Hyundai’s Atos is back

It was popular on our roads before, and now with the return of Hyundai’s new five-door Atos, replacing the Hyundai i10, we expecting it to again be a winner among a diversity of local motorists because, as Hyundai Automotive SA’s CEO Niall Lynch says, with our current ailing economy the trend of buying down continues in the motoring industry.

But the Atos has not been skimped on and for just under R160k you get a well packaged small, but spacious hatchback that even the bigger driver and passenger will feel happy in. With clever styling and engineering, four adults can comfortably commute around locally in the Atos, or three children can easily be accommodated in the back.

The new Atos hatchback’s outer dimensions of 3,61 length, 1,64 width and 1,56cm height sees Hyundai’s new “tall boy design” delivering a smart, roomy cabin with greater head, shoulder and leg room.  Higher seating and good road visibility add to the roominess of the interior.

Hyundai engineers have especially kept older people in mind when designing the door openings and thanks to the new, bigger dimension platform that the Atos is built upon, it is easy to enter and exit the hatchback. On the other hand, younger folk will appreciate the 7-inch touch screen infotainment system that comes with Apple Carplay and Bluetooth connectivity as a standard feature on the Atos.

Propelling the Atos is Hyundai’s established 1.1-litre normally aspirated four-cylinder petrol unit that produces 50kW at 5,500rpm and 99Nm at 4,500rpm and mated to a five-speed manual ‘box driving the front wheels.

During  the media test drive,  with an enjoyable route inland of Ballito, the small engine delivered punchy acceleration on pull always and through low gears, providing a good amount of torque in third gear. The transmission has a smooth, short shift pattern so you don’t feel like you stirring a pot of oats when using the stick to drop a cog and take on inclines.

Steering , cornering and handling is good for a small hatchback, even with the tall design, and in windy coastal conditions, the Atos delivered a willing drive. With all that we put the Atos through on the media launch, our fuel consumption of  6,5L/100km was acceptable and we do feel Hyundai’s official real-world combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 5,7L/100km is achievable.

Interestingly, before launching any new Hyundai model manufactured in India, the vehicle is put through stringent local road testing. The Atos was subjected to a test drive through South Africa of 1,104km that included different road and driving conditions to test a diversity of the vehicle’s driving and handling capabilities. The technical chaps then make any necessary tweaks before releasing the model range into the country. Thus far 267,000 Hyundai vehicles have been imported into South Africa from India.

Standard features include the infotainment system as mentioned, on board computer, multifunction steering with remote buttons for audio and phone, USB charging socket that doubles as the connection point for Apple’s Carplay, a 12V power socket, air conditioner, electric front windows, driver and front passenger airbags, ABS and ISOFIX child seat attachment points.

For R159,900 the Atos includes Hyundai’s seven-year/200,000km warranty, a one-year service plan and roadside assistance for seven-years/150,000km.