I need opinions - i20N

[jacobtt3]

Hi.
I’m heavily considering ordering a new i20N.
I was wondering if some current owners could give me their overall opinions on the car after living with one long term - is there anything that really annoys you, or has anything gone wrong? What’s it like to live with on a day to day basis?
Also, what’s the overall cost of ownership like? My current car is stupidly cheap to run.

Boring context:
I’m 19 and i’ve never even considered buying a brand new car before - scared of the depreciation- but I don’t see the point in paying £23-£25k for a 2 year old one with 10-15k miles when i can pay around £26k for a brand spanker.

My local dealership has weighed me through my options, and the best price they’re offering me is £26,285 with delivery in January 2024. This is for an Intense Blue car with a Black Roof, and BOSE speakers. Is this a good price or should i negotiate harder??

I’ve currently got a 2019 Audi A3 S Line. I’ve had the car 2 years and it has been completely reliable, and my long term average mpg over 30,000 miles is 57 mpg (it’s petrol).
I’m hoping the i20N will also be reliable.

 

[The Big Miester]

Hi I not got one as yet got exact same spec on order since 10th May..!! not expecting a quick turn around was given by the one dealer September Delivery but I don't hold hope on this time frame so going for the long hall and be a pleasant surprise if it comes earlier, very much looking forward to getting it though as going by the test drive a right good fun car
Mpg wise I definitely say not as frugal as your A3, I would suggest long term depending on style and driving distance an average 35mpg, others will say deferent I expect lol

 

[YNWaN]

Well, it was a long time ago since I was 19, but I will try to answer. Cost of ownership is reasonable and the same as any other car of this type. Inevitably front tyre wear will be heavier than on a lower powered car and fuel economy is anywhere between 20 and 50mpg depending on how you drive it and how much motorway driving you do. You absolutely will not achieve an average mpg of 57mpg no matter how gently you drive it. As for negotiating, well you don’t really have any leverage. The cars are in very short supply and dealers can sell all they get. Secondly, I assume you are buying on some form of credit and that doesn’t help either.

As to the ownership experience, well mine is exactly a year old and I love it. Nothing has vaguely gone wrong and it drives fantastic. I say this last as someone who has driven a lot more expensive cars, Evo’s, Scubbies M3’s etc.

 

[jacobtt3]

Well, it was a long time ago since I was 19, but I will try to answer. Cost of ownership is reasonable and the same as any other car of this type. Inevitably front tyre wear will be heavier than on a lower powered car and fuel economy is anywhere between 20 and 50mpg depending on how you drive it and how much motorway driving you do. You absolutely will not achieve an average mpg of 57mpg no matter how gently you drive it. As for negotiating, well you don’t really have any leverage. The cars are in very short supply and dealers can sell all they get. Secondly, I assume you are buying on some form of credit and that doesn’t help either.

As to the ownership experience, well mine is exactly a year old and I love it. Nothing has vaguely gone wrong and it drives fantastic. I say this last as someone who has driven a lot more expensive cars, Evo’s, Scubbies M3’s etc.

Thank you both. I’m mainly hearing good things so that’s made me more confident about my decision.
You have backed up my thought that I wouldn’t have much room for negotiation due to the demand/ and the lack of stock dealers have available… Yes you’re correct, the £26k price is based on cash, whereas they’ve offered me RRP for HP finance.

Im fortunate enough to be in a position to buy outright, so i’m thinking that’s the way to go as it will cost me less long term versus finance (although all that cash tied up in a car does make me scared lol)

Thanks for your insight.

 

[_Emma]

Had ours almost 18 months, and it’s a good run around.

No real moans about it, it’s plodding along nicely. Expect to ditch the Pirelli’s as fast as you can, they last around 9-10k miles on the fronts. Interior is fine, only rattle noise for ours is the seats squeaking which is annoying. In the rain it’s noisy in the cabin, can hear rain in the doors and hitting the roof. I’m nitpicking to a point. There’s issues with water in the rear light cluster (a well known issues) but other than that I don’t think there’s been huge problems across the board. It’s good on fuel, my ‘wonderful’ commute of 30 miles which is now mainly roadworks gives me over 50mpg which is bloody ridiculous. For comparison my DCT is about 36ish in the same route.

With the price etc, hunt about of course, but also see if they’ll sling in a service plan or stuff like that. You might get more luck that way. You may also get a better deal next month just before the new reg comes in if you can wait a few weeks. Also take the finance if it offers you a better deal, you can pay it off without penalties. If you pay it off within 14 days you don’t get charged any interest. We did this, got £1500 off and then you can do what you want. Just double check they’ve not recently changed this to be sure.

We’ve hit the itchy hands stage of ownership with ours, I think, and suspect it’ll be gone within the next 6 or so months. The prices they’re charging new and second hand are ridiculous, but I’m lucky it plays in our favour. Our trade in will likely be more than we paid for it or there abouts. I’d just keep looking around if you’re in no real rush and happy enough with the car you have.

 

[YNWaN]

I don’t see how you could use the new registration as leverage to get a better deal, it’s not like they have a pre-registered one on the forecourt. By the time it arrives at least two registrations will have passed!

 

[Carlos]

Well not sure about actual delivery dates, that's why so many cars are now expensive for a second hand one because you end up waiting 12 months for it to arrive after the dealer tells you its only 3 or 4 months away when you order it.

 

[_Emma]

I don’t see how you could use the new registration as leverage to get a better deal, it’s not like they have a pre-registered one on the forecourt. By the time it arrives at least two registrations will have passed!

Hence the use of ‘you may’ when I mentioned that.

 

[GR4H4M]

I came to the same conclusion, why pay £20k for a 2/3yr old car with 000's on the clock, when you could pay £25k (ish) for a brand new car... I ordered mine May 2023 from Eden Torbay on 0% finance, which is in effect a £3k discount over 3yrs! Just put down a deposit (minimum £500 to secure the car and get in production), then spread the remaining balance over 36mths. They could not do anything on the price and the only 'extras' I got from them was a set of mats! Though as part of their 0% finance package, they were also offering free servicing for 3yrs (30k).

Discounts wise, the only deals at the time were Marshall Group (Worcester) I believe and they were offering around £2k off the list price. Eden could and would match this, however you would forfeit the 0% deal and this will then be through Hyundai's own finance scheme at 8.8% APR, at which point wipes out the initial discount and some!

I was always needing finance, so as a cash buyer, I think you got a great deal - basically got the car for list price, with the optional extras chucked in!

 

[Yoko70]

Hallo,

Wir haben Ende Dezember 2022 einen neuen I20N gesucht. Habe in Berlin einen Händler gefunden .
Probefahrt gemacht und für super befunden er hatte 2 km auf dem Tacho. Diesen haben wir dann auch sofort gekauft.
Das Auto ist für meine Frau, wir sind beide über 50 und sind trotzdem super begeistert von dem Gerät.
Er drückt Dir wirklich ein Grinsen ins Gesicht. Wir haben den Kauf wirklich nicht bereut. Das Auto ist alltagstauglich, auf schlechten Straßen merkt man schon ein wenig das straffe Fahrwerk. Das macht er aber mit seiner Beschleunigung und Straßenlage wirklich wieder weg. Wir haben uns immer für Neuwagen entschieden, schon der Garantie halber. Wenn Sie ein Problem mit dem Auto haben, greift es ohne Diskussionen die Garantie. Unsere und Fahrzeuge waren uns sind Mazda mit denen gibt es keine Sorgen sind wirklich zuverlässig. Das hoffen wir auch bei dem I20N.
Kaufe Dir ein Neuwagen du wirst es nicht bereuen. Viel Spaß.

 

[jacobtt3]

I came to the same conclusion, why pay £20k for a 2/3yr old car with 000's on the clock, when you could pay £25k (ish) for a brand new car... I ordered mine May 2023 from Eden Torbay on 0% finance, which is in effect a £3k discount over 3yrs! Just put down a deposit (minimum £500 to secure the car and get in production), then spread the remaining balance over 36mths. They could not do anything on the price and the only 'extras' I got from them was a set of mats! Though as part of their 0% finance package, they were also offering free servicing for 3yrs (30k).

Discounts wise, the only deals at the time were Marshall Group (Worcester) I believe and they were offering around £2k off the list price. Eden could and would match this, however you would forfeit the 0% deal and this will then be through Hyundai's own finance scheme at 8.8% APR, at which point wipes out the initial discount and some!

I was always needing finance, so as a cash buyer, I think you got a great deal - basically got the car for list price, with the optional extras chucked in!

Update. I’ve ordered one today…. Intense Blue, Black Roof + Bose Speakers.
I’ve managed to get that spec for £25,800, with 3 years free servicing thrown in. They have also said they would honour that price on finance should I choose to on delivery.

I ended having to go past the salesperson, then the branch manager and finally the “General Sales Director” - whatever that means lol.

Pretty excited now… I’ve been told to expect delivery in January but i’m not expecting it then tbh.

 

[Blue2]

Update. I’ve ordered one today…. Intense Blue, Black Roof + Bose Speakers.
I’ve managed to get that spec for £25,800, with 3 years free servicing thrown in. They have also said they would honour that price on finance should I choose to on delivery.

I ended having to go past the salesperson, then the branch manager and finally the “General Sales Director” - whatever that means lol.

Pretty excited now… I’ve been told to expect delivery in January but i’m not expecting it then tbh.

Great price! I've got the same spec and really happy with it. Awesome little machine and average 40mpg most of the time.

 

[The Big Miester]

Update. I’ve ordered one today…. Intense Blue, Black Roof + Bose Speakers.
I’ve managed to get that spec for £25,800, with 3 years free servicing thrown in. They have also said they would honour that price on finance should I choose to on delivery.

I ended having to go past the salesperson, then the branch manager and finally the “General Sales Director” - whatever that means lol.

Pretty excited now… I’ve been told to expect delivery in January but i’m not expecting it then tbh.

Great choice same as mine on order
That price is great as well compares the same as the deal I got..!!
I've not chased a date on mine as yet but yeah be surprised if I get mine this year but I don't mind awaiting

 

[ethanroberts]

Long-term ownership feedback for the i20N is generally positive. Most owners report strong reliability, with very few mechanical issues, and Hyundai’s warranty helps reduce risk for a first performance car. Running costs are higher than your A3, mainly due to fuel, tyres, and insurance. Real-world mpg sits around 28–35 depending on driving style, with harder use dropping it further. Tyre wear on the front axle is expected for a front-wheel-drive hot hatch, but nothing extreme for the segment.

From a day-to-day perspective, it’s easy to live with, but insurance at 19 can be the biggest shock, so it’s worth getting quotes early. Depreciation is also something to factor in, even though buying new at a strong deal can make sense if you plan to keep it. From a budgeting perspective, stepping from an A3 to a hot hatch is more about total cost planning, and some drivers map out longer-term affordability with guidance from Mercer Wealth Management when considering multi-year ownership and cashflow stability.

At £26,285 for your spec, pricing looks fair given current demand and limited stock, so negotiation room is limited. Overall, it’s a rewarding upgrade if the focus is fun and engagement over economy, and it should feel like a proper step up in excitement from your A3.

 

[PCPHeros]

Exquisitely beautiful, near 3 year thread bump