RED PILL BLUE PILL

On paper, there is next to nothing that distinguishes the i20 1.0 Turbo DCT from its sportier N Line counterpart. However, on tarmac in the real world, the difference is like cheese and cottage cheese, as Jim and Glen find out

- Jim Gorde & Glen Francis

THE NEW HYUNDAI i20 PLEASANTLY surprised me when I first drove it towards the end of 2020 on open highway and through some sharp twisties. It felt like an Indo-Korean take on the Golf and the fact that the very thought crossed my mind was enough to give me the urge to push it further. A few weeks later, it was my long-term car and, then, open highways and sharp bends made way for packed city roads with on- and off-road nature thrown in for good measure. Guess what? The car impressed. Yet, Hyundai weren't quite done.

The N Line version of the i20 arrived and it tightened the belt a few holes further, encompassing a slew of a aspects which affected how taut, how raw and involving the izo could really be. While they have the same engine, output, gearbox, wheels, and tyres, how much more is the i20 N Line other than tweaked styling and mechanicals? My colleague Glen and I dive in to find out just that. Much like how Neo was offered a choice by Morpheus in the Matrix movie, do you take the red pill and stay with what you know and consider conventional? Or do you take the blue pill and find out how deep the performance rabbit-hole really goes?