IX20 1.4 CRDi Style

A comfortable, easy to drive, practical small MPV with eye-catching style.

The car is stylish for an MPV, roomy and practical with a high level of equipment. The interior layout and appearance is excellent. The seats provide good support and comfort for long journeys. The glass sunroof is good to use on sunny days if you prefer some contact with the outside world instead of using the air conditioning, but wind noise levels can be intrusive over 50 mph. It is easy to drive with pleasantly weighted power steering and easy gear changing. The diesel engine can sound a little raucous if worked hard.

The quality of the interior plastics is average and the material in some areas has poor resistance to scratches. With hard use, after a few years, the car might start to look a little worn and weary .

Storage space is good with plenty of room under the boot floor for items you would prefer to keep out of sight or prevent from rolling about.

The published fuel consumption figures do not compare with reality. For instance, urban driving seldom returns better than 48 mpg (my figures) and that's driving with a light foot.

The 5 year warranty is a big attraction but there is a downside to this - poor spare parts support for the IX20 model. Our car experienced a failure of the nearside rear caliper (7th August 2012) which jammed in the 'handbrake on' position. We were told that the wait for a new caliper is approximately 4 weeks! Even worse is the fact that Hyundai will only change the failed caliper not the rear set (both sides), so you could get your car fixed and have a repeat problem on the other side shortly afterwards. I have seen, on the owner forums, IX20 owners reporting follow-on caliper failures which have occurred after the first caliper was replaced.

I have asked Hyundai Customer Service if the failures are being investigated by Hyundai and a permanent solution found, but they can't or won't give me an answer. There have been no recalls of the model that I am aware of.

My knowledge of the lack of spares is restricted to brake parts, but it does make you wonder what else you might have to wait ages for. To conclude the brake caliper story: surprisingly got a call on 20th August, to say the car is ready - it took 12 days instead of the estimated 28 days, still too long but a big and welcome improvement.

On the 6th September I learnt that Hyundai had issued a Technical Services Bulletin (TSB) that IX20 cars built before April 2012 should be recalled to have a rear caliper upgrade. I contacted my local dealer and they confirmed that my car was eligible for the upgrade. The dealer has ordered the parts and will inform me when they are in stock. So, it seems that Hyundai have come up with a hopefully permanent fix for the rear caliper problem.

In conclusion - a really excellent car which is blighted by a slow spare parts back-up. Recent developments indicate that the spares situation and brake problem is being resolved; this is good news as the IX20 is up there with the best MPVs available.

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