Oven fresh spy shots of the 2012 Hyundai i20 have surfaced yet again. Two white Fluidic i20’s were caught in Sriperambadur by a Team-BHPian undergoing tests along with the current i20. Hyundai has recently stopped production of the old model to make way for the new model. The official global debut of the new Hyundai i20 is set for early March at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The Indian launch is expected to happen by mid-March, with deliveries starting immediately. Hyundai always dispatches the cars to the dealers much before the launch so keep an eye out for that.
The set of changes have been rigorously discussed before but the new spy pics give us some more hint at what to expect in the 2012 Hyundai i20. The i20 which runs on 185/65/14 rubber is all set to get 195/60/15 tyres. The upgrade to 15-inch wheels with 8-spoke alloy wheels. If you look closely at the two picture right below, you will notice the profile of the tyres which are different giving away the fact that the 2012 Hyundai i20 will indeed sport 15-inch wheels. Hopefully Hyundai has altered the suspension too which should offer better ride quality even with lower profile rubber.
But why is Hyundai testing the 2012 i20 Facelift so rigorously. There are no mechanical changes to the car so what is making them spend so much time and energy on tests? Well, these tests could be very well part of regular routine for Hyundai, but who knows they might be aiming for better fuel efficiency with the new model and must be tweaking the ECU accordingly. A wild speculation could be that Hyundai might just offer the top end model with the Verna’s 1.6-litre heart but that will shoot costs astronomically.
For those who have already booked the Hyundai i20 and are waiting for delivery, we advise you to wait for the new model. There is a price hike expected but the changes made to the new i20 make the extra price you pay worth it. Remember, the Fluidic sculpture at the front is reason enough to wait and get the facelifted Hyundai i20. The second generation i20 is expected to be launched in 2014 and will get mechanical upgrades as well.
Update (13/02/2012) – Our good friends at IAB have posted fresh spy pictures of the 2012 Hyundai i20 Facelift, which showcases LED lights on the car. The lights are switched on and we speculate that the Fluidic i20 could get day-time running lights. The front seems to be inspired from its elder sibling, the Hyundai i30. The rear has been worked on as well with bigger tail lights and a revised tail gate.
The Hyundai i20’s interior gets slight revision, including the addition of a call and answer button on the steering wheel. The center console now sports bigger knobs along with chrome inserts. The AC vents are now mounted vertically instead of the horizontal vents on the current model. Not all of these changes will make it to the Indian model as the interiors snapped are of a left-hand drive version of the Hyundai i20.
Source – Team-BHP and IndianAutosBlog
