As anyone who has been to one of the smaller islands in Southern Europe will know, the rental car experience there can be quite different that which applies from large airport locations in populous countries. As almost all the rental car business is for vacationers, rather than those on business, cost tends to be a more important factor and so the multiplicity of operators, many of whom are local businesses with names you have probably not heard of, generally focus on small low-end cars, often keeping them on fleet for many years. Even the big well-known names are almost always franchise operations and they tend to apply the same approach of a fleet of bottom of the range cars, again, often with big mileages on them. As distances are small, and speeds low, the car here really does tend to be more for convenience than fun so it somehow matters less than it would in the UK or other such countries. So I did wonder what I had let myself in for with a booking of not quite the smallest and cheapest category of car from Hertz Malta as I walked from the airport terminal to the car rental centre. Somewhat to my relief, I was given the paperwork and keys for a Hyundai i20 which I was told was “pretty new”. Not surprisingly, it turned out to be an example of the recently superceded model, but it was only showing 8860km and it appeared to be devoid of dents and scrapes and it did not come as a wheel-trim-less wonder as so many cars do. All rental cars in Malta are identifiable from their licence plate, having a Q in them, and the first letter denotes the month of first registrations, but there is nothing to tell you the year. The paperwork suggested that this was a 2021 car which would seem credible given the low mileage. It seemed like I had scored well, especially for a car that was only costing a few pounds a day, for my short break to this Mediterranean island that was still recovering back from the various Covid closures.

Slightly surprisingly, perhaps, I’d not driven a Hyundai i20 before, from any generation so labelled, or even its predecessors in title. And there have been a few of these, as the Korean giant behind this car still refreshes every model in their range with impressive frequency. The i20, of course, has to fight for attention in a class of B segment cars, or superminis that is replete with alternatives, and where an element of favouring the “local” product still pertains, with the Germans preferring the VW Polo, the French the Clio, 208 and C3 and the UK the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa, so being a good car is only part of the battle for sales success.  The first car labelled i20 appeared in 2008, replacing the Getz, and was built on a completely new platform that was developed at Hyundai’s German development centre. Its major markets were Europe and India, with other countries getting the slightly larger Accent as an alternative. The first generation car was replaced in late 2014 by the version under review here. It was also developed in Europe and featured all-new styling, based on Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design philosophy and the latest technology upgrades whilst reusing much from underneath of the previous models. It underwent a midcycle update in 2018 with new technology and safety kit being added as well as sporting the usual tweaks to bumpers and lights which require an expert to spot them. The easiest visual clue is that the rear number plate has been relocated from inset into the bumper onto the tailgate. A third generation car was revealed just as the Covid pandemic took a real grip and production started later that year with sales in most markets commencing in early 2021.

Facelifted versions of the second generation i20 come with a choice of either the familiar 1.2 litre naturally aspirated 4 cylinder Kappa engine or a more modern turbo-charged 1.0 triple, the diesel versions having been withdrawn from the range. The test car featured the proven 1.2 litre 4 cylinder engine. This unit is offered with two different power outputs, 75 bhp and 84 bhp, and I am pretty sure that I got the less powerful unit. It proved smooth but a bit gutless. I found I needed to make good use of the gears, of which there are five, to get meaningful acceleration. That was no particular hardship as the gearchange is very good, a bit snickety in feel, but with the lever slotting very precisely between the ratios. First gear is very short, only really useful for setting off, but once underway there is enough torque that if you work the engine hard you can make decent progress. I did find it quite hard to judge the clutch’s biting point, so it was difficult sometimes to make a smooth take-off. Once at a steady speed, the little Hyundai was quiet and refined. It is worth noting that speed limits on the island are low. The maximum speed on the little bit of motorway that connects the airport to Valetta is 80 km/h and that is fast as you can legally go anywhere in Malta. The car featured a Stop/Start system. In my time with the car, I averaged 7 litres/100km, according to the trip computer. Before returning it, I put in 24 litres having covered 286km. which works out at 33.8 mpg which is rather disappointing, but perhaps an inevitably low figure thanks to mainly urban motoring.  Going with the car’s record the fuel consumption comes in at 40.2 mpg which is rather better and does raise the question as to how fill the fuel tank really was when I collected the car.

Like almost all cars of this type, the steering very light, lacking much in the way of feel. which did make it easy to manoeuvre in tight spaces but did not endow it with much in the way of fun out on the road. That said, the i20 does handle tidily and there is plenty of grip, even though it comes on some of the smallest wheels on offer today, at 185/65 R15. The ride was good, with the car remaining comfortable at all times on what are generally well surfaced roads. There were no issues with the brakes, which did their job effectively. There is a conventional pull-up handbrake between the seats. I had no issues with visibility, even though the car lacks some of the latest driver aids. The short overhangs made it easy to judge the extremities of the car.

The i20 has a neat looking interior, though closer inspection reveals that it is very plasticky, befitting the car’s value pricing. In fact, quite a few of those plastics are decently soft to the touch and the overall fit and finish is pretty good for a budget car, certainly better than many of the i20’s rivals. Not surprisingly you get a plastic moulded steering wheel. The instrument cluster is simple, but clearly presented. There are two large dials for the speedometer and rev counter with bar charts between them for fuel level and water temperature and trip mileage displays. Two column stalks feature, the left hand one including the lights. Not surprisingly there are no auto functions here. You do get repeaters on the wheel hub for audio functions and this is also where you make trip computer display selections. Fully integrated into the centre of the dash is what we now think of as an “old style” radio, which does include DAB. There is a 3.2” LCD display for the system and it was delightfully easy to use, in contrast to the increasingly prevalent touch screens which often offer very little in the way of additional functionality. Air conditioning was in the car, and would doubtless be very welcome in the summer months when temperatures in Malta get pretty warm. It was easy to operate with old-school knobs and buttons.

The seats are upholstered in two tones of a cloth material which is as nice, or otherwise, as you are likely to find in any of the Hyundai’s rivals. Seat adjustment is all manual, as you would expect. You can alter the height of the driver’s seat but not that of the front passenger. There is plenty of headroom, so this does feel like quite a spacious car. The steering column telescopes in/out as well as up/down, so getting a good driving position was easy. The seat itself was comfortable, though I only ever made relatively short journeys in the car, as distances from one side of the island to the other are small. Whilst you do get electric front windows, they require you to keep you finger on the button as they lack a one-touch facility.

Hyundai increased the wheelbase by 45mm for the second generation i20 and that has been of particular benefit for rear seat passengers. Space in the rear is good for a small car, with plenty of headroom and enough legroom even if the front seats are set well back. Width is such that three adults would be a tight squeeze but that is the case for all cars of this size. Evidence of the relatively low level of standard equipment of the car came from the fact that it featured manual windows but at least there is a map pocket and bins on the doors.

The boot on the i20 is a good size, with plenty of depth to the load area though the consequence of this is that there is quite a high sill over which items have to be lifted. More room can be created by dropping down the asymmetrically split rear seat backrests. When they are folded down, the resulting load area is not flat but you do get a lot more space. Under the boot floor there is a space saver tyre but there is no room around this for anything at all to be tucked away. Inside the passenger compartment, there is a good-sized glovebox as well as door bins and a recess in front of the gearlever.

All i20 models of this generation come with 5 doors, though there is a slightly higher-riding version called the Active, with the fashionable plastic body cladding and “faux off-roader” looks.  I did not manage to find much info about the range of i20 versions offered in Malta, but would guess that the test car was from the entry point to the range. It did feature alloy wheels, front fog lights, air conditioning, and front electric windows, but not a lot else in the way of luxury features. This would seem to correspond to something between the S and SE trim of UK market cars. For the UK market, the 2018 facelift brought with it an improvement in specification, as all Hyundai i20 models gained a seven-inch infotainment touchscreen. It works with Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and also served as a display for the rear view camera but none of these items were on my test car. The S model lacks even alloy wheels and fog lights, so the spec really is a bit on the meagre side and it is the only one available with the less powerful 75 bhp engine. The Hyundai i20 SE comes with a new design for the 15” alloy wheels, air-conditioning, all-round electric windows, front fog lights, LED daytime running lamps, projector headlamps, rear parking sensors, cruise control with speed limiter function and electric rear windows. Trim additions include a leather steering wheel and gear knob. The latest i20 SE also introduced Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Driver Attention Alert and High Beam Assist. It is available with the 1.0 T-GDi 100PS engine, with either a 5 speed manual transmission or the 7 speed dual clutch transmission. The Hyundai i20 Premium added climate control, while the Hyundai i20 Premium SE provided heated front seats and steering wheel, keyless entry and a panoramic sunroof. Raising the specification further, the i20 Premium Nav trim includes new design 16” alloy wheels, dark grey front grille, LED rear lamps, front and rear parking sensors, rear view camera, climate control, privacy glass, power folding mirrors, 7” Touchscreen Navigation with DAB radio, Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto™, automatic wipers, auto dimming rear view mirror and front centre arm rest. The i20 Premium Nav is available with the 1.0 T-GDi 100PS engine, with either a 5 speed manual transmission or the 7 speed dual clutch transmission. The top of the range i20 Premium Nav SE 5 door adds smart key with push button engine start/stop, panoramic sunroof, heated front seats and steering wheel, chrome effect door handles and a grey radiator grille to the Premium Nav specification. The i20 Premium Nav SE is also available with the 1.0 T-GDi 120PS engine and a 6 speed manual transmission.

For what I wanted, travelling about the small island of Malta, the i20 was pretty much perfect. It was easy to drive, and more importantly, perhaps, fitted into the tight spaces you always get in places like this. It proved comfortable and there was plenty of room in it which would have mattered if there had been more than just me and an item of hand luggage to transport. It is not exciting, for sure, but that did not matter unduly for the needs I had in my few days of vacation. How does that translate to somewhere like the UK, though? Well, sales of the model have been steady if not spectacular, with around 100,000 sold over the last few years, and you can be sure that most people who have chosen one have probably done so more with their head than their heart. The i20 is a sensible and practical small car that will doubtless prove to be a great ownership experience, as all Hyundai models are, but it is not really a car that you would truly want. Hyundai hopes to change all that with the recently released latest generation model with very edgy styling and a whole more pizzazz. How well that succeeds is a matter for another day but the evidence of this test suggests that you could do worse than this outgoing generation i20 with its large dose of “sensible shoes”.