2010 HYUNDAI i10 KAPPA2

With the brilliant Kappa2 engine under the hood, the already superb i10 takes a big step forward and drives itself clean out of the reach of any of its nearest rivals

DESIGN AND ENGINEERING
In tune with the step up in performance are the aggressive looks.
The smiling front has gone under the knife and it now looks more mature.
The larger hexagonal grille mimics Hyundai’s family look, the new headlamps look classy and the front bumper now houses a larger air dam.

The outside rearview mirrors on the top-end variant come with integrated turn indicators and body coloured mouldings.
The rear bumper too comes with a body coloured rub strip as compared to the black-coloured one on the old i10.
The re-sculpted rear bumper also gets reflectors and parking sensors.
The design of the tail-lamps has been tweaked as well, giving it a more angular look.

INTERIOR

On the inside, the all-beige interiors are now replaced with a two-tone finish.
The dash now sports a dark grey colour and, thanks to the darker shade, it no longer reflects in the front windscreen on sunny days.
Otherwise, the design and layout of the cabin are similar to the outgoing car.
We like the way the interiors are still airy, comfortable, well detailed and solidly built.
Things like the silver finish on the centre console, top-notch switchgear and precise fit of plastic parts deliver a feel-good factor you wouldn’t expect in this segment.
Front seat comfort is good, with good overall support.
The rear seat is just right too with decent amount of space present.

PERFORMANCE AND ECONOMY

The key difference here is the variable valve timing which has given the 1.2-litre Kappa bigger lungs.
The upgraded engine produces the same 79bhp at 6000rpm and 11.4kgm at 4000rpm, which means it should feel the same, but a short stint behind the wheel will force a rethink.
The VTVT system means the Kappa2 feels like it makes more power lower in the powerband than the previous Kappa and this is instantly apparent.
It feels like a much larger capacity engine, almost like a 1.6-litre motor.
The i10 now jumps off the blocks with just an inch of throttle travel and the Kappa2  revs happily till its 6700rpm redline.
This phenomenal acceleration carries on unabated and incredibly, the i10 is quicker to 100kph than the Skoda Fabia 1.6! This makes the Kappa2 a sheer delight to drive not only in the city but also on the highway.
It’s a whole lot more refined than the old Kappa motor as well.
Where the Kappa motor would feel strained past 4500rpm, version 2 feels noticeably smoother.
That said, it doesn’t pull as cleanly to the top as, say, the Swift’s 1.2 K-series motor.
The Kappa2 obliterates the 0-100kph set by the Kappa motor, reaching the mark almost a second quicker — a good indicator of how fast this car really is.
The Kappa2 easily keeps up with highway traffic and doesn’t feel as if it is running out of breath.
Nevertheless, if you want more pace to overtake, all that is needed is a quick step down on the light-action, snappy gearbox.
In-gear acceleration is hugely improved as well, with the new i10 taking 14.09sec for 20-80kph and 23.22sec for 40-100kph, the tweaked gear ratios and the engine’s new-found responsiveness helping here.
The real good news is this extra performance hasn’t affected fuel efficiency.
We got an identical 11.7kpl and 16kpl for the city and highway cycles respectively. These figures are very impressive considering the amount of power on tap.

RIDE AND HANDLING

The tall 80 profile tyres are carried over onto this car as well, and bump absorption and ride quality are pretty decent.
Large craters do cause some crashing and it does get quite choppy over high speed bumps but otherwise most road irregularities are dealt with silently.
The overall stance, the positive feel from the electric steering system, and the confidence with which the i10 Kappa2 handles and corners also means that you can really have a blast driving this car.
That said, the i10 does suffer from relative lack of grip due to the narrow 155 section tyres and the added performance of the Kappa2 engine means you often feel the need for extra grip.