Johannesburg – Hyundai is making no bones about this midcycle facelift for the its Grand i10 hatch, telling us right upfront that it’s limited to a few new body panels and new rims on the flagship.
The fresh front end is styled around Hyundai’s signature hexagonal grille, with a honeycomb mesh insert and restyled fog-light mounts in an entirely new front bumper, while a new integrated thin roof spoiler with a built-in third brake light, new tail-light clusters and a revised rear bumper frame car’s rear end.
The flagship 1.25 Fluid also gets 14 inch diamond-cut alloy rims, body-colour door handles and side mirrors with built-in indicator repeaters.
It leads an unchanged three-strong range: the 1.25 Motion with five-speed manual gearbox, the 1.2 Motion with four-speed auto transmission and the up-specced Fluid, also with manual cogset.
Fabric trim in two shades of grey is standard across the range, as are air conditioning and a radio/CD/MP3 player with USB and auxiliary ports, as well as Bluetooth connectivity. The Fluid trim level adds remote central locking, electrically adjustable mirrors, electric windows all round, rear parking sensors and a trip data computer.
Mechanical spec is unchanged: a free-revving 1248cc twin-cam four rated for 64kW at 6000 revs and 120Nm at 4000rpm, on McPherson strut front and coupled torsion bar rear suspension.
The cars come with a seven year or 200 000km warranty and five years’ roadside assistance, while a service plan is optional.
HYUNDAI GRAND i10 PRICES
1.25 Motion64kW/120NmR186 9001.25 Motion AT64kW/120NmR203 9001.25 Glide64kW/120NmR202 900
ALTERNATIVES
Renault Sandero 0.9T Expression66kW/135NmR159 900Suzuki Swift 1.2 GL63kW/113NmR167 900Toyota Etios 1.5 Sprint66kW/132NmR172 600VW Polo Vivo 1.4 Citi55kW/132NmR177 300VW Move Up 1.0 5-door55kW/95NmR179 900Smart ForFour Base52kW/91NmR179 900Kia Picanto 1.2 EX65kW/120NmR183 995Hyundai Grand i10 1.25 Motion64kW/120NmR186 900Ford Figo hatch 1.5 Trend82kW/136NmR187 900