AS a car designed, developed and built in Europe, there can be no doubting the direction Korean manufacturer Hyundai is pointing its latest supermini.

And the brand is confident of making a huge impact on the small car scene with the latest generation of its popular i10 city car.

The 2014 model, due to hits the streets later this year following its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show, comes with the promise of more equipment and better value for money.

It's now five years since the i10 arrived in the UK, a period during which Hyundai has launched a raft of successful new models.

And the newcomer will not only be longer, lower and wider than the outgoing version but its maker says there will also be best in class legroom and cargo capacity.

In fact front and rear passengers will benefit from combined legroom of 1,890mm while boot space has been boosted by more than 10 per cent to 252 litres with all the seats in place.

Equipment will include automatic climate control, heated leather steering wheel and cruise control with speed limiter plus safety features like stability control and front curtain airbags.

And to take full advantage of its new platform and longer wheelbase, the new i10 has also been tuned for more refined driving dynamics and low noise levels.

The brand's vice president of marketing Mark Hall said: "We're offering consumers something truly unique in New Generation i10 - an A-segment car consumers want to buy, not one they feel they have to.

"It fully meets the rational needs of buyers in the cost-sensitive segment, yet delivers levels of comfort, driving pleasure and perceived quality from segments above."