This is the Hyundai ix20 which made its world debut at Paris. Described by its maker as “MPV” and “B-segment”, one can see this as a Matrix replacement. It’s actually a restyled Kia Venga, which means it’s a still a five seater, but a large one that offers more space than Hyundai’s traditional B-segment supermini, the i20.
To give you a better idea on the size, the ix20 is 4.1 metres long and has a 2,615 mm wheelbase. The 3,920 mm long Honda Jazz, which is a very space efficient B-segment car, has a 2,500 mm wheelbase while the original Naza Citra (Kia Carens) had a 2,560 mm wheelbase. Sitting inside to snap the cabin shot you see here, I can confirm that the car does feel very spacious thanks to its tall roof.
It doesn’t look too gawky from the outside though. The ix20 features Hyundai’s “fluidic sculpture” theme so you see a lot of design lines all over the place. The face is prominent, thanks to the hexagon grille (check out the unique detailing) and large upswept headlamps, and is easily recognisable as the Tucson’s sibling. Hyundai says that this is a “friendly face” – what do you think?
All four engines – two petrol and two diesel from 77 PS to 125 PS – are Euro5 compliant. Every drivetrain combo except for the 1.6 auto will be available in Blue Drive form, which consists of Integrated Stop & Go (ISG) tech, low rolling-resistance tyres and an alternator management system. Hyundai expects a maximum 5-star Euro NCAP rating for the ix20.
Designed and developed at Hyundai’s R&D centre in Russelsheim, Germany, the ix20 will be made at the company’s newest European plant in Nošovice, Czech Republic. Perhaps Hyundai should locally assemble this model in Malaysia, too.
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wonder who is the chief designer of Hyundai… getting better n better…
Dear paul,
Is there any news on gemballa founder? He was kidanapped and murdered!! INo it’s not in Banting. http://star-motoring.com/blog/permalink.asp?id=1607
Is this IX20 Matrix replacement? Nice fluidic sculptured design.
Hehehe..
Nice one bro:p
BTW look what Hyundai did with Brabus http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/30/paris-2010-hyundai-teams-up-with-brabus-for-sportier-i20/
at one glance it look like myvi
Whoa! how many R&D centres does Hyundai have outside Korea?
R&D in Germany, manufactured in the Czech Republic, but still Malaysians will consider Thailand-made Japanese cars to be better than it.
Hyundai is a world brand…origin from Korea ; )
Love it… :)
eh.. I though MPV usually sit 7~? why IX20 can only sit 5 people..
MPV means Multi Purpose Vehicle,that doesn’t make it to be a 7-seater,an SUV can be a 7-seater too.Example,Mitsubishi Pajero Sport.
Nice car, looks classy and also sporty. But everytime I saw something great like this, it reminds me our…
beautiful.. better than ah beng Jazz!!!
Little Sonata….
more like little tucson
A worthy competitor for the Jazz, and at least in EU, it might do well. I’m sure they’ll have it here sooner or later.
So what’s gonna happen to the Getz?
A worthy competitor for the myvi also i think…
myvi is diff segment la yor…..
paul,
The ix20 is based on the i20 platform.
i20 replaces Getz.
The i30 replaces Elantra.
The Matrix uses the Elantra platform.
So, common sense says that the Matrix will be replaced using the i30 platform.
Hyundai n Kia are switching segments now.
As Hyundai extends the B-segment with the ix20, Kia is sort of taking over the Matrix slot with its Soul.
Kia Soul is like the Matrix redefined.
Hyundai then will extend the Matrix C-segment with a 6 or 7 seater in the works.
That will actually become the proper Matrix “replacement”, though has grown bigger.
What is the Matrix, then?
need to read this again once i’m sober……confusing…. : – &
“The ix20 is based on the i20 platform.
i20 replaces Getz.”
No the ix20 is based on the Venga platform. The Venga is already built by Hyundai in Europe. Just a different exterior design, but fundamentally the same car.
With regards to the Kia soul, they see this as more of a niche market. It’s similar in size to the Venga but attracts a completely different customer. Hyundai ix20 replaces the Matrix.
Hyundai already dropped the Trajet MPV in 2009 and the Kia Sedona is struggling for sales in the UK. So Hyundai will think long and hard about there next big MPV which will come in 2011 at least for Europe anyway.
successor for Matrix i believe
A replacement finally! I like it!
please bring it here. price it right i may take one home.
does it have 3rd row seat..? why it classed as “MPV”… little bit confuse….
look nice both inside out…
Being multi-purpose doesn’t necessarily mean it should have 7 seats..
There are 5 seaters and also 7/8 seaters MPV (Multi purpose vehicles)….ie Ford C-Max (the latest have 2 versions – 5 seaters (C-Max) & 7 seaters called Grand C-Max) and both are MPV
Bye-bye Jazz..
well, no matter how much people say it…there are still people they might end up walking over to Honda SC and put a deposit…
one thing for sure… toyota’s crap Yaris didn’t even manage to give Jazz a competition here.
How wide is this car? Is it wider than the Matrix? or Wider than the Honda Edix?
How does a 5-seater get classfied as an MPV? Doesn’t make sense at all.
MPV stands for multi-purpose vehicle? not “many-people-vehicle”?
Yes, but you have to admit that the general term used in Malaysia is for people-movers, usually for 6-seaters to 8-seaters (or more like the Grand Starex). The MPV term is used freely to Avanza, Alza, Exora, Grand Livina, etc simply because they are people-movers, no matter how cramp or comfortable the passengers may be.
Correct?
So in this case, if you start applying “MPV” for this small 5-seater, then why not call the Viva, Myvi, Swift, Ford Fiesta as MPV also?
Yes, Danny it should be locally assembled to replacing the ancient and fuel drinking Matrix…
looks like a copy from Mitsubishi Colt….
and this is a mini MPV la….a jazz is also consider a mini MPV….
Rebadge it as Inokom and price it roughly MYR $50K.
Say no to outdated inferior Myvi & Viva.
I don’t think Sime Darby would be willing to let that happen. Maybe the Venga can get rebadged by Naza and sold for that price?
economically…….i think hyundai will use india site to assemble their car mostly…..
Any replacement for Kia Carnival and Hyundai Trajet yet??
I’ve seen the current-generation Kia Sedona in Brunei and it’s really nice. Too bad we don’t have it here. I wonder if the Sedona/Trajet will get Schreyer lines from Kia, and fluidic design from Hyundai..
Replacement for our Kia Carnival/naza ria was not release in Msia (refer to Sedona in UK/US or Grand Carnival in Oz).
for the Kia Carnival, it’s been confirmed. Either end of this year or early next year. Hopefully it’s good, ’cause it’s gonna be priced competitively!!
well…..it may not come to india
its length
4.1 meters
in india we have a legislation with length and engine displacement size
what is the rules and conditions for build a cars?
really interesting… legislation with length vs egine displacement…never heard of it before…
Mitsubishi colt and jazz?you sure you never heard before?
Most JDM car have 1695mm width and this is one of the Japanese rule…
in india small cars receive benefits in taxes.
on broad scale “big” cars have to pay 16 to 30 % duty while “small” cars have to pay 8 % duty
the definition of small car by the the government is
length of 4 meters(skoda fabia slips in at 3999 mm, fiat had to wait till the facelift of punto and ford actually shortened the rear bumper of fusion for this)
petrol engine’s displacement should not be more than 1200cc and diesel engine should not be more than 1500cc), GM had to dellay the launch of the chevy U-VA to downsize the engine to 1.2
the good thing, well it works wonder in case of diesel engines, but petrol engines suffer because 1.2 liter motors are puny
thanks to this Fiat palio is dead, after the face lift fiat gave it an highly anemic 1.1 litre engine with 57 bhp
Good to see new cars are now focusing on occupants space although they may look small and compact. Saving weight is crutial to port in smaller motor and less fuel per km.
Thumb up Hyundai for not only come out with space efficient car but also dinamic design with higher safety spec.
how long is this paris motor show?
Mitsubishi colt wannabe….70% alike I think….
Great car.Hyundai is continuing its assault on apanese carmakers. time for hyundai to rule!
this is a very ugly car
obviously u have not seen a car in ur life or dunno how does a car look like
Still many people get confused with the term MPV because it is ingrained in people’s mind in Malaysia that an MPV must 7 seater and above. Hyundai is rapidly catching up with rest (in some market they already achieved brand recognition)
I hope no one will say it looks like Potong Juara…
Eh? Now that you mention it… :)
But seriously I don’t see the resemblance. It looks closer to a Getz or the previous Matrix than a Juara, IMO.
Did I? I think my English is simple enough to understand. I said this because someone said Ferrari 599 Roadster looks like Persona.
Why it’s front & rear resemble Mitsu ASX or my eyes had been superimposed with Mitsu logo car?…It’s my 2cents view…How bout the rest of you out there?…;)
According to Hyundai’s people there’s a growing trend of people downsizing from the larger MPV’s into these small more compact versions.
The big issue here in the UK is that everybody want’s low emissions and cheaper road tax. I know this new ix20 has quite a long wheel base for a car of its size so should suit drivers who own a bigger MPV, but if you want lower road tax and running costs your going to have to get used to a serious lack of power.
This new Blue engine in the ix20 only emits 114 g/km of CO2 which is good for a vehicle of its size, but now imagine that car with 5 people inside with some luggage. With only 75 bhp your going to have to thrash the engine if want a half decent performance out of it.
I drove a Venga with the 1.4 89 bhp diesel engine and it felt really flat. I was on my own, so god knows what its like with my family inside.
By the way i don’t think the ix20 is going to the US if this article has any truth to it: http://www.hyundaiix20.co.uk/ix20-wont-be-us-bound/
Something to do with patent.
Any idea when this pretty is coming to m’sia?? CBU also can… (^_^)
It is not going to be less than RM80K in Sime Darby’s hands. It will be more expensive than the current Matrix, but perhaps slightly cheaper than i30. For those who can fork out another rm10k, you might as well get the LATIO SPORTS (jauh lebih cantiq dan lebih besar and refined) or Grand Livina. So Sime Darby, if you hear me, you cannot be too ambitious and price it too near to these 2 Nissan’s models. (Nah, this time I do not use Toyota because Avanza or Yaris is really not good cars. And I still wish Nissan will put telescopic steerings in their cars like what Honda does).
are, not is.
Nice design …..but engine is under powered………….this is something the Koreans has to catch up with the Europeans…..look what VW group is doing with their engines and gearbox.
VW are setting a world benchmark……..confident in future Koreans can come out with good design and good engine definitely will sell better than the boring japs model.
its the getz replacement, not matrix! just look at the height! jeez, are you guys blind!
miniature NEW tucson
v nice
no more disegno pininfarina :-(
ahahah, i agree. i miss the old matrix. that thing had superb interior styling.
in india small cars receive benefits in taxes.
on broad scale “big” cars have to pay 16 to 30 % duty while “small” cars have to pay 8 % duty
the definition of small car by the the government is
length of 4 meters(skoda fabia slips in at 3999 mm, fiat had to wait till the facelift of punto and ford actually shortened the rear bumper of fusion for this)
petrol engine’s displacement should not be more than 1200cc and diesel engine should not be more than 1500cc), GM had to dellay the launch of the chevy U-VA to downsize the engine to 1.2
well it works wonder in case of diesel engines( we got Fiat’s 1.3 lt multijet, but petrol engines suffer because 1.2 liter motors are puny, and most companies axed the bigger engine options
thanks to this Fiat palio is dead, after the face lift fiat gave it an highly anemic 1.1 litre engine with 57 bhp
oh my………..
no roof rack
It’s simply a good car. Having driven my current matrix for the past 5 years, I have no doubt to take this baby in as well, if the price is right! That’s the clue Sime Darby.
TQ
Friendly face? Why i had a feeling that it looks like Piranha opening the mouth!!!~
hmm nice car .. i may postpone buying i 10 until this car come to malaysia and will compare the prices .. hopefully not so much different la .. maybe it should be price around hyundai getz , 60 ++ .. than for sure i buy this car :D
You may postpone buying ix 20 if you see new Avante ………. he..hee………
Dear Tan, pls let me know when the car will b in malaysia??? pls…………….