Hyundai i10 ES Special Edition : HY ON VALUE

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Hyundai's i10 is even better value in ES special edition guise. Steve Walker takes a look.

Value for money has always been a Hyundai i10 strongpoint but the ES special edition makes it that little bit stronger. A height adjustable driver's seat, remote central locking and a series of styling upgrades are thrown in for 400 quid. You can't say farer than that in this highly competent citycar.

Lots of city cars aim to be more than economical transport to combat the challenges posed by our built-up areas; they want to be cool and fashionable too. The public aren't asked for an opinion. Manufacturers produce what they feel will hit the right notes with trendy urbanites around the globe, tell us it's the car to be seen in around town and charge a premium for it. Hyundai's i10 is a city car but it maintains a respectable distance from this hip end of the market, preferring to trade on quality and value rather than retro design and lively colour schemes. In ES special edition guise, it remains true to form with the value angle jacked up a couple of notches. The i10 is the replacement for the Amica, a car that was retired from the UK market in 2003 before being brought back from the grave for a 2006 swansong. It wasn't particularly appetising during its first stint and rather like last night's mackerel carbonara, it hadn't improved much the next time we saw it. The i10, however, is a thoroughly different proposition. Hyundai was at pains to remind us that its i30 family hatchback was designed and is built in Europe around European tastes. The i10 city car is targeting the top performers in its sector in a similar way, except it's screwed together in India. The ES edition of the i10 is only offered with the 1.1-litre engine. It's a four-cylinder petrol unit that produces its peak power at 5,500rpm and develops maximum torque of 99Nm at 2,800rpm. These figures make similar reading to those of the 1.0-litre three-cylinder powerplant that's used by the i10's Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 107 rivals but where that engine has fractionally more power, the i10's has fractionally more torque. The car doesn't replicate the energetic, nimble feel of the sportier city car offerings preferring instead to major on comfort. It has one of the longest wheelbases in the class and it rides with the composure of a larger vehicle on its soft suspension. It ticks all of the urban driving boxes with decent visibility and a stubby nose facilitating a tight turning circle. The engine performs adequately in traffic but needs to be worked quite hard out of town.

"Put the vagaries of fashion to one side and these are few modern city cars to touch this Hyundaiâ€¦"

The i10's 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, it's a shape that remains usefully compact. The exterior design is appealing in an unadventurous kind of way. The city car market was once riddled with non-descript 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. The interior is the area of the i30 hatchback that most impressed observers. Not because it achieved anything particularly new or groundbreaking but because it managed to ape its leading European rivals so effectively. The i10's cabin looks to do the same and again, the design is simple but appealing. The vibrancy and ingenuity that characterises the best small car interiors doesn't appear to be in evidence but Hyundai looks to have concentrated on getting the fundamentals right. The safety-first approach should help maintain the brand's steady forward momentum. The designers have employed a dash-mounted gear-lever but it's mounted on a bit of the dash that extends down so low that cross-cabin access isn't really on the agenda. The rear bench is set-up to take three passengers unlike the pair of moulded seats you find in the rear of some of its rivals and the i10 is a five-door only model. Practicality should be a strongpoint. The ES version of the i10 amounts to a good slug of additional equipment piled onto the standard Classic trim level. In its everyday guise, an i10 Classic will net you four airbags, air-conditioning, central locking and electric front windows. The ES delivers height adjustment for the driver's seat, remote control for the central locking and a series of colour-coded insets to brighten up the cabin. The exterior is rendered a little more upmarket by body-coloured door handles, mirrors and bumper inserts. A nice round 1,000 i10 ES models are being made available at prices that represent a £400 increase over the Classic. That's not a bad bit of business considering the extra equipment involved. The 1.1-litre petrol engine produces average fuel economy in the region of 60mpg with emissions that dip under the 120g/km barrier. That's competitive with the leading lights in the city car sector and insurance in group 2 should be equally affordable. Hyundai has another major trick up its sleeve in its bid to break into the European market mainstream - a five-year unlimited mileage warranty. This is a major USP in a market where keeping costs down is of paramount importance for the majority of buyers. Only Hyundai's sister company Kia can match this package and if you're after peace-of-mind motoring, it will prove a tough one to pass up on. Special editions present manufacturers with a good opportunity to let their hair down a little. These limited run models often involve tie-ins with fashion brands or electronics manufacturers. They can incorporate colours, trims or styling accessories deemed too extrovert for the standard range. They can also adopt weird and wonderful titles from exotic place names of celebrities or racing drivers. The Hyundai i10 ES does none of the above. It's a better value i10 and there's a lot to be said for that. The i10 won't attract as many headlines as its more style-conscious rivals but on grounds of value, quality and economy, it's a match for the best of them. Put the vagaries of fashion to one side and these are few modern city cars to touch this Hyundai. In ES trim, its value proposition is stronger still.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Hyundai i10 ES
PRICE: £7,195 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 2
CO2 EMISSIONS: 119g/km
PERFORMANCE: Max Speed 94mph / 0-60mph 15.6s
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (urban) 46.3mpg / (extra urban) 64.2mpg / (combined) 56.5mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: four airbags, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/heightmm 3565/1595/1540