Sector: City car Price (November 2013): £8,345–£10,435  Fuel: 45.6–65.7mpg CO2: 98 –142g/km

Hyundai is no stranger to the A segment. The i10, with more than 110,000 units sold since it first went on sale in 2008, is now its best selling car in the UK and accounts for a third of all European sales, too. And, hoping to continue with the success of the previous two generations, there’s a new i10 on its way, due to go on sale in January 2014.

Although it’s a brand new car, the entry price remains the same as the outgoing model. However, it’s more than just cost-conscious city car. Where its predecessors were lacking somewhat in the design department, this one has a certain joi de vivre to its exterior architecture. Proportions have increased too; it’s now 80mm longer and 65mm wider, which, in turn, gives it a class-leading 252 litres of boot space, expandable to 1046 litres when the rear seats are folded flat.

This new sense of style has also been carried over to cabin. Even in its most basic form it still delivers an interior which feels, and looks, much more expensive than its price would first indicate. Six airbags, a CD tuner plus USB connectivity and ISOfix are just some of the standard fit equipment customers can expect with the S. Move up the range, and the mid-trim £9,295 SE benefits from rear electric windows, remote central locking and colour coded door handles and mirrors. Spend an extra £700, and the range-topping

Premium delivers even more onboard niceties which include, amongst other things, Bluetooth connectivity with voice recognition, a leather-bound multi-functional steering wheel and 14-inch alloys.

Underneath all this styling is an all-new platform, designed and engineered at Hyundai’s technical centre in Rüsselsheim, Germany, while the car itself will be built in Hyundai’s Turkish plant. Engines comprise 1.0-litre and 1.2-litre petrols with 65bhp and 86bhp respectively, and an optional four-speed auto available on the latter.

From launch, Hyundai will also offer the 1.0-litre as the emission-reducing Blue Drive. This will deliver the lowest CO2 in the range, just 98g/km, compared to 108g/km for the standard model, or 114g/km for the 1.2 manual (142g/km for the auto).

Hyundai also understands that the likelihood of this car being bought by someone whose sole intention is to rag the living daylights out of it is pretty slim. However, with that said, the smaller engine is great fun to drive, and surprisingly quiet. Yes, the transmission needs to be constantly stirred to optimise what little power it has, but like a trusted Labrador, it’s forever keen to please.

That’s much the same story for the way it rides, too. While the electronic steering lacks any real sense of feedback, and the suspension is best described as compliant, it really doesn’t matter on a car like this because what it does, it does a lot better than most others in the same segment. Admittedly, if pushed, it will understeer a little, and yes, the rear end sometimes feels a touch on the twitchy side if a corner is taken with too much enthusiasm, yet it always feels safe long before the ESC has to kick-in to correct any driver error.

Verdict:

Hyundai’s new i10 is a well-conceived, well-executed, well-built, well-equipped car which, even at the top-end of the trim levels, costs less than ten grand.