Hyundai i10 interior, tech and practicality

The i10’s cabin is comfy by city-car standards. You get a good view out of all corners, and you don’t feel as if you’re sitting on the floor as in some other cars of this ilk. While the front seats aren’t hugely supportive as you go around corners, they’re easy to slide in and out of – and we’d wager you’re unlikely to buy an i10 if you’re looking for the last word in racetrack handling.

The Hyundai i10 range is split into three trim levels.

Entry-level Advance models sit on 15-inch alloy wheels and get body-coloured bumpers and door mirrors – often entry-level city cars get scratchy matt-black items. You get the aforementioned reversing camera and rear parking sensors, manual air-con, cruise control, an eight-inch colour touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a part digital dashboard. The interior also comes with all-round electric windows, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and gear knob and black cloth seats.

Step up to a Premium i10 and you get all the above, plus bigger 16-inch alloys, rear disc brakes instead of drums, blue ambient mood lighting, black cloth seats with tartan inserts and purple stitching (for that cyberpunk ceilidh vibe), as well as heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and a wireless charging mat for your phone. You also get climate control, brighter projection-style headlamps, front fog lights and tinted rear windows. Electric-folding door mirrors also appear on Premium models, as does keyless entry with a start/stop button for the engine.

Top-spec N Line models add a different design of 16-inch alloy wheels, black door mirrors, a sportier bodykit including red strakes on the front grille, plus black and red seat upholstery. You don’t get the Premium car’s keyless entry for some reason, but N Line is the only trim to come with the best engine – the 1.0-litre 100hp turbo petrol.

Every i10 gets the same eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system plonked on top of the dashboard. It’s reasonably fast to respond to prods and the graphics are ok and reasonably bright, but we found the built-in sat-nav was a little bit awkward to set up. 

Fear not, however, because you can wirelessly connect your smartphone – through Android Auto or Apple CarPlay – and use your phone’s apps on the screen instead. This means you can tap a route into Google Maps on your phone and have it shown on the car’s display so you can safely drive without touching your phone once you’re on the go. Brilliant. 

What’s less impressive is the i10’s four-speaker audio system. It’s just about acceptable, but the big problem is that it’s not upgradeable from the factory – so even top-spec N Line models have the same slightly tinny sound system as the entry-level car.

Perhaps the most useful feature of the i10 is its brilliant rear seats. They’re easily spacious enough to hold two adults in complete comfort, with plenty of headroom and kneeroom even for tall six-footers, as well as room under the front seats for their feet. We’ve driven bigger SUVs that have far less room than the i10’s back seats. 

The middle seat is understandably narrow, but at least there’s not much of a hump in the floor to enforce awkward games of footsie among your passengers.

Rear-seat occupants are also treated to a cupholder at the back of the centre console, as well as a USB-C for charging devices, and large door bins that can hold big bottles of water.

The icing on the cake? The electric rear windows roll down all the way – excellent if your rear-seat passengers are prone to car sickness.

Pop open the i10’s hatchback boot lid and you’re greeted with quite a deep 252-litre boot. It has a reasonably wide opening and there’s room to slot in a single large suitcase but, if you want to use the i10 as an airport taxi, you’ll need to employ the back seats as well. Flip the rear seats down and you’ve got a decent 1,050-litre space. 

Really though, the i10’s boot is about the same as that in the Volkswagen Up and Kia Picanto. It’s big enough for a big food shop, but not a lot more, and there are no useful hooks to stop your spuds spilling all over the place.