I felt a little rushed to word this piece together � that reminder of a phone call and all. Nevertheless, I believe all things happen for a reason and this may be a blessing in disguise for my excessive procrastination of late. Also, I shall be out of town for a hopefully nice drive and to attend an off-coast medical seminar. Honestly I am looking forward to more of the former, what with a rather iconic roadster.
It has been ages since I actually drove a micro-mini. That was when my then girlfriend � and subsequently my missus - had a Perodua Kancil 850EZ. It was a bumpy, shaky and buzzy little box of steel, rolling on four puny wheels. Imagine my enthusiasm when I picked up the Hyundai (aka Inokom) i10 from Hyundai Sime-Darby just last weekend. Nothing at fault with this Korean marque or its reputation, it�s just that I thought I had outgrown such sub-1000cc hatch for close to decade now.
Not knowing the exact engine capacity and the class it belonged to, I just drove it out of
There is even a more appealing frontal visage that�s simply neat, cute and modern. What impressed me even more is the dashboard and the centre column mounted gear lever. While the dash may a little drab in monotonous grey, I absolutely like the triple layered execution with different textures materials. Albeit hard plastics, the end defect is far from bargain-basement or el-cheapo. Nice.
The i10 is also spacious for its dimunitive size. You can sit three abreast at the back and it is far from being a tight squeeze. Elbow room at the front is adequate even for my �petite� built. On the go, the i10 feels more Conti-esque than Korean and that�s a good thing considering that some of the local and even Japanese marquees don�t convey such feedback, yet.
Hyundai�s 12-valve SOHC 4-pot engine here may be vocal when stretched and the i10 may be mostly left lane mover - especially if you have slowed down on the way up a gradient - but that�s to be expected from this1086cc lump worth a 66bhp and 99Nm combo. Overall, I find the i10 more convincing than any of the mini hatches from Perodua. Pity that the i10�s RM47k price tag will likely lead to early elimination from many potential buyers� shortlist.
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