In my line of work, being an IT systems admin, it’s seldom that I need to travel to an off site location, but it does happen. When it does happen, I dread it. Not for lack of enjoying driving, to the contrary, I consider myself a low-octane petrol head of sorts. The reason for my apprehension, is the company car I usually have to book out – a Toyota Tazz.
Today duty called and I had a welcome surprise, the opportunity to drive our new frontline trenches, company car of choice, the Hyundai I10 with only 4500km on the clock. The i10 I drove was the 1.2l derivative, standard with airconditioning, power front windows and CD/mp3 radio. There were no airbags present, or ABS as standard.
Exterior
Let’s not beat around the bush, it’s never going to win any style awards – neither is it going to have you day dream of cruising down the beach front, having the masses gawk at your new pride and joy. That said, it’s a tidy little compact that’s pleasant on the eye.
Interior
This is where first impressions usually count for me. As pleasant as the outside of a vehicle is, it’s the enterior that counts, as that’s where the buisness happens and where you spend most of your time. Opening the door and peering in, my first impression was “… that’s a lot of plastic”. Now I know most modern vehicles these days employ plastic for most of the interior, but there’s plastic and then there’s plastic. A VW Polo, for example, has high quality plastic, that, although you know it’s a poky artificial substance, you’re not overly aware of it. In the i10, one could imagine that the Korean interior designers signed a deal with a generic toy manufacturer in China, getting a bargain on the material, and then stripping the relevant knock-off toys, force-engineered them into what is now the interior components of the i10. The exterior mirror adjustor, I kid you not, looks like a poorly made bishop chess piece – it’s that bad.
The seating position was the next thing to grab my attention. It’s high – high enough that I can drive past someone in a double-cab 4×4 and almost look them in the eye. Passing a VW chico (golf Mk1), I felt like a giant towering down on it’s driver – and let’s not forget, they are similar size vehicles. This high driving position has two effects, the first is that tall drivers, such as myself (6ft 4in, 194cm), have the top end of the windscreen approaching one’s dead-on view. A related issue is the wiper action leaves the unwiped section at eye level. I constantly found myself hunkering down to get visability in the rain. While we’re on about the wiper action, there is an irritating clicking sound after each wipe action (like a relay doing an on off cycle) – those of you with OCD, it will bring you to suicide.
On the road
Things improve though when you get moving. The 1.2 engine is surely the star in this performance. Yes, the clutch takes incredibly early, and yes the throttle is hopelessly too sensitive. You will most definitely have the wheels turn on the spot in 1st gear if you give it the slightest intention of urgency, or you’ll stall it, repeatedly. Acceleration is potent in 1st and 2nd gear, 3d delivers admirable performance from 3000-5000rpm, but 4th and 5th gear – you won’t feel much difference between the two, and can be selected for cruising and utilizing the very good fuel economy of the 1.2l engine. For the most part, and without passengers, it’s remarkably nippy for a 1.2l. With modest driving you’ll get around 16km per liter.
Braking is more than sufficient, there is good modulation, although if you’re pressed to brake hard on the slightest of moist surfaces she’ll squirm and get out of shape. I have experienced this first hand with only myself in the vehicle. I fear if the car was fully loaded things could get ugly. This tendancy will put the fear of God into unskilled drivers. In short, the brakes are potent, but may give you a false sense of confidence.
The chassis of the i10 is stiff. This adds to a sporty feel but also means that every bump in the road is telegraphed into your spine. Road surface vibrations are also felt quite directly in the steering.
Conclusion
The saying, “you get what you pay for” holds true, but sometimes you get a bit more. In this price segment, it’s always going to be a compromise though. Coming in at about R90 000 you really can’t fault it too much, especially considering for this amount of money you’ll be looking at a VW Citi Golf. The I10 gives a more rewarding and comfortable driving experience than the VW Citi Golf. This is to be expected as it is by far a more modern design.
My main concern is, this car is marketed for youngsters, people that just obtained their licenses and being the responsible drivers they are, they will wrap themselves around a tree. Thankfully this won’t be at high speed, most probably somewhere between 2nd and 3rd, if they survive the powerdrill 1st gear. When this happens, I fear there’s not much that will help in this vehicle. The high driving position makes the car feel like a go-cart… with an office chair ontop. You’re constantly feeling that if you were to take a corner a tad too fast, the i10 will do a turtle. When that happens, without ABS or airbags etc, it won’t be pretty. Infact, even though this vehicle obtained a four star Euroncap rating (http://www.euroncap.com/tests/hyundai_i10_2008/323.aspx), most of the protection was due to that vehicle being fitted with airbags. If you look at the damage profile, the damage sustained to the test dummy was pretty grim, except for the head which was unscathed.
If you’re someone who is an experienced driver, responsible, and dare I say boringly safe person, who wants a car to get from point A to point B with low fuel consumption and basic comfort like airconditioning… and a steering wheel, this is the car for you.
Rating
Performance 6/10
Fuel consumption 8/10
Road holding 6/10
Safety features 4/10
Value for money 7/10
Smile on your face factor 4/10
