Izzy's Hyundai i10

Un daily attrayant

Placed in the city car segment, the main use of this i10, even in its sporty "N Line" finish, will obviously be commuting journeys (home-work/home-study). With its fairly low consumption (5L/100km on expressways and around 5.8L/100km in mixed consumption - sustained driving with eco-driving reflexes), it is clearly not a burden on the finances and its reduced dimensions allow it to park almost anywhere without worry.
The speed limiter is a plus so you don't have to think about respecting the limits, you just have to adjust it each time the limit changes or leave it at 53 (the counter being slightly above the actual speed) and maintain the 33km/h yourself in the areas requiring it, and the reversing camera is very useful for using every centimeter available for the city slots. Android Auto (or Apple Carplay - not tried) will allow you to listen to your favorite playlists on the application of your choice (if digital radio does not suit you) while keeping an eye on the navigation and its alerts, thanks to the splitting of the screen.
However, the GSR2 standard driving aids being what they are, namely absurd constraints or even dangers in the case of automatic emergency braking or lane keeping assistance, the first being able to be too sensitive regardless of the vehicle and triggering sudden so-called "phantom" braking, without an obstacle on the road, and the second sometimes detecting white lines where there are none (or not knowing how to differentiate white lines and yellow lines), at each start you will have to pass by a checklist worthy of a leisure plane: deactivate the reading of the signs in a first menu then in a second, the lane departure warning and the famous automatic emergency braking. In fact, the reading of the signs offered by the on-board system is still too approximate, not taking into account the signs entering or leaving town (unlike other systems, this is indeed possible and will surely be added via an update during the manufacturer's revisions) and not always distinguishing the figures correctly or taking into account signs which do not apply to the road on which we are traveling. Furthermore, certain signs may be hidden either by foliage or by other vehicles, making reading impossible and the last sign read will dictate the pace until the next sign readable by the camera behind the windshield.
Speaking of looks, the look of this N Line phase 2 has successfully reconciled aggression and warmth, thanks to a fairly rounded overall shape, very welcoming, but sculpted lines clearly visible on the metallic colors like the Lumen Gray that I chose, adding to the sportiness, the common thread of the Korean brand's "N" range. The 16-inch rims further support this sharp appearance thanks to a two-tone between the black background and the diamond surface and give an additional character that those of phase 1, more rounded, did not have in my eyes. Another change compared to the first version of this finish, the rear lights reworked with a sublime light signature, revealing the manufacturer's initial just below the indicators, which ensure the continuity of the style line present on the trunk. The brake lights reinforce the warm side of the i10 by resembling blushing cheekbones and the bumper gives presence to the rear thanks to the fog and reversing lights which surround the inlay of the plate which itself encapsulates an artificial diffuser painted black and bordered in red.

A pleasant road trip

If the i10 is intended to be pleasant on a daily basis, it holds its own just as well on long journeys! The fabric seats, decorated with red accents and "N" logos, are very comfortable, the seat is not too firm and the backrest provides comfortable and lumbar support, in addition to adopting a very subtle bucket shape. Despite the stitching, the steering wheel remains pleasant to the touch and the power steering makes the car very light for extra-urban driving. The controls embedded there allow you to adjust the infotainment and driving aids without taking your eyes off the road and are perfectly within reach. Having tried a few other vehicles with regulator/limiter and other aids, getting started is quick and without distractions. Using Android Auto or Apple Carplay, a button triggers the voice assistant without fail, where voice detection can fail, and thus grants you management of applications almost without taking your hands off the steering wheel; Almost since certain navigation commands, such as adding a stop during the trip or searching for a destination if the address is not exact or if there are several results, will require interacting with the screen, but the buttons are large enough and are close enough to the steering wheel that it only takes a second, even if it is still recommended to use the screen only when stopped.
The VentusPrime 3 from Hankook constitute the original equipment and is more than sufficient for classic use in an area without risk of snow or ice, but being very attached to Michelin, the CrossClimate 2 was an obvious choice for good versatility without compromise in summer as in winter, giving a very good feeling at the wheel without the roughness of the road appearing through the seats. That being said, not having the driving style of a school teacher and occasionally taking winding roads to go to work, I chose to opt for Pilot Sport 3 in summer in order to get the full road potential of my i10 and to be able to enjoy myself without concessions.
On the motorway, peace of mind is guaranteed for your right foot thanks to the regulator which maintains the speed perfectly even when going uphill, but when going downhill slowly, it is better to pause it because it seems to keep a slight trickle of gas despite the inertia. Acceleration, when you increase the speed of the governor, is smooth but fast enough to not have to resort to the accelerator pedal. In addition, the Lane Keeping Assistant helps you stay centered in your lane and relieves your arms on long stretches of highway, but only in good conditions: in the event of heavy rain or erased markings or poorly erased in the case of temporary ones, the system can deactivate or make inappropriate movements. I experienced this on a German phase 1 rental, on straight country roads, the markings being quite old, the steering deviated from the trajectory, which surely pushed Hyundai to remove lane keeping from active starting aids on phase 2, the lane departure warning being preferred for this type of situation in order to alert the driver who will make the final decision.
In terms of habitability and practicality, we have 4 real seats, 5 according to approval but the 5th is too small for an adult to be comfortable in the middle of the rear seat. In any case, this is not the vocation of this city car whose target, young and without children, will rather go on vacation with the seat folded down to leave plenty of space for luggage. I myself was able to transport everything I needed on board (first aid kit, cans of oil, coolant and brake fluid, jumper cables and flashlight) as well as a medium-sized suitcase, a backpack and 4 complete wheels, all without my interior rear-view mirror being obstructed and leaving the front passenger seat free of any luggage. Be careful though, the presence sensors on the rear seat, when it is not folded, sometimes have a tendency, after one of the seats has been used, to falsely detect a person seated in the opposite seat, but it is enough to fasten the seat belt during the journey then, once the ignition is off, to unfasten it so that the sensors are deactivated.
Last but not least, the automatic lighting is sometimes quite slow to turn on in short tunnels but seems to turn off the lights at the same time as vehicles from other manufacturers. However, I would advise you to deactivate the automatic high beams, which complicate their use because you have to push the stalk twice to force them to turn on when the sensor detects, for example, a red light in the distance, and to turn off the lights when they remain on despite the presence of a vehicle in front of you, you have to pull the lever when the high beams are forced on (so push then pull the stalk). It is much more convenient to do this manually by pushing the switch once to turn them on and pulling once to turn them off. As for the fog lights, the lighting they provide is very effective, especially in the middle of the night without any exterior lighting, allowing you to continue your journey with complete peace of mind even in the worst conditions.

A fun sportswoman

No offense to automobile "enthusiasts" who only see the figures on the technical characteristics, this i10 N Line, equipped with the T-GDI petrol engine barely reaching a liter of displacement for 100 horsepower and 170 Newton-meters of torque, is still capable of making you forget a gloomy week with the thrills of a weekend on winding roads! The acceleration is clear thanks to the turbo and the chassis is really healthy, it engages the turns without any hesitation, the steering is precise and the brakes are present. No need to break the speed limits for the adrenaline to start pumping, just a few hairpins and this little city car on country or mountain roads becomes a real kart, making you feel low to the ground. The steering wheel and seat transmit all the information you need and the short travel of the gear lever makes everything even more engaging!
As explained above, if you want to push this little hot hatch, the VentusPrime fitted on delivery will not be able to satisfy you. The chassis and suspension will need a little help to really show the full extent of their capabilities. This aid is called Pilot Sport, the sporty summer tires from Michelin, and I can tell you that in the rain or in the dry, the i10 really seems to have been designed for these tires! The grip seems almost infinite (be careful of overconfidence though) and when you think you have reached the limit, you are still not there! The front is positioned perfectly and the rear follows with ease, allowing dynamic driving whether you are a novice or experienced driver. Obviously, on an open road, cutting corners to take the rope is dangerous, but due to its lightness (only 1.1 tonnes on the scale) and the agility which I have already praised just before, we can very well have fun with the 2.5 meters of our track and the sensations are only increased tenfold! Driving is like on rails if you know how to do it well, and that's all we ask of the line of "small karts" like the Toyota Yaris TS and Twingo RS before it.
So that onlookers can also enjoy this aggressiveness that inhabits this car, the designers at Hyundai have deemed it necessary to remind on all its sides that this is indeed the highest finish available on the model: whether on the massive grille, the front and rear bumpers or even on the "i10" badge affixed to the C pillar on each side, red, synonymous with speed, is omnipresent as with its big sisters i20N and i30N and its first cousins Kona N and Veloster N. At the front, the edges of the hood reinforce its predatory look, the grille takes up a substantial place and integrates the "whiskers" that are the very successful daytime running lights, even if it would have been interesting to combine this with scrolling indicators, as well as a mesh in the form of triangles, three of which have their area painted in red, like a sort of animal scratch. The choice of these triangles, which are more like arrows, is certainly not a coincidence since they can refer to vectors, the graphic modeling of a speed or an acceleration! (Its big sister, the i20N, had also received a grille adorned with checkered flags, a nod to motor racing.) This enormous grille is not just there for show since two large air inlets help cool the engine, just like the air inlets, more discreet despite large decorative honeycomb grilles around the fog lights, on each side of the front bumper serve to cool the discs. brake. A thin red line highlights everything and creates a break at the bottom of the front shield. From the side, this city car doesn't look like much, only the N Line badge, the name of the model painted in red just behind the side window and the 16-inch rims and their "N" logoed hub caps betray it. One detail all the same (also present on the other finishes): arches break the roundness of the car's hips, a bit like on the Peugeot 208, except that here, no ugly bulge to create the illusion of an immense (and ridiculous) wheel arch. The rear is similar to that of the i10 Intuitive and Creative, except for the LED lights and a very important element: the dual exhaust outlets! Cutting out a good part of the reworked pseudo-diffuser for its integration, it is really about the exhaust and not artificial outlets like some high-end brands can do. From there comes the melodious sound of the 3 cylinders, which is however well muffled by the silencers and the catalyst as well as the rev limiter when stopped, limiting the amplitude of the engine to 5000 rpm.
In the cabin, in case you didn't realize that you were in a sports car (not to be confused with a sports car), everything is designed as a reminder of Hyundai's AD-N: the steering wheel in red-stitched imitation leather, like the gear lever gaiter, with the "N" logo in the lower branch, the gear knob, spherical for a good grip, in perforated imitation leather with a red reminder in metal and, once again, the "N" logo on the gear knob cover, the front seats divided by a red stripe topped with a new "N" logo and finally, the specific "N Line" mats, supplied by the dealer.

An accessible track rider

Do you know what the "N" stands for in Hyundai's sports range? Quite simply: Nürburgring, the legendary German circuit also known as the Green Hell! So a question we are entitled to ask ourselves regarding this i10 “Nürburgring Line”: is it relevant on the circuit? It is true that its chassis is very good, that it brakes very well and that with the right tires it holds the asphalt well, but from there to being fun and effective on the track? Well yes! I've been twice on the northern loop (Nordschleife) of the Nürburgring for a total of six laps, twice on the Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps and once on the Bugey karting circuit and this is what I get from it: for 20,000€, it's a very good, affordable way to get started and learn track driving!
My first time on the circuit was the Nürburgring. Barely 3 months after receiving it, Izzy (the name given to my car) took its first laps on this legendary 20 kilometer track. Shod with brand new Pilot Sport 3 tires, the first lap was obviously a little hesitant but the second was really a trigger: this car has motorsport in its blood! However, 2 laps is not enough to realize what it is really worth, so the next day, head to Belgium and its F1 circuit. It was there that I was able to realize the faults but above all the qualities of this feat of engineering. Among the faults, a loss of front end when braking, but that doesn't prevent you from braking late and taking turns well, and... Is that about all? The acceleration cannot be compared to the Skyline GT-R but that is normal given the lack of power, otherwise we find all the qualities praised regarding its sporty side but in a more present way since we are not limited by the highway code: it will pick up the ropes well, the steering is very precise and allows you to negotiate complex bends like the Raidillon as well as possible and it holds up perfectly in fast bends, so much so that taking the Paul Frère curve at full speed is not even the limit tire grip.
I was then able to take part in a track day on an outdoor karting circuit near Ambérieu-en-Bugey. Smaller circuit, fewer straight lines, what could be better for a bodied kart like the i10? If you really want to have fun with this car, this is it! On these kinds of circuits, you'll really improve your technique by learning the smallest eccentricities of your car: how does it brake in a straight line? in support? How to properly reaccelerate so that the power passes well to the ground (very important in traction since the front loses weight when accelerating so the front wheels lose slightly grip), etc...
With all this new information and a new set of Yokohama semi-slick tires (which fitted the cars in the World Touring Car Racing - WTCR - championship in which Hyundai participated with i30Ns) Advan A052 mounted on JR-Wheels JR29 ET40 rims (the offset of the original rims is 48 so the wheels come out in ET40), I returned the following year to the first two circuits. Already on the Nürburgring, in four laps, I was able to notice the much better grip provided by this new equipment, as well as the way in which the car is more stable thanks to the greater offset. Some turns, which I dreaded the first year, were done with more speed or even without braking or even with my foot on the floor (Hohe Acht for those in the know)! But the Nordschleife being very demanding, especially in a "slow" car because of the many fast cars that you have to let pass, you feel more like you're in a race than a qualifying session, so it's difficult to get the best out of your vehicle. It was at Spa-Francorchamps that the whole difference was felt: already, the problem of losing the front end was much less, certainly thanks to the additional grip of the semi-slick rubber, but above all, in the fast corners, it gripped the asphalt so well that there was more than one time when I was afraid of going off track (an unfounded fear since in the end, the sidewall was never even brush with tar)! This shows the difference in grip provided by the A052s but above all, they allow you to see the full potential of the i10 N Line and to get as close as possible to the limits linked to the suspensions and the chassis rather than the tires! My braking was so delayed that I almost hit an S2000 which had braked well before me and my cornering could compete with some much more powerful but also older cars. The passage of Paul Frère, which I already passed at full speed, but at the limit of the tire last year, was no more than a formality and the Holy Grail was finally achieved: the passage of the Raidillon with my foot to the floor! Yes, with all these ingredients brought together and carefully prepared by Hyundai, the "Ardennes Wall", feared by so many drivers, can be taken at full speed, with an entry speed of 160km/h and an exit at 140km/h (and all without leaving the track limits!). However, pay attention to the kerbs because even with semi-slicks and even on the least vibrating kerbs, it is not impossible that the outside rear wheel loses grip and that the rear starts to slide... But you have traction, so we keep the throttle and wait for the grip to return!
In summary, on the track, it's really a very fun car, very playful, but also very serious when you ask it to be. It doesn't consume a lot of brake pads, given the relatively small mass, it consumes almost no oil (for the moment), it doesn't heat up too much even when fully loaded, and the tires? It all depends on the circuit, a small karting circuit will not be very demanding but an F1 circuit will reduce the life of your tire by half or more!

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