Hyundai i20 N 2021 UK first drive

As the new Hyundai i20 N arrives, it’s all going on for Hyundai at the moment. An electric car, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, that has received rave reviews and features the sort of volt tech normally reserved for sports cars; Autocar’s top award, the coveted Issigonis Trophy, for chairman Euisun Chung; and now this - the i20 N, the firm’s second N performance product after the Hyundai i30 N.

Priced from £24,995 and featuring a typical modern hot hatch recipe of turbo four, front-wheel drive and six-speed manual (praise be), the i20 N runs to 201bhp and 207lb ft - figures good enough for 0-62mph in 6.2sec. There’s also an electromechanical limited-slip differential and a rev-matching function, while Hyundai has reinforced the bodyshell in no fewer than 12 places compared with the regular i20. So it’s clear the car has intent.

Not that you wouldn’t guess it from the looks. The i20 is hardly a shrinking violet, with a chunky rear spoiler, aggressive rear diffuser and jutting chin that gives it far more road presence than the more demure Ford Fiesta ST.

Some may feel it’s a bit OTT, but fair play to Hyundai for pinning their colours to the mast so obviously.

This is our first time in the right-hand-drive version of the car and it feels every bit as special as the left-hooker we sampled earlier this year. There are an almost bewildering array of settings to choose from: modes to control the engine response, steering, rev matching, ESC and exhaust note (and each of those has three levels of normal, sport and sport +); three ‘performance options’ (launch control, shift light and N road sense, to tell you to switch to the hardcore N mode when the car senses an S bend); a g meter; and two programmable N buttons on the steering wheel. At least you’re unlikely to ever get bored.

I was racking my brains to think what car the i20 N reminded me of, until a colleague hit the nail on the head: the Mitsubishi Evo VIII (you can read Vicky Parrott's opinion piece on the Hyundai i20 N vs the Ford Fiesta ST here). The way the Hyundai tracks and dives across a classic British B-road is exactly how that rally special felt back in the day, especially when you lean on the accelerator on the exit of a corner. Or at least it’s exactly how I remember it.

There’s a wonderful directness to the i20, the car happily diving sharply into corners, staying neutral through the apex, before a squirt of power at the exit makes the diff hook up and the front tyres squirm up the road. You’ve got to concentrate, as the stiff ride (passively damped) and direct steering mean you need to hold on to stop the Hyundai tracking the camber of the road.