1.2SE

Comfortable, refined and cheap to run small car

I'm now on my second i10, the first car (a 1-litre model) having been passed on to another family member. Both have been good to drive, comfortable, economical and dependable, with just a few small niggles spoiling the ownership experience. There isn't much to chose between the two engine options with the 1.2 model being slightly smoother and livelier but a bit less economical. Consumption varies between around 45mpg to 55mpg or so on longer gentle runs, though the trip computer normally claims a bit more! I do hate the way small cars like the i10 are labelled "city cars" because in reality this model will happily and quietly cruise at the legal limit and let you travel all day without fatigue. The seats and driving position are near perfect, right down to a footrest for the left leg. Complaints? Well the air-conditioning on both of my models did not work below around 8deg C, so demisting on cold wet days is frequently a problem. I actually had the system re-gassed on my first car (at huge expense because of a the new R1234yf refrigerant, I add) but it made no difference. I've come to the conclusion that this is normal - though to be fair the a/c works fine for cooling in summer. Another issue is that both cars had an intermittent steering column rattle, usually worse at low temperature. I mentioned this to the dealer (Tates) who were good enough to replace the entire steering column under warranty, so my car is now rattle free. True the fault should not have occurred, but it was reassuring that the dealer took a complaint for a minor fault seriously and fixed it.
I purchased my 2017 1.2SE (one of the last with cheap £30 per year road tax) a couple of years ago and would recommend it as a used car purchase - especially so given the long warranty and substantial price rises of newer models.

Report as offensive