Hyundai i20 Diesel: First Drive!

When the i20 was introduced amidst the celebrations of the New Year seven months back, it was one of the most anticipated launches of recent times. The 1.2 Kappa petrol mill dished out 86 PS of power, pretty impressive, but under the 1066kg body weight and 114 Nm torque it seemed to bog down a bit. And then there was the small matter of the sub-14 kmpl fuel efficiency that had a lot of people saying they'd rather wait for a diesel version of the i20 to be launched.

Those of our tons of readers who were disappointed that Hyundai had debuted the fabulous i20 with the same 1.2 litre engine from the smaller i10 Kappa and felt that it was grossly underpowered, rejoice! The Koreans have just brought out the much-awaited diesel variant of the big hatch and guess what - it's very good!

Surprisingly, coming from Hyundai, the i20 Diesel isn't all about power and performance, it's actually more about class, refinement and driveability. Looking back at the Getz CRDi that the Korean manufacturer launched a few years back, many expected the same engine to find its way into the i20's engine bay. While the Getz' powerplant, shared by the Verna was quite simply put, mental, the i20 isn't quite as brutal. Top culprit for that is that what's under the bonnet of the i20 Diesel is an all-new engine - currently being imported from Hyundai's facilities abroad.

This car uses a 1396cc common rail oil burner that is good for 90 PS of power. But where the whole difference kicks in with respect to the 1.2 i20 is in the torque figures. With 220Nm of torque, the i20 Diesel is the torqueiest diesel hatchback available in India at the moment. Now that does transform into some pretty sprightly performance and though we haven't given the car the instrumented treatment yet, we reckon it should put down some very respectable 0-100km/h times. Of course, if you're looking for the kind of pinned-in-the-seats acceleration you got from the Getz CRDi, you're going to be disappointed. The i20 will give figures close enough though and at the same time it won't scare the rest of the passengers either.

The Drive

Hyundai was kind enough to offer ZigWheels an exclusive drive of the i20 Diesel and we came back pretty impressed. The turbo kicks in at around 1900rpm but it's not a drastic intrusion like on other cars like the Swift DDiS. The i20's turbocharger intervenes gradually - with the engine giving enough grunt even before it starts to spool. That makes this engine very driveable coupled with some well matched gear ratios on the 5-speed manual transmission which means this car will appeal to one and all in the family right from the throttle happy teenager to calm and sedate grand dad - and that really is the key USP to the i20 Diesel. Hyundai seems to have done a great job with fuel efficiency too with the i20 Diesel's fuel gauge needle barely dropping during the course of our 100-odd km drive.

Get latest updates on
the automobile community

Login Now

The alloy-wheeled Asta variant will also come standard with meaty 14-inch alloy wheels sporting beefy 185/65 R14 Apollo Accelere rubber while the lower spec Magna variant will make do with 175/70 R14 tyres on steel rims. The i20 has always been a great handling car and the diesel variant is no different - owing to the common suspension setup with its petrol counterparts. In fact, with the added power and torque the i20 Diesel is an even bigger pleasure to drive than the 1.2 and considering that the bigger 1.4 Gamma gasoline engined car will be available with only an automatic gearbox for now, that means the i20 Diesel is the hatch to buy.

Visually, there's almost nothing on the outside that'll tell you that this car has a diesel engine. All over the car looks exactly the same as its petrol counterpart except for the chunky CRDi badge on the lower left corner of its tail gate. Crank the ignition and it still doesn't give away its oil burner roots - the 1.4 CRDi mill is that refined. It's only at higher revs that you really begin to hear and make out that this car is powered by a diesel unit.

Where the diesel stands

Compare it to other diesel powered hatchbacks - namely the Suzuki Swift DDiS, Tata Indica Vista, Skoda Fabia and the Fiat Punto and instantly the Hyundai i20 seems to offer more value. It looks great, is spacious enough to fit in a family of five, handles precisely, is very driveable and now performs well too. It may seem a tad expensive at first glance with a Rs 6.2 lakh price tag for the Magna and Rs 6.8 lakh for the Asta (ex-showroom Delhi), but considering the equipment it comes with as standard, it actually is very good value for money. The i20 now offers the widest range of options for customers to choose from - right from petrol and diesel engines to cubic capacities to manual and automatic gearboxes. The Suzuki Swift now seems to be under great threat with the advent of the i20 Diesel and if that wasn't enough Hyundai has launched the 1.4 Gamma petrol i20 as well. Watch out for the complete road test of the i20 Diesel soon on ZigWheels.