First look: All-new i20 Getz Hyundai's Paris limelight

HYUNDAI has revealed the first image of the replacement for its top-selling Getz, which will go on sale globally as the i20 in early 2009, ahead of its Paris motor show debut on October 2.

The Korean giant says its redesigned light-car, which rides on a new platform with a longer wheelbase than the Getz, was engineered for European ride and handling tastes and offers more interior space.

The latest member of Hyundai’s i-model range, a five-door hatch like the larger i30 and smaller i10 (not sold in Australia), was designed at Hyundai’s European design centre in Russelsheim, Germany.

Like the Getz, the VW Polo and Ford Fiesta-sized i20 is expected to appear in three-door guise as well, and will also compete with the new Mazda2 and Australia’s top-selling Toyota Yaris, which is also available as a sedan.

As Hyundai’s cheapest model, priced from $13,990, the current Getz is available with 1.4 and 1.6-litre engines. It is sold alongside the 1.6-litre Accent three-door hatch and four-door sedan (from $15,490).

Like the i30 small-car, the i20 features a trademark chrome-topped grille and teardrop headlights up front and stacked tail-light clusters at the rear, while its overall proportions appear to be less BMW 1 Series hatch-like than the i30 and less ‘tallboy’ style than both the Mercedes-Benz A-class and its predecessor, which was released in 2002.

“The i20 was designed and engineered to meet European tastes and needs,” said Hyundai Motor Europe president Kun Hee Ahn. “It was built on an entirely new platform and much of the ride and handling development took place on European roads, which has created a firm and agile drive.

“At HME, we are confident the i20 will succeed in the fast-paced sub-compact sector, as it offers much more in terms of standard equipment, fuel economy, interior space and style than many of its competitors.” The i20 production model will be joined in Paris by a low-emissions concept version dubbed the i20 i-blue concept. Powered by a new 67kW/220Nm 1.4 CRDi diesel engine with high-performance, low-friction oil, other modifications include a six-speed manual transmission instead of the standard i20’s five-speed unit, a 15mm lower ride height, full-length underbody covers and low-resistance tyres.

Fuel consumption is claimed to be less than 4.2L/100km, with CO2 emissions of 99g/km.

Alongside the i20 twins at the French show will be a hybrid concept of Hyundai’s Sante Fe medium SUV, powered by a new petrol-electric drive system that comprises a 2.4-litre petrol engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission and a 30kW electric motor powered by lithium-ion batteries. The result is claimed economy of 6.4L/100km and 148g/km of CO2 emissions.

Finally, the world’s fifth-largest car-maker will use Paris to exhibit the ix55, a seven-seat luxury SUV aimed at Europe and based closely on the US-only Veracruz, as well as the first European airing of both the rear-drive Genesis sedan and the one-off carbonfibre-clad Genesis coupe concept.