Good city cars are hard to find, although there is a wide variety of choice. Hyundai's new i10 hopes to make its mark, says Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor, and while it's worth a test drive, it doesn't head this particular poll.
WHAT'S THE secret to a good city car? It's a question that is all the more relevant on the Irish market, as buyers look to cut their motoring costs at a time when the small city car market is burgeoning with new offerings.
The answer, it seems, is being able to offer buyers the travel independence that comes with a personal car, while at the same time keeping the costs of ownership to a minimum.
The average buyers of these cars do very little mileage. Often they are rural owners pottering to the shops for milk, or town dwellers who use public transport for their daily routines, but like to have a car on hand for local weekend visits or shopping runs.
Some car firms will have you believe they can also look trendy and cool, but in reality few stand up to serious scrutiny on that account.
For all the advertisements about street cred, young trendsetters hopping off their skateboards and popping into their city cars, many companies have found that either these buyers still want to drive a sports car, or couldn't afford a new "cool" little supermini even if they wanted one. Students the world over have one thing in common it seems: they're broke.
The reality is that buyers want some family practicality and another option to taking the bus or walking to the shops. These cars should be reliable, functional and financially cheap.
It's a boon if they can add a little fun and finesse to the package, but that's pretty far down the shopping list.
From a European perspective, there's been one brand flying the flag for some time: Fiat. The Italian firm has specialised in this for years, and one where it still manages to add that fun element to the mix without too much trouble. Take its new 500 for example, this year's European car of the year.
Alongside the Italians, the Asians have long mastered the art as well, particularly for their home markets.
Traffic-clogged streets in Tokyo and Seoul are lined with little boxy cars. The principles of these vehicles would seem ideal for similar traffic jams in Europe. Yet we don't seem quite as receptive to these cars as we should be.
So the Koreans and Japanese have turned to European designers to guide them in the wiles of European motoring tastes.
For Hyundai that means a complete revamp of its conventional car line-up, starting with the recently launched i30 and now this, its smallest entrant, the i10.
Before the year is out we can expect a Ford Fiesta-challenging i20 to hit the market as well, followed by the most radical change of all, a very smart challenger to the likes of the Ford Mondeo.
There is no doubting the Korean determination to make their mark on Europe, and though they are a relatively small player now, there are big plans to turn both Hyundai - and its sibling brand Kia - into major players.
The grand plan would see Hyundai taking up a more premium position, while Kia becomes more youth-oriented and mainstream. Where the i10 fits in this great scheme is hard to fathom.
This is a small city car, and as such is rather restrained in terms of performance. It's light and nippy around town, although it loses some of its edge on national routes.
The interior is functional, but the seats are rather roughly upholstered, and the plastic on the steering wheel and gear-knob feels incredibly harsh on your hands if driving for a while. In other markets there is a leatherette wheel available that should be offered here. Without it, the overall impression is rather austere.
Of particular annoyance in our test car was the constant vibration from the engine that fed into the cabin through the accelerator pedal and steering wheel.
Then again, this is a car on sale for less than €12,000. And for that it does offer a good degree of flexibility.
The i10 is also officially a five-seater, with three seatbelt fittings on the back row. In reality, while legroom is not really an issue, you would need a household of supermodel waifs to fit three hips across the back bench.
Hyundai has missed a trick by not including a sliding seat feature on the rear bench. While we're not cost accountants, it could not have cost that much to add this rather basic mechanical mechanism to the car, thereby increasing its flexibility in terms of bootspace and legroom.
The i10 is actually quite a tall little car, certainly compared to the early iterations of the supposedly larger Getz.
And though there seems little in the way of footprint for the car, and the back door seems to end right at the boot, inside there's still a spacious feel to the cabin, surprisingly so even from the back.
In a short little city car test we got two six-footers and sat one in the driver's seat, and one directly behind.
We never thought it would work without some form of contortion, but there was no problem. The only complaint from either was the quality of the seat covers.
Hyundai has opted for the new, larger 1,086cc engine in this car, rather than the 1-litre used by sister firm Kia in its manual transmission Picanto.
It needs that if the car is loaded, but its 0-100km/h time of 16.1 seconds - interminably slow on paper - is not reflected as badly on the road, where it does seem a lot more nimble than the official figures would suggest.
The ride is firm yet never back-breaking, while it handles very well in town traffic and even at motorway speed it's not the white-knuckle ride some would expect to sit through at 120km/h.
This car has its strong points. It's surprisingly spacious inside, the engine can perform better than the stats would have you believe, and the central console and controls are much better than the outgoing Atoz.
What lets this car down is a few too many compromises to keep the costs down.
It's a practical little city car that comes from a well-respected brand in Ireland these days. The good vibe set by the i30 should have continued here.
And in many ways it does.
It's just that while we know it's more about practical motoring than premium comfort, some of the features in the cabin, like the seat coverings and the hard plastic steering wheel, leave a feeling of austerity about it.
We'd happily sacrifice the silly 15-inch alloys for an improved cabin. Who needs alloys when they drive a car this size?
The city car buyer is currently spoiled for choice. This new Hyundai is only the latest in a long line of small car entrants to the market.
Rivals like the Renault Twingo and the trio of city cars created during the joint venture between Toyota, Citroën and Peugeot are all vying for attention. Then there is Fiat, long-time expert in the small car field, and featuring two award winners in the small car class: the Panda and the smart new 500.
If your budget is in the region of €13,000, then shop around. This i10 is a strong contender due to a spacious cabin, lively little engine, a good warranty offer and AA membership.
The Panda would still be our first choice, but not everyone is enamoured with Fiat and this would be a viable alternative, alongside its sibling the Picanto and the Toyota Aygo.
It's worth a test drive, but it's also worth Hyundai reconsidering some of the little features to make ownership that little bit more comfortable.
FACTFILE - Hyundai i10 Deluxe
CC:1086 0-100km/h: 16.1 seconds
Max speed:150km/h
BHP:62
Consumption:5l/100km (56.5mpg)
Price:€11,995
Engine:1086cc four-cylinder petrol engine putting out 62bhp @ 5,500rpm and 99Nm of torque @ 2,800rpm
Specification:driver, passenger and side airbags; ABS with EBD; central locking; power steering; electric windows; three rear seatbelts and two sets of Isofix clips in back row; Radio/CD with six speakers; 60/40 split folding rear seats; front and rear fog lights; 15" alloy wheels; rear colour coded spoiler with brake lights; three-year AA membership and there is a three-year unlimited mileage warranty. Optional automatic transmission (€2,000)
L/100km (mpg):urban: 6.1 (46.3); extra-urban: 4.4 (64.2); combined: 5.0 (56.5)
CO2 emissions:119g/km
Tax:annual motor tax: €100;
VRT:14 per cent in band A
Price:€11,995 (€13,995 automatic)
THE COMPETITION
Renault Twingo 1.2 Dynamique
CC: 1149
BHP: 75
Speed: 170km/h
0-100km/h: 9.8 secs
L/100km: 5.7
CO2: 135g/km
Motor tax: €150
Price: €12,500
Fiat Panda 1.2 Dynamic
CC: 1242
BHP: 60
Speed: 155km/h
0-100km/h: 14 secs
L/100km: 5.6
CO2: 133g/km
Motor tax: €150
Price: €11,995
Kia Picanto 1.0 5dr LX
CC: 999
BHP: 61
Speed: 153km/h
0-100km/h: 15.8 secs
L/100km: 5.1
CO2: 117g/km
Motor tax: €100
Price: €11,495
Toyota Aygo 1.0 5dr Aura
CC: 998
BHP: 68
Speed: 157km/h
0-100km/h: 14.2 secs
L/100km: 4.6
CO2: 109g/km
Motor tax: €100
Price: €11,720