The Hyundai i20 always remain a favourite among Indians who don’t want to pay more money to get the premium interiors and features of the Verna and the Creta, with the introduction of the i20 N-Line in 2021, we enthusiasts got attracted to its ‘N-Line’ cosmetic upgrades, and with 30% stiffness in the suspension as compared to the standard i20, it made it handle commandingly well around the corners, and after the farewell of us enthusiasts favourite Volkswagen Polo GT, it also became the only tuner-friendly hatchback in India. And currently, the 3rd generation of the i20 has got a facelift in the global markets.
Well, in terms of the design, there are no major changes as compared to the pre-facelift version, but has some minor updates, like an updated front grill and an updated bumper, as Hyundai is canning out fog lamps from all of its new models, such as the 2023 Verna, the deletion of fog-lamps is done here as well, as for the first time the i20 will be fitted with ADAS, the new Hyundai logo has been moved up from the front grill because the grill now houses the ADAS sensor, the side profile remains the same but gets a new set of 17″ alloys in the global spec, and talking about the India spec, it will be offered with 16″ max, from the rear the taillights gets a continuous light bar between them, instead of a chrome strip that the pre-facelift India spec i20 gets, and has a revised rear bumper with a silver coloured rear diffuser treatment. And there are no major changes done to the interiors.
Talking about the powertrain options, it is likely to be powered with the same 1.2L naturally aspirated petrol, which will put out 82hp and 115Nm of peak torque, paired with a 5-Speed Manual or a CVT transmission, and a 1.0L turbo petrol, which will put out 118hp and 172Nm of peak torque, paired with a 7-speed DCT or probably with a 6-Speed AMT transmission, we expect Hyundai to keep the manual also as an option with the turbo variant, with the N-Line too, the specs will remain similar to the pre-facelift, but will get some cosmetic upgrades.
For the first time, the Hyundai i20 will feature ADAS technology, where the global spec gets ADAS as standard, where features like lane keep assist and forward collision warning comes as standard with the base variants, and with the lane keep assist and forward collision warning the top variants will also get features like rear cross-traffic collision avoidance and blind spot monitoring for the international spec, for the Indian spec we can’t expect Hyundai to offer ADAS in the base variants, but if they will, it can dominate the segment, and talking about safety, the pre-facelift 3rd gen i20 scored 3-starts in the Global NCAP safety test, which made it the second safest hatchback in its segment after the 5-stars rated Tata Altroz, and we can expect the same rating with the i20 facelift as well.
The test mules of the India spec i20 have also been spotted several times, and here in the above image, we can see a test mule of the i20 facelift has been spotted with the new 16″ dual-tone alloy wheels, which will be offered in the top-spec Asta trim, and the i20 N-Line facelift test mule has also been spotted with a new set of alloys, and one of the test mules of a standard i20 facelift has also been spotted with paddle-shifters, seems like Hyundai will offer paddle shifters with the 1.2L petrol engine as well. We can expect Hyundai to launch the India spec i20 facelift by this festive season.
