Hyundai i10 i-Blue for 2010

Hyundai seems to have had Mystic Meg working for them of late. They’ve managed to predict exactly where the market is going and have placed their cars with unerring accuracy in the sights of car buyers in Europe and the US. So successful has their marketing been that they now find themselves in the top ten car model sales in the UK, thanks in no small part to the proactive way Hyundai Scrappage sales have been marketed and organised.

So where are Hyundai off to now with their ‘best budget buy’ cars? They’re off down the 3-pot road, with the introduction in the New Year of the Hyundai i10 i-Blue – an 800cc three-pot engined car that should give crackingly good economy and emissions.

Based on the 2008 Hyundai i10 Blue CNG Concept that was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008, its 800cc, turbo-charged three-cylinder engine should be good for 90bhp and slip in to the free VED bracket, with less than 100g/km CO2 emissions.

The original concept for the i10 i-Blue (as we reckon it will be named) actually featured a 3-pot engine that ran on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), but low demand and supply has put Hyundai off the idea of CNG. So instead the i10 i-Blue will run on petrol. But it should still return some pretty good fuel economy figures.

The launch of the Hyunda i10 i-Blue should be early next year and coincide with a mild tweak or two the the whole i10 range. Despite its super-eco credentials, the i-Blue will sit at the top of the i10 range, but expect it to be at a very affordable price.

And you can expect to see the three-pot engine turning up in other Hyunais and Kias before too long.