It's been a minute since we saw a Hyundai i10 prototype out and about. North America doesn't get this small city car, but it regularly prowls the streets in many global markets. Our spy team in Germany happened to catch this 2024 prototype in public, still wearing bulky covers on the front and rear to hide some notable design changes.
What kind of changes are we talking about? We can see daytime running lights integrated into the corners of the grille, shining through the heavy covers. The current model already has round lights in these locations, but the refresh appears to make them part of the grille, not unlike the Hyundai Tucson. This suggests further changes to the grille, though we believe it will retain its general chevron shape. We also believe it won't morph into a large single grille reaching unbroken to the bottom of the fascia, similar to the Elantra. Corner vents still look vertically oriented, but they could be narrower on the new car.
Gallery: Hyundai i10 New Spy Photos
Whereas our first i10 prototype sighting had a car with heavy camo on the side, it's all gone here. That confirms there are no changes to doors, door handles, or windows. Heavy covers still hide the back, but since Hyundai previously hid the sides for no reason, we aren't expecting many differences at the rear. Reflectors on the lower fascia might change location, and the taillights could adopt new lenses. The i10's distinctive irregular hexagon design on the hatch should remain, along with the narrow back glass.
Zoom in on a couple of photos and you can glimpse portions of the interior. It's unclear at this point what changes are in store, but we see a layout that looks similar to the current model. The center touchscreen and instrument cluster are still packaged in a housing that extends outward from the dash, but it looks better integrated. Our previous prototype sighting caught a car with covers on the dash, so it's likely there will be at least some small changes.
The rumor mill is silent when it comes to the powertrain. As this is a mid-cycle refresh, it's likely the i10 will soldier on with its current choice of either a 1.0-liter or 1.2-liter three-cylinder engine, shifted with a manual transmission.
At this time, we expect a debut to take place later this, revealing the new i10 as a 2024 model.
