Hyundai i20 Facelift Debuts with Refreshed Look and Updated Tech

As the whole continent is preparing for the imminent electromobility, the European supermini segment is getting more and more dull these days, with several automakers pulling out the life plug of their segment fighter. However, one automaker decides to capitalise on these absentees, giving a last hurrah on ICE-powered superminis, before they are deemed obsolete by the law.

Third-gen Hyundai i20 Facelift

That automaker is Hyundai, who recently updated its supermini fighter, the benevolent Hyundai i20. Originally debuted in 2020, this third-gen hatch is due for a mid-life upgrade, featuring refreshed look, as well as a bevy of gizmos upgrade on board.

Starting off with the design, the i20 facelift gets a redesigned front bumper, featuring more pronounced air intakes and blacked-out front grille – the latter also featuring new design. Its front fascia is also primed with new LED DRLs, while the Hyundai badge is being moved to the front hood, giving the i20 the same front look as its bigger saloon cousin, the Hyundai Elantra.

At the rear, the mini hatch also gets a new rear bumper design, featuring a more pronounced blacked-out part to match the car’s two-tone body colour with blacked-out roof. Speaking of body colour, the i20 facelift now comes with three new colourways, namely Lumen Grey Pearl, Meta Blue Pearl, and Lucid Lime Metallic – the new hero colour for the model.

Elsewhere, this rather small-sized hatch rides on either 16- or 17-inch wheels, both featuring the dual five-spoke ‘star’ design with two-tone finish.

The Hyundai i20 facelift cabin, featuring body colour-matching interior trims.

On board, the mid-life update grants the i20 with a slew of gizmos upgrades. This includes the new 4.2-inch LCD gauge display, USB-C charging ports, wireless charging pad, Bose sound system, as well as over-the-air (OTA) updates capability on the car’s infotainment system. Speaking of infotainment, the car’s 10.25-inch infotainment screen is derived from the pre-facelift model, as well as the optional 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster.

More importantly, said gizmos upgrade also pertains to the car’s safety suite, with the i20 facelift getting the latest Hyundai Smart Sense. This updated ADAS suite upgrades the car’s Front Collision Warning (FCW) system with cyclist detection feature, plus adding the Lane Following Assist (LFA) feature.

Other ADAS features like Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA) with collision assist, blind-spot collision avoidance, as well as smart cruise control are all available as options for customers to add on.

The 1.0-litre 3-cyl SmartStream turbocharged engine of the Hyundai i20

Powering the i20 facelift is the same 1.0-litre 3-cyl SmartStream turbocharged mill derived from the previous model that is mated to a 48-V mild hybrid system (MHEV). Depending on the variant, Hyundai offers the i20 facelift in two state-of-tunes – either at 99 HP or 118 HP. Said powerplant is also available with either a seven-speed DCT automatic transmission or a six-speed manual transmission, for good measure.

The facelifted third-gen Hyundai i20 is poised to go into production in Q3 this year at the marque’s European assembly facility in Izmit, Turkiye. The Korean automaker says more variants of the i20 facelift will be available soon. Consider that this might be the firm's last-ever ICE-powered supermini, perhaps folks at the Old Continent will queue up to get their hands on this soon-to-be relic of the past.