Hyundai i20 review

Hyundai i20 1.2 Classic 5dr

£8,645 Driven January 2009

Additional Infors

I was rather looking forward to the i20. What better for these constricted days than a new supermini from Hyundai, new entrants to the respectable mainstream and maker of the i30? Hyundai owns Kia, after all, and I raved about the Soul last month. Nothing embarrassing about Korean cars any more. So the i20 had to be a canny way to cut our cloth to suit the times.

But the path from preconceptions to first impressions is a rocky one. Parked on my street, where the new Fiesta and Ka looked alluring, the i20's styling falls a long way short. And inside, this base model is a mildly depressing place to be.

OK, it's got aircon, but the plastics are cheap and drab - the Classic trim isn't even blessed with the red stitching or silver paint on the centre console. Is red thread more expensive than black? Oh no, such delights are reserved for the hoity-toity Style trim level, £2k further up the tree. Unsurprisingly, that's the one that Hyundai chooses to use for its publicity photos, seen here.

I'm motivated by a 1.2 engine. But about that, I am actually not complaining. Despite the small capacity, it's a relatively spunky thing, kicking out a creditable 77bhp. It sounds a bit gruff, and the one I had (still a bit sticky from its newness I suspect) didn't like being revved too much, but it does the job.

The i20 is all-new and made of good stuff: high-strength steel gives the bodyshell rigidity, and the maker tells us it'll do nicely in Euro NCAP. All versions get six airbags and ESP too. And a five-year warranty.

The good steel means it's light, explaining the decent balance between acceleration and consumption, as well as the fleet-footed cornering, though it's never the kind of a fun a Fiesta is. But it feels a bit babyish too: over big bumps and in motorway crosswinds, it gets knocked off course. The suspension is firm but unsorted. The i20 feels a bit too much like the biscuit tin it slightly resembles.

I'm driving the bog-base version, and the five-door is £8,645. OK, it's safe and has a seven-year warranty, but you want some good cheer as standard too. If you so much as glance in the direction of a Fiat dealer, the pounds melt off a Punto like April snow, and I reckon for the same kind of outlay, you'd end up with a bigger, better-specified and more stylish car than this little Hyundai.

I can hardly believe I'm writing these words, but this new Korean supermini is overpriced.

Blog kedua gua..

  oke, gua masih  keep posting, yap ini blog baru gua. ada pertanyaan "kok ganti ganti blog mulu", yaaa karena gua merasa blog yang pertama itu cuma buat posting2 gak jelas sejenis Ediary, karena disuruh sama guru TIK gua.. yaitu Mr.Tedi disuruh bikin blog jadi ya sekarang2 lagi ngeributin blog di sekolah..
  Hmmm mungkin dari segi tema gua pilih classic car karena gua emang suka mobil2 jaman dulu karena terkesan luxury sama elegannya dapet... mobil klasik kesukaan gueee yaaaaa ROLL ROYCE PHANTOM... harganya mahal banget karena itu hand made...
ya segini aja postingan gak jelas gua

#shantikamsp

The Exclusive Black panther camaro

#shantikamsp

While Ford was fighting off the early successes of the Chevrolet Corvair and Chevy II with their introduction of the Mustang in August of 1964, GM began work on a counter-punch experimental project named XP-836. The XP-836 project directly targeted the Ford Mustang mystique and the new youth market that emerged from almost nowhere in the eyes of GM marketers. The surprising popularly of Ford's Mustang framed the XP-836 project from the very start and incorporated the "Mustang formula" in the early years of production.

In the winter of 1965, the XP-836 project turned out a proto type car based on some cobbled up Chevy IIs. While crude, the new Chevrolet was shaping up to run well along side Ford's Pony car. Now named the "Panther", the project and the proto-types were written about in great length by the automotive press with all the excitement of a pending rivalry with the Mustang.

Given a name that the public could latch onto, the "Panther" was quickly being promoted as GM's Mustang-fighter. Sometimes called "Chevy's Mustang" the "Panther" evolved conceptually using much of the Mustang marketing formula.

Now branded with the "Panther" script and leaping-cat emblems similar to that used by Jaguar, the proto-types advanced with an outward confidence that Chevrolet's sleek new cat would be chasing down the Mustang. By early 1966, Ralph Nader was doing a hatchet job on the Corvair, and GM management sought to tone-down the image of their new car in hopes of not drawing the attention of safety crusaders with the aggressive "Panther" name.

Seeking a "clammier" image for the new car, the marketing department looked to their current line of Chevrolet monikers, the Corvair, Corvette, Chevelle, and Chevy II for inspiration. Desiring another "C" name brand, merchandising manager Bob Lund and GM Car & Truck Group vice-president Ed Rollert poured through French and Spanish dictionaries and came up with "Camaro". Meaning, "warm friend", the new name offered GM an excellent label to compliment the current Chevrolet line and introduce their new car with a much tamer image.

Though the "Camaro" name was replacing the various project names the car had been developed under, outside the company some controversy over the meaning of the new name was causing a potential image problem for the new car. In an unprecedented national conference call with some 200 journalists, GM released the " warm & friendly" Camaro name to the public ahead of the cars introduction to dealer showrooms. The effort was successful in quashing any "image killing" interpretations of the new Camaro moniker.

In 1967, amidst the phenomenal success of the Ford Mustang, General Motors pulled off a sensational introduction of the Chevrolet Camaro by delivering over 212,000 units to dealer showrooms that year. Keeping in fashion with the Mustang formula, the Camaro was offered with a laundry list of options at both the factory and dealer level. Camaro customers could custom build their own car with a host of options previously only available on Chevrolet's higher-line models.

Desiring the same custom performance treatments being offered by Shelby America for the Mustang, Camaro enthusiasts looked to the dealerships in hopes of finding these performance options. Happily, the folks at Toronto-based Gorries Chevrolet/Oldsmobile dealership answered the call to incorporate their race knowledge into the new Camaro. The result was the "Black Panther" Camaro.