T HE big names in automotive manufacturing once had the luxury of being able to dismiss Hyundai pretty much out of hand. The Korean marque's workmanlike products would mop up a respectable number of sales on a value for money ticket but challenge for a place at the European car market's top table? Pull the other one.
Eyes were taken off the ball and now Hyundai is the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world.
What's more, it has set its sights firmly on the lucrative European big time. The i30 gave us initial confirmation that this was no joke and the i10 confirms that Hyundai's ambitions are well founded.
While the i10's 1.2-litre petrol engine continues in improved form (13% more power, 9.2% less CO2, 8.7% better fuel consumption), the 1.1-litre unit that was the staple of the original i10 range has been replaced by a brand new three-cylinder 1.0-litre engine that powers the Blue and claims a combined consumption of 67.3mpg.
No one looks happy on UK petrol forecourts these days but at least the i10 should ease the pain inflicted by the extortionate pump prices.
Exploiting the full planet saving potential of the efficient new 1.0-litre engine, the Blue emits just 99g/km of CO2 and so exempts itself from VED and the London Congestion Charge.
It's currently the only sub-£10k five-seater car on the market to achieve this, and the first of a family of Blue models that will feature similar environmental technology.
With just 68bhp at its disposal, the new 1.0 i10 Blue just about wings 'frisky' in the confines of an urban environment but its rather feeble looking 0-62mph time of 14.8s is actually a whole second quicker than the old 1.1 could manage.
Like that car, it struggles a bit out of town but the new three-pot motor is a sweet engine with an engaging off-beat soundtrack that's fun to work hard. And the precise action of the five-speed gearbox means it's no chore keeping it on the boil. That said, the updated 1.2 powerplant with 85bhp makes life considerably more relaxed behind the wheel and adds to the fun quotient by actually putting a little heat into a surprisingly nifty chassis. And with a combined consumption of 61.4mpg and CO2 emission of just 108 g/km, you're hardly going to be branded a climate criminal.
The i10 has one of the longest wheelbases in its class. At 2,380mm, it's 65mm longer than the Aygo/C1/107 trio, which are largely identical bar the badges, and over 80mm longer than the Fiat's Panda. This should aid ride comfort and handling in the i10, while also maximising interior space. The long wheelbase has been achieved by pushing the wheels right into the corners of the car so as not to increase overall length by too much.
At 3,565mm long and 1,595mm wide, the i10 remains usefully compact. It's actually 166mm shorter than the Toyota Aygo and around 25mm longer than a Fiat Panda so parking shouldn't be too problematic. The exterior design – freshened up with reprofiled headlights, bumpers and grille, is marginally more adventurous than before. The city car market was once riddled with nondescript wheeled boxes whereas modern offerings tend to lay on the cheeky style as thick as possible and the i10 falls somewhere between these two stools.
The gentle curves around the front end work well and the rear is a little sharper with its angles but the overall shape is neatly integrated.
City car buyers aren't going short of choice at the moment. Small, economical vehicles that can help motorists sidestep the worst of the environmental taxation burden are very much in vogue and if they can do so with some design flair and a little bit of cheekiness thrown in, well, so much the better.
Relatively small changes for the South Korean car maker's popular city car, but then it wasn't broken in the first place.