Breaking: Hyundai May Bring Small Car Built In India to U.S. (Updated)

Update: Over at Hyundai, the i's definitely have it. Rumors of the i10 coming to the U.S. are sputtering along, but now its bigger sister, the i20, is the latest dish. The i20 (pictured above) is a fresh design debuting at the year's Paris show. I think it's a rather pleasant looking car and would be a fine addition to the lineup. You can read up on the i20 by checking out this Autoblog post.

Original 8/15/08 Post:




Update: AutoWeek now has a free version posted, click here.

Update: Automotive News has a post about this: click here (sub required).

Sources are reporting that Hyundai may be bringing a small five door hatchback, built in India, and sized between the smart fortwo and Honda Fit. The car, called the i10 in other markets, would be brought up to U.S. safety standards and could be sold by either Hyundai or Kia.

The i10 was launched in October of 2007, is built at Hyundai's Chennai plant and is currently exported to 70 countries around the world (according to Wikipedia). Many manufacturers have been looking hungrily at the initial success of the fortwo in the U.S. and it won't be much longer before someone tries to drink smart's milkshake.

In a review of the car, Auto Express said that the i10 had good equipment levels for the price, decent amount of space inside, modern dash design and impressive materials (again, for the price). You can check out a full raft of reviews by clicking here. Keep in mind that the U.S. version would be slightly different (read heavier) than the reviewed cars.

A quick scan of Hyundai's i10 Indian website shows that the i10 has two engines: a 1.1L and a 1.2L. I am uncertain what powertrain configurations would be offered here. Combined mileage for the i10 in U.S. guise would hopefully be in the very high 30s if not 40s.

Currently the smallest car on offer in the U.S. is the Hyundai Accent 3-door. I followed one of these on the freeway and thought to myself that it was rather good looking. the Accent starts at $11,645 (including destination) but there is currently a $1,000 rebate on it. Pricing for the i10 would have to be less.

Now, I cannot cite any official sources. I can't tell you how serious Hyundai is about this. In reality, my information is pretty spotty. I hope that we'll hear more about this car soon! In the meantime, why not take an i10 for a spin?