Hyundai Elite i20 long term review first report

It’s when I stopped at a traffic light, alongside one of the many Santro cabs that have replaced Mumbai’s black-and-yellow Padminis, that the pace of Hyundai’s evolution as a carmaker struck me. Sitting in our long-term Elite i20, still fresh from its global launch three months ago, the Santro seemed like a dinosaur and looked just as ugly. Both these cars may be separated by 17 years, but the difference seems light years apart. It epitomises Hyundai’s rapid and relentless transformation from a Korean upstart to a global powerhouse.

It’s no surprise then that the new i20 is a big jump over the previous one. Hyundai thinks it’s worthy of the ‘Elite’ prefix, to suggest that it’s more premium and upmarket than the competition. Arrogance or just plain confidence from the Korean automaker?

Away from the spotlights of the glitzy launch and the royal settings in Rajasthan for the media drive, it’s time for a no-nonsense evaluation of Hyundai’s latest, in Mumbai’s more down-to-earth surroundings.

The truth is that the Elite i20 doesn’t stand out in the scrum of traffic like the tall-boy Santro once did. But that’s also a reflection of the design maturity Hyundai has reached so very quickly. The toothy and oddly proportioned Santro was a caricature on wheels, a good (or bad) example of Hyundai’s design excess. The Elite i20, in contrast, is more restrained and a fine example of Hyundai design at its best.