We saw the new 2020 Hyundai i10 only a few weeks ago. Now, at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Korean company revealed its sharpest version called the Hyundai i10 N-Line. Garnished with performance-inspired and N-developed decorations, the Hyundai i10 N-Line combines fresh wheel design, new bumpers, and other styling cues to evoke a certain hot-hatch quality.

The 2020 Hyundai i10 N-Line comes with a 1.2-liter, N/A gasoline engine developing 83 horsepower and 87 pound-feet of torque. However, you can have it with a turbocharged mill as well. The 1.0-liter, turbocharged three-cylinder unit provides 99 horsepower and 127 pound-feet of torque.

True, these numbers don't feel like much, but the i10 would feel zippy with that one-liter mill. Here's the reasoning behind that claim: the Volkswagen Up! GTI has a 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder. And it is freaking awesome. The VW Golf Mk1 GTI from 1976 had a 108-horsepower engine with 101 pound-feet of torque. It was also awesome. The 2020 Hyundai i10 N-Line is a perpetrator of pure motoring fun - just as hot hatchbacks were some time ago.

2020 Hyundai i10 N-Line Looks Sharp, Fun, and Courageous Like a Shih Tzu

To differentiate the Hyundai i10 N-Line from its standard non N-line brethren, Hyundai resorted to a set of rather standard procedures that accompany these kinds of works. First and foremost, Hyundai redesigned bumpers and grille. The new LED daytime lights landed on the grille as well.

"Taking inspiration from our high-performance sub-brand Hyundai N, the i10 N Line features an even more dynamic look. In the past year, N Line has become an essential component of our model strategy, and we are excited to introduce the N Line character to our i10 customers," said Andreas-Christoph Hofmann, Vice President Marketing and Product at Hyundai Motor Europe said.

Following the N-Line Hyundai i30 reasoning, I really thought that Hyundai would make some suspension upgrades on the new i30 N-line. That does not seem to be the case. The only change worth noting is the integration of the new 16-inch wheels. These wheels do feature a neat red detail in the center basically mimicking center-lock wheels. A nice touch, we guess. Other features on the outside also include three neatly-painted red slits in the grille, red lower part of the front bumper, and red i10 badges on the sides of the car behind the rear windows.

Moving inside reveals yet more red. Stitching on the steering wheel is, of course, red, as well as the detail on the gear lever. We find the interior of the new i10 rather pleasant, especially with the large central screen and a display for the automatic air-con system. It is a dramatic change compared to what we have seen on the previous iterations on the car. The N-badged model also features a slightly different steering wheel, and a fresh red vent surrounds.

More importantly than all that is the fact that the i10 has better seats with far thicker side bolsters and aluminum pedals. All in the name of performance. If you really zoomed over the interior pic, you may have noticed that the i10 features a 5-speed manual transmission. It is a standard issue for the 1.2-liter and the 1.0-liter engine. Bear in mind that each transmission has a unique gearing that fits the engine.

We've also glanced a bit at the gear ratio numbers Hyundai so pleasantly provided. The 1.0-liter has a tad longer first and second gear, with a bit shorter gearing for the third and fourth. This tells us it is better set up for fun, as it will give a far more temperate acceleration behaviour. This also tells us what we've been suspecting all along. That is not as quick as the Volkswagen Up! GTI - which can do the same in 8.6 seconds, but it is not bad at all. In fact, the Hyundai i10 N-Line 1.0 T-GDI with a possible 0-60 mph time of nine seconds and a top speed of more than 115 mph is quicker compared to the Golf Mk1 GTI. That's kind of awesome.

The other i10 N-line model with a 1.2-liter N/A engine is not as brisk. It needs more than 12 seconds to reach 62 mph, and more than 15 if equipped with a five-speed automatic. It is a slow car, but a cheaper one as well.

2020 Hyundai i10 N-Line specifications

Engine

1.2 MPi engine

1.0 T-GDiengine

Architecture

4-cylinder MPi

3-cylinder T-GDi

Power (PS)

84

100

Torque (Nm)

118

172

Transmission

5MT / 5AMT

5MT

Maximum speed(km/h)

171 / 171

TBA

0-to-100 km/h acceleration(sec)

12.6 / 15.8

TBA


Further reading

2019 Hyundai i10 Is so Cute That You Just Want to Pet It

The Hyundai i30 N Line Isn’t A Hot-Hatch, Yet It Looks Stimulating Like One