Next-gen Hyundai i20 teased

HYUNDAI has teased its upcoming second-generation i20 light car with a pair of sketches ahead of the hatch’s Australian debut sometime next year.

The sketches reveal the latest iteration of the South Korean car-maker’s design language – Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 – and provide an insight to the final design of the Toyota Yaris rival.

Front-end styling as depicted in the images shows that the design will not stray too far from that of its bigger sibling, the i30, while also carrying some cues of the Veloster hatch-cum-coupe, such as the swept-back headlights.

The gaping grille at the front bears more than a passing resemblance to Peugeot’s 208 light hatch, while blacked-out C-pillars and high-set tail-lights give the i20 a sporty look.

Timing for the next-gen i20 is yet to be confirmed but it should arrive in Australian Hyundai dealerships at some point next year.

When it eventually lands, the i20 will face even tougher competition in the light-car segment with a number of rivals due for a replacement or a facelift in the coming months, including the Mazda2, Kia Rio, Volkswagen Polo and Toyota Yaris. Another competitor - Honda’s new-generation Jazz, rolled into showrooms this week.

Where the Australian-spec car is sourced from also remains a mystery, with Hyundai Motor Company Australia public relations general manager Bill Thomas confirming that the Korean brand was “still studying the feasibility of the car”.

“At that end of the market we'd need to be sharp on price, so given the car will be sourced from Turkey if we take it, exchange rates and shipping costs come into play. That makes it more complex,” he said.

“At this stage, we'd definitely prefer to take the European car rather than its Indian sister. Nothing's ruled out right now, though.”

The current version of the i20, which arrived in mid 2010, is sourced from India and is available in two grades – three and five-door Active and five-door-only Elite – and starts from $15,590, plus on-road costs.

Hyundai’s city runabout is currently the most popular light car in Australia, with year-to-date sales of 7736, it is outpacing second-placed Mazda2 on 6616 sales and the Toyota Yaris on 6573 units to the end of June.