Did you know, not only did Top Gear award the Hyundai i20N their performance car of the year in 2021, but this thing actually took out the entire competition; this was the overall Top Gear car of the year.

Think about that for a second, an affordable little South Korean 5-door hot hatch, took on the likes of the Lamborghini Huracan STO, the Ferrari SF90 and the Porsche 992 GT3, and beat them!

Currently, brand new examples retail for around $36,000, but on the used market, pricing kicks off from around $27,000, and granted that will be a higher-kilometre 2021 model.

But let’s say the budget is $30,000, at a stretch, you might be able to get yourself into a 2022 model, and thanks to Hyundai’s 5-year warranty, it could still have a couple of years’ worth of support left on it.

Although the other way to look at it is, why not spend the extra $6000 and get basically a brand new one with a full warranty?

For example, a 2022 Volkswagen Polo GTI retailed at around $39,000; these days, the GTI’s average sale price is around $30,000, whereas a 2022 i20N is more like $35,000.

Think about that, the Polo GTI used to ask around $4000 more than the i20N when new, but on the used market, it’s asking around $5000 less.

Being the flagship i20, these come loaded with features, actually something Hyundai have always done, and it continues with the i20N, is that they supply a great level of features and equipment and safety tech as standard.

What goes wrong with a used Hyundai i20N?

Exterior:

Starting with the exterior, a complaint we’re seeing more and more on modern cars in general, is just how thin and soft the paint can be.

Loads of owners have had issues with stone chips and the paint marking far too easily, even on the roof, apparently the black roof car scratch if you look at it the wrong way.

Owners highly recommend getting the car PPF’d but even then, some owners mentioned that some PPF films are showing little dent marks from where the paint underneath has pitted even with protection film.

Also, check the paint around the bottom of the doors, a few owners reporting paint discrepancies.

But aside from that, it seems not much else commonly goes wrong with the exterior. Things like electronic gremlins, panel gap issues and plastic trim turning bad that we often see on hot hatches asking many thousands of dollars more than this, but on the i20N, not an issue.

Interior:

Let’s talk about the seats, as utterly supportive and comfortable as they are, and unlike the Ford Fiesta ST where you’re constantly wishing the seat would adjust lower, these they offer a near perfect seating position.

But the issue seems to be that the materials Hyundai have used just aren’t resilient. Plenty of owners have reported that the side bolsters, especially, can crack and deform and get overly squidgy too easily.

Now, check out your dealership on these because we found a couple of owners on the Hyundai N Performance Owners Club of Australia Facebook groups that apparently had their seats replaced under warranty, maybe look into that.

Also an area Hyundai seems to have cut costs was just the materials used in here, it’s important to remember this is based on a budget-friendly little hatch, so expect plenty of hard plastics but unfortunately, hard plastics in Australian climates and on our course roads can result in a fair amount of rattles and creaks and odd noises.

In a few early models, the rear seat could rattle, but all it was was the little clamp that holds onto the hook when it’s in the upright position, wasn’t grabbing hard enough, it’s easily fixed, check the owners groups and forums.

Mechanically:

Firstly, make sure you stick to sensible service intervals of 10,000km.

HPFP issues on vehicles before Feb 23′, it’s not a design issue, just a manufacturing issue with the pump; there was a recall to fix this, and it should be covered under warranty. If the HPFP is on the way out, you’ll see the dreaded P0088 fault code.

Exhaust valve actuator rattle is a common complaint. If it’s out of warranty, Hyundai will sell you the whole assembly, but you can actually get an aftermarket spring to fix it.

Wheel bearings – not a common problem, are no more common on these than on other cars. Although owners doing track days with sticky tyres might see premature wear.

As far as the transmissions go, there are a few complaints about synchros not being up to the task and crunching between gears. But if you drive with a bit of mechanical sympathy. The clutches can wear if abused.

Like with many cars, but specifically the Hyundai i20N, look out for shitty mods and any that show signs of poor maintenance.

Should you buy a used Hyundai i20N?

Before we work out if you should buy a used one or not, there’s another potential negative you need to be aware of.

In Australia, the Hyundai i20N is one of the few true performance cars that are approved for P-Plater use, plus it’s relatively affordable, and has a constantly growing aftermarket and tuning scene.

This means that, unfortunately, plenty of examples out there have been either ruined with shitty mods or driven by youths who have about as much talent behind the wheel as they do mechanical sympathy, which is very little.

Do not buy an i20N that has suffered in the hands of these dickheads.

Yes, they’re an incredibly resilient platform but there are plenty available on the used market, so buy a good one, preferably that has been owned by a mature and caring enthusiast, and obviously have a full pre-purchase inspection carried out but if it passes with flying colours, what a car.

The thing that blows me away the most about the i20N is that, in this age where manufacturers have to jump through endless hoops of legislation and safety requirements and emissions laws, Hyundai haven’t just ticked all those boxes and built a car that’s practical and easy to live with, it’ll also do track days till the cows come home.

But what’s most impressive is that they’ve somehow taken what is basically plastic, metal and electronics and injected the end result with genuine charm and personality, and they’ve done this for what, $35,000?

That’s amazing, I feel like the i20N is what all the greatest hot hatches of the 80s and 90s wanted to be when they grew up.

This is a fantastic car and if you can buy one and you don’t, are you ok, what’s going on, why haven’t you bought one?