Hyundai i20 Classic 3dr

Good solid workhorse

I purchased my 120 three and a half years ago under the sc***page scheme. It had the virtue of being cheap and readily available, plus it was a new at the time model - which is usually good for (low) depreciation.
Initial impressions were mainly good. The car has a good though firm ride, feels very solid and performs well given the small engine size. The engine and gearbox are terrific, though clutch take up is rather sharp making it easy to stall if you don't use enough revs. The brakes (discs all round on my model) feel overservoed making it difficult to feather smoothly to a halt. At first I didn't like the slightly sticky nature of the electric power steering, but I've since got used to it, or maybe the stiction has worn off.
Over time those favorable first impressions haven't changed much, but the car hasn't been perfect. The clutch is slighly prone to judder. It's not really enough to complain about, but just a bit annoying. Also my car suffered from an occasional sticking of one of the rear brake calipers. Initially I put this down to an accumulation of dirt and brake dust, but the fault recurred even after I'd cleaned the caliper and pads. The dealer was initially unsympathetic, pointing out that the brake pads and disc showed no signs of wear (true because I didn't drive far when I detected the problem) and even suggested that it might be a handbrake issue. And of course, the brakes worked fine during the car's first MOT test! But the MOT test did reveal a slight loss of fluid from one of the rear dampers, though not sufficient to warrant a fail.
I complained again to my local dealer, suggesting that both the damper be replaced and the brake problem sorted.
This time the dealer was more receptive and agreed to attend to both items, and even went as far as replacing both rear calipers including the non faulty one. This fully restored my confidence in the brand, which could have argued that they had no obligation to fix problems on a car they had not serviced. Incidentally, since the rear damper was replaced the car seems to handle better, with no sign of the slight bump steer and rear end "looseness" that I had previously put down to a characteristic.
The fuel consumption has been slightly disappointing. Over 30,00 miles the MPG has ranged from around 40 for local running to mid 50s on longer runs. That doesn't sound too bad, but I drive pretty gently and don't indulge in high revs or heavy braking. I guess this car is just too heavy to be as economical as my previous car was (a 1.0 litre Daihatsu Sirion). The consumption tends to improve a bit in summer (and worsen in winter), but hasn't changed noticeably as the miles have increased.
Dealer servicing seems expensive, so after the first service I've done my own maintenance. At least that way I can ensure that I know that top quality lubricants have been used and the filter etc changed.

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