India-spec Hyundai i20 N Line revealed as a pseudo-hot-hatch

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India, as you might be aware, loves all things pseudo. These include pseudoscience, pseudo-gurus, pseudo-medical practices…and in recent times, pseudo SUVs as well. Okay, agreed that the last one is not India-exclusive, but still, the market is full of wannabe SUVs these days. The one pseudo thing that hasn’t really clicked (yet) is the pseudo-hot-hatch segment. People have almost forgotten the 100 hp Baleno RS, and the 110 hp Polo GT isn’t popular anymore. However, there’s a new player in the country who seems to have the potential to rule the aforementioned pseudo-hot-hatch segment.

It is called the i20 N Line. Don’t let buzzwords such as “Born in Namyang” and “Honed at Nurburgring” fool you into thinking that this is a hot-hatch. This is not a hot-hatch but a “hot-hatch”. I mean, the India-spec model comes with Ceat Securadrive tyres for fk’s sake. The true hot-hatch is the i20 N which Hyundai aptly calls a “corner rascal”. But anyway, the i20 N Line was globally revealed almost a year ago. For India, the N Line wears a sporty body kit with subtle red accents. The wheels are 16-inch ones as opposed to 17-inches in the global version. And Hyundai says that the suspension and steering have a sporty tuning. Also, there are disc brakes at all four corners as opposed to only front discs in the regular i20.

Inside, the N Line gets a generous N branding—on the steering wheel, the gear shift lever, the seats, and of course, on the floor mats as well. There are sporty pedals too, to spice things up a touch more. The range-topping N8 trim gets red ambient lighting as well. That’s right, the i20 N Line comes in two trims in India: N6 and N8. Download the brochure here.

As for the business end of the story, the i20 N Line is powered by a 1.0L 3-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine that pumps out 88 kW (120 metric hp) and 172 Nm (127 lb-ft) of torque. The engine can be paired with either a 6-speed Intelligent Manual Transmission (iMT) or a 7-speed DCT. And apparently, there’s a sporty exhaust note to compensate for the lack of any changes in the output figures.