’ than these two true track day firecrackers.  

Get ready for plenty of comparisons to the Fiesta ST, then. And the first one concerns the styling. The i20N is much lairier in design than the Ford, thanks to its ‘WRC inspired’ spoiler, red trim popping against the signature Performance Blue paintwork and a healthy peppering of N badges. Sitting lower than the standard i20 and riding on 18-inch alloys, there’s no doubting the i20N’s motorsport DNA. 

The interior is equally festooned with performance car trinkets, such as the bright red button which activates the rev matching function, and ‘N mode’ buttons on the steering wheel. The letter N, by the way, stands for Nürburgring. But more on those buttons later. Build quality in the cabin is arguably a smidge better than the Ford, but there’s not much in it. 

Where the i20N emphatically beats the ST is the infotainment system. The (optional) 10.25-inch screen is perfectly positioned and boasts rich graphics and a quick response time. Get ready to spend a lot of time playing around with it though as there is a hell of a lot of menus to get your head around. 

Because it is based on the regular i20 the i20N is very practical for a car of its size. Leg and headroom in the back is enough for anyone six foot and under, and the 352-litre boot is 60-litres bigger than the Fiesta ST’s, and larger still than the Polo GTI and Mini Cooper S. 

Power comes from a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, producing 201bhp and offering a 6.7-seconds 0-62mph sprint. It’s a smidge more powerful than the Fiesta ST but is slightly down on torque, which means the ST is 0.2 seconds quicker to 62mph. Oh, and the Hyundai comes with a six-speed manual gearbox only.

Just like the ST, the i20N is phenomenal fun to drive. Arguably just the right amount of power to avoid getting into trouble on the roads, the engine pulls eagerly once the turbos kick in and keeps pulling. It’s let down by a tendency to hold onto the revs once you lift off, which means it isn’t as fizzy as the Fiesta’s unit, and it doesn’t sound particularly inspiring.

The limited slip differential does an excellent job of holding grip in corners, you can really stomp on the power early without fear of breaking traction. Those N buttons take you into the drive modes, which includes a custom mode, although the damping can’t be tweaked which means you’re always in for a firm ride. 

Despite weighing just 1,190kg – the same as the WRC car – the i20N doesn’t feel as keen to change direction as the ST, but it does feel more planted and predictable in fast corners, an effect many who want to spend some time on track may prefer. 

Ford’s marketing slogan is “a good dilemma to have”. Being forced to recommend one of these cars over the other is one hell of a dilemma. With a starting price of £24,995, the same as a Fiesta ST-3, the i20N feels like slightly better value for money, based on the drive modes functionality and standard kit. But then in some ways the ST is more fun and has a more engaging engine. Hmm…

Come back to us later, we can’t make up our minds yet. 

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Extended read…

2021 Hyundai i20N interior and infotainment 

There’s more of a sense that you’re driving a performance hatch when you step in the i20N than is the case with the ST, which is mainly down to conspicuous touches like the bright red rev matching function button on the chunky steering wheel, and liberal use of N logos. 

Look past those, though, and you can see the regular i20 coming through, especially in terms of layout and materials. Those materials can be a bit cheap in places, but everything feels solid and well screwed together. 

The sports seats aren’t as snug and supportive as those found in the Fiesta either, they feel a little wide. Perhaps Hyundai is paying attention to the growing obesity crisis.

The 10.25-inch infotainment system is a pleasure to use. The menu is easily accessed by a home button and offers a mind-boggling amount of functionality options. It’s via the infotainment system that you tweak and configure the custom drive mode, and the suite of N-specific functionality will appeal to the Playstation generation, there’s a lot going on and the graphics are sharp.

The digital driver display is also much jazzier than that found in the Ford, offering plenty of options and glowing in different colours depending on the drive mode you’re in.

Hyundai should also be commended for the amount of standard kit it offers with a sub-£25K car. Wireless phone charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a reversing camera, all come as part of the package, making the i20N great value for money. 

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2021 Hyundai i20N practicality and boot space 

For a small car Hyundai’s pocket rocket is surprisingly practical, as is the standard i20. Four people fit comfortably, with the rear seats offering enough leg and headroom for most passengers. The steering wheel doesn’t offer as much of a range of movement as you might like, but the front seats do. 

The i20N only comes in five door form, which means getting in and out of the back is simple and easy. The Fiesta ST is available as a five door, although a majority sold are three door. 

At 352-litres the i20N’s boot is one of the biggest in the class, beating the Fiesta ST’s by 60-litres, and it also features a useful extra storage cubby beneath the boot floor. Storage in the cabin itself is also generous, making the i20N almost as practical as a bigger hatchback.  

2021 Hyundai i20N engine and gearbox 

Hyundai has deployed a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine to power the i20N, which produces 201bhp and 275Nm of torque. The figures that matter? 0-62mph in 6.7-seconds and a top speed of 143mph.

The numbers can be a bit misleading though because the car feels much faster, partly down to its 1,190kg scales reading – it’s a lightweight machine. Peak torque is available from 1,750rpm until 4,500rpm which means it pulls keenly from the get-go. 

While the engine is strong it feels a little flatter than the ST’s, a bit less fizzy. It is prone to keeping the revs up when you lift off the throttle too, which can be disconcerting when you’re looking for some engine braking. 

The obligatory six-speed manual gearbox is slick and slots in and out of cogs with confidence, and don’t forget the i20N offers a rev matching function for those who can’t yet (or are too lazy to) heel-toe. 

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2021 Hyundai i20N driving

This is an enthusiast’s car, make no mistake. Only an enthusiast would put up with the permanently firmer-than-a-miner’s-handshake damping, which can get a little tiring after a while. The payoff for such a teeth-chattering ride is supreme composure in corners, there isn’t even a hint of body roll. 

Corners are the i20N’s happy place. The limited slip differential keeps the nose buried and wheels carving a line even under a clumsy and heavy foot asking for power too early. While the ST feels like it’s keener to change direction, the i20N is more stable in a bend, therefore arguably a more reliable track day companion. You really can fling it about with complete confidence. 

The drive mode line-up includes Eco, Normal, Sport and Sport Plus. They temper the stability control, steering weight and throttle map, but not the damping. On top of the regular modes you have N mode and N Custom mode, both of which can be activated via a button on the steering wheel.

N mode is a shortcut to a track mode (Nürburgring, remember), but N Custom allows the driver to tweak the various individual parameters to exactly how they want it, all via some funky graphics on the infotainment system. The ST doesn’t offer this level of driver involvement.

The all-important brakes (with N-branded callipers) load up nicely and instil confidence when you need to scrub a lot of speed off very quickly, while the steering is nicely weighted, even if it doesn’t offer bundles of feedback. 

We would like a more inspiring soundtrack from the engine, even with the artificial help it never quite stirs the senses, but the crackle and pop from the exhaust on the downshift in Sport Plus mode goes some way to compensate. 

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