Hyundai i20 1.2 Sportz (O) Petrol Knight

The Maruti Suzuki Baleno is the king of the hill in the subcompact premium hatchback segment when it comes to sales figures. Even though the Baleno is sold only through the Nexa outlets, the hatch sells on average close to 15,000 units a month. That said, the benchmark in the segment has always been the Hyundai i20 with its sharp European looks and well made, well equipped package. And now, Hyundai has given the i20 a mid-life facelift with updated exterior bits, minor interior bits and some mechanical upgrades too. So does it help the Hyundai i20's continued benchmark domination of the segment? And can it now take the fight to the Maruti Suzuki Baleno in terms of sales figures too? Read on to find out..

The Hyundai i20 CVT is available in two variants - the Magna and the Asta. Unlike the manual, which offers a higher, spec Asta (dual tone) and Asta (optional) variant, the CVT gets just the standard Asta, which is the top spec variant in its lineup. So what it looses out on as compared to the Asta(O) are a bunch of features that although aren't crucial, would have been nice to have. You don't get the projector headlamps with integrated LED DRLs for starters. Instead, you get a set of daytime running lights integrated into the bumper just below the fog lamps. And in my opinion, these look fantastic! You do however miss out on auto headlamps and cornering lights. You also get dark grey 15-inch wheels as compared to the larger 16-inch diamond cut wheels that are available on the optional package. You also loose out on the likes of a whole bunch of interior features like the leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, and the smart keyless entry with a start-stop button.

Hyundai has played it safe, perhaps given how popular the car already is, and how well accepted its looks are. So while you do get several styling changes, they are largely subtle.

Though the previous i20's Fluidic design was received well in India, Hyundai is looking to widen its horizons with the rather European-esque Fluidic 2.0 design philosophy. The company claims this shift in the design philosophy was to transform the car's image, i.e. it wanted the Elite i20 to come across as 'bold' instead of 'youthful'.

Despite being more expensive than the old model, the new version is selling almost double the units than its predecessor; and that is possibly because of more features it offers at this price point.