THE LIGHT-CAR class has long split into two groups – $13K cheapies (dominated by Hyundai’s Getz) and $17K premium babies (hello VW Polo).
But with the former group’s old guard dying out and Nissan’s latest Micra redefining parameters, Hyundai has been forced upmarket with the $15,490 i20.
Tested in base Active manual guise, we assess whether Nissan should be laughing or VW ought to be worried. Whatever, the i20 is arguably the best Hyundai available in Australia right now.
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Hyundai TB Getz Series II
Released: October 2005
Ended: Current
Family Tree: i20THE FIRST baby Hyundai you would buy on not just (low) price alone, the Getz was a clean-sheet breakaway for the Korean company, adopting contemporary European ‘supermini’ hatchback cues to replace the unloved Accent. , , With plenty of input from Hyundai’s German engineering arm, the front-drive Getz was unashamedly aping the VW Polo of the period. The Series II facelift of late ’05 was remarkable for being the first light car segment vehicle to offer the safety of stability control. , , The base engine rose from a 60kW/117Nm 1.3-litre single-cam four-cylinder unit to a 70kW/126Nm DOHC 1.4, while the 74kW/133Nm 1.5L DOHC motor became a 78kW/144Nm DOHC 1.6. Four-speed automatic or five-speed manual gearboxes were the transmissions of choice. , , As before, there were a bewildering array of three and five-door variants, but the overwhelming number of Getz sales went to the base 1.4 that became the ‘S’ (1.6: SX) from 2008. Lively, easy to drive and sufficiently accommodating, the littlest Hyundai sold in Australia proved to be an enduring and popular runabout.
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