Hyundai i20 Coupe (2015 – 2017) Review

If you want a used small car with a dash of style, the Hyundai i20 Coupe could be for you. Not many buyers will be aware of this rival to the Ford Fiesta, or the stylish Peugeot 208. As a three-door, the Hyundai i20 Coupe is not as practical as its more common five-door hatch sibling, but attractive looks make it an appealing option. Read on for our full Hyundai i20 Coupe review.

The Hyundai i20 Coupe isn’t just a three-door version of the five-door – it gets a look all of its own and a name to match.

With its ‘floating’ roofline and narrow rear window, along with a roof spoiler and muscular rear haunches, it looks quite the junior hot hatch. 

Sadly, it isn’t as exciting as it looks – the Hyundai i20 Coupe is actually relaxed and easy to drive, which is partly down to the engines on offer.

There are three to choose from, kicking off with a 1.2-litre petrol with 84PS and a 1.4-litre diesel with 90PS. Both offer fairly leisurely performance, with 0-62mph taking more than 10 seconds.

Thankfully, the 1.0-litre turbocharged engine comes in 100PS and 120PS forms.

On the road, the Hyundai i20 Coupe is friendly and easy going, rather than exciting and entertaining.

The suspension provides a good ride quality, even on rough roads, and there is plenty of grip. But the steering is light and lacks feel, and the feathery gear change isn’t particularly rewarding.

That will suit some drivers and leave others frustrated.

Practicality is good, with space in the rear for adults, although getting in and out will be easier for an agile child.

Luggage capacity is generous for a car of this size at 311 litres, plus the boot is wide, but it has a load lip that makes loading heavy, bulky items difficult.

Unlike the five-door Hyundai i20, the three-door has a simple trim structure, with SE, Sport and Sport Nav grades, all of which come well equipped as standard.

Cruise control, alloy wheels, Bluetooth and parking sensors are fitted to all cars, while upper trim levels gain extras such as larger alloy wheels, automatic lights and automatic wipers.

It might look the part, but the Hyundai i20 Coupe lacks the dynamic flair and fun factor of used car rivals like the SEAT Ibiza SC or the three-door Ford Fiesta.

If, however, you want your sporty styling to come with everyday usability and comfort, the Hyundai i20 Coupe is worth a look – although the five-door offers better value for money and superior practicality.

Fancy a second opinion? Read heycar's Hyundai i20 review here.

Despite its sporty styling, the Hyundai i20 Coupe is really a relaxed, sedate car on the road.

Ride comfort takes precedence over stiff suspension and agile handling, giving the car an easy-going character on poor-quality British back roads.

In town, the light controls and slick gearchange make parking and stop-start traffic jams effortless. 

That’s very Hyundai-like, but it doesn’t really tally with the promise of the coupe name and stylish looks.

That said, there is plenty of grip and the Hyundai i20 Coupe is surefooted through corners, with decent body control unless there are sudden direction changes involved.

It’s just a shame that its capability isn’t allied to some excitement and verve.

However, for many drivers, comfort will trump outright handling agility, though the Ford Fiesta proves you can have both at the same time.

The petrol 1.2-litre with 84PS is quite an old engine. It needs to be revved hard to offer useful performance, although once settled down to a cruise it is sufficiently quiet.

Much better in every respect are the 100PS and 120PS 1.0 Turbo petrol engines. They offer zippy performance off the mark and through the gears, although not the warm hatch sensation you might covet given the car’s looks.

We’d stay with the 100PS version, as it’s barely any slower than the 120PS unit – 0-62mph in 10.7 seconds compared with 10.2 seconds is not a deal-breaker.

Also, the 100PS feels that bit more eager, and both engines are happy to worked keenly, yet settle into a refined rhythm on the motorway.

The 1.4-litre diesel engine is decent, with 90PS on tap and peak torque of 240Nm available from 1500rpm. That makes it more flexible than the petrols on faster roads, and better suited to overtaking or joining a fast flowing motorway.

However, very few new buyers wanted a small car with a diesel engine, so this is a rare find on the used market now.

There’s good news and bad news when it comes to safety kit for anyone considering the Hyundai i20 Coupe.

You do get six airbags in all models, plus ESP traction and stability control, tyre pressure monitoring and hill hold assist.

All have rear parking sensors and the Sport Nav model has a rear view camera included. Plus, there are Isofix child seat securing points in the two outer rear chairs.

Not so impressive is that the car doesn’t offer any lane departure warning or lane keep assist, which are available on the five door.

The Hyundai i20 Coupe was not separately tested by Euro NCAP, but the five-door Hyundai i20 scored a four-star rating and the coupe should match this.

The Hyundai i20 Coupe is not the first car that springs to mind when thinking of tow vehicles.

However, it can haul an unbraked trailer of up to 450kg.

Attach a braked trailer and the car can pull a maximum of between 910 and 1000kg, depending on which engine is under the bonnet – the diesel offers the greatest capacity.

The sloping roofline and narrow rear window might make you think the Hyundai i20 Coupe is far less practical than the five-door, but there is a surprising amount of rear headroom and legroom.

Most adults will be comfortable in the back even on longer journeys, though the fairly tight access means the rear row is better suited to carrying children. 

The boot is a good size at 311 litres, which is ever so slightly behind the 326 litres of the five-door, but still ahead of many conventional hatchbacks including the Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Polo.

It’s well shaped, making it ideal for shopping and trips away.

The only niggle is a high load lip, which becomes a problem when loading and unloading bulky or heavy items.

Material quality is up there with the best, and the layout is neat and simple.

The instruments are clear and the controls for the air-conditioning and audio are easy to understand and get used to.

There’s also a clever mount to keep smartphones in sight and charged.

Hyundai’s integrated satellite navigation comes with the seven-inch touchscreen, and there’s DAB radio and a rear view camera. This was only available in the Sport Nav version of the Hyundai i20 Coupe.

The screen’s display still looks reasonably up to date, and shortcut buttons on either side make it easy to swap between different functions.

A seven-year-old Hyundai i20 Coupe, in good condition overall and with average mileage, will cost about £7000 when fitted with the 1.2-litre petrol engine.

We’d spend an extra £1000 on top of that to have the much peppier 1.0 Turbo motor, though.

Good luck finding a diesel version for sale, as they are very thin on the ground. We wouldn’t bother, unless you really do need that extra fuel economy.

Any low-mileage, late example of the Hyundai i20 Coupe will cost around £10,000 from a franchised dealer, and it will still have a bit of factory warranty left to run to help justify the price.

For those only interested in achieving the best fuel economy, the 1.4-litre turbodiesel Hyundai i20 Coupe will appeal with its claimed figure of up to 70.6mpg.

You should see near this with gentle driving, but the car’s rarity and lack of urgency would steer us towards one of the petrol options.

The 1.2 petrol was rated at 55.4mpg, with around 41mpg realistic in daily driving.

However, we’d look to the 1.0 Turbo petrol motors, as they claim fuel consumption around the 60mpg mark – with a figure in the mid-50s achievable in the real world – while still enjoying reasonable performance.

When it comes to road tax, or Vehicle Excise Duty, it doesn’t matter whether you go petrol or diesel.

All engines require the same £180 fee, as the Hyundai i20 Coupe was launched after the 1 April 2017 changeover, when all cars were charged a flat rate.

For the record, the 100PS 1.0 Turbo emits 104g/km, which is 2g/km less than the 1.4 diesel.

Servicing a Hyundai i20 Coupe will not break the bank, as it’s reliable and the South Korean firm’s dealers tend to be at the affordable end of the scale.

An independent garage will save you more on labour rates, and parts are not usually expensive.

Insurance also promises to be low-cost, as the Hyundai i20 Coupe sits in groups 5 to 10 (out of a total of 50). So you get the style of a hot hatch, without the associated expense when you pay for cover.

The Hyundai i20 Coupe SE comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth, rear parking sensors, electric windows, LED running lights, cruise control, speed limiter, four-speaker audio system, steering wheel- mounted audio and phone controls, plus front foglights.

The Hyundai i20 Coupe Sport trim adds 17-inch alloy wheels, automatic lights, automatic wipers, climate control with auto defog, power-folding door mirrors and six-speaker audio.

Go for the top-of-the-line Hyundai i20 Coupe Sport Nav and you gain a seven-inch touchscreen with navigation, DAB radio and reversing camera.