Hyundai is aiming to hit several birds with the stone called the i20 1.4 CRDi: the Honda Jazz, Skoda Fabia and the Fiat Punto MultiJet.
The car has lots of things going for it. It has the looks, the space, decent ride quality, brilliant safety kit, lots of feel-good bits and an excellent build quality too. The 1.4 diesel motor has decent go, developing about 89 bhp and over 22 kgm of torque. Which is more than what the famous engine in the Fiat Punto offers. The Fiat, on the other hand, has ravishing looks - yes, better than the i20's - and it offers a better ride, as expected. The Fiat motor needs time to spool up, which hampers in-city driveability, but once it does, it's really fun to drive. Where the Fiat scores over the i20 is in the driving dynamics - the steering has better feedback and the handling is really exemplary. The i20 is more sedate and is not exactly fun to drive; the steering feedback is missing and the chassis is not nimble. Though the driver's car between the two is the Fiat Punto MultiJet, it's the Hyundai i20 CRDi which is overall a better buy despite being more expensive. Our choice? The i20 CRDi.
