USED Hyundai i10 Hatchback (08 - )

My car

I've just sold this car after nearly 3 years of ownership, so I've got to know it quite well! The equipment level is really good for this class of car, particularly at the price, though the cabin is a little like being cocooned in hard black plastic. I don't like the wheels - those alloys are impossible to keep clean with their narrow slots. The ride is a little jittery too, and it's impossible to pull away smoothly with the juddery clutch, although I heard there was a fix for that and it only occurs on the earliest versions of the 1.2. My car also had a wheel bearing failure at 8000 miles - not good, Hyundai, though obviously it was fixed under warranty. The headlamp adjusters whirr constantly behind the dash which is clearly a fault, but I never bothered to get it fixed. Oh - and the aux-in socket has intermittant loss of contact, so I couldn't play my MP3 player through the audio. Anyway, faults aside the car was quite good fun to drive and the 1.2 engine is nippy for suburban driving, although it will run out of legs when you accelerate to motorway speeds. The latest facelifted version (mine was a 58 plate) is much better looking and holds its own amongst any of the European competitors. And while we're on the subject of the competition - where else would you buy a car this much fun, this well equipped, and with a 5 year warranty? OK, Kia....

My car

An excellent town car and very good on the motorway too. Excellent visibility and very quiet also. The auto box on my 1.2 Comfort is also similarly excellent - the best auto box I've driven! Very good build quality and good MPG as well! I thoroughly recommend this car - and when you see the price, you will be blown away from the competition. Oh and a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty too!

My car

I love this little car to bits. My wife hates the look of it. Each to their own.

It's easy to drive and an amazing amount of kit for the money. We downsized from the i30 simply to save money all round: on tax, insurance, petrol and repayments.

You feel six inches taller as the driving position is high; more so than the i30, but that suits me fine. Gears are a breeze to select, which I prefer from the i30, which were a lot stiffer. The intermittent wipes aren't variable, but that's a tiny gripe. The seats are firm, which I like and I can still plug my iPod in through the Aux socket and it sounds great.

Overall I'm thrilled with it. The only down-side is a small but annoying rattle coming from somewhere around the CD area on the dash, more pronounced over bumpy roads or at low revs. It's been there since day 1 and we're taking it back for the dealer to have a look next week. The road noise while driving isn't too obtrusive, and I'd much rather hear that than this rattle. If that can be fixed it's a definite 5-stars all round.