Hyundai i800 Review (2008-2019)

What is the Hyundai i800?

Large families have their work cut out to find a vehicle - new or used - that will carry eight people and their luggage. There are plenty of people carriers that have been converted from vans; the Volkswagen Caravelle and Mercedes-Benz V-Class sit at the more premium/luxury end of the market. There are also machines from mainstream manufacturers such as Citroen (SpaceTourer), Ford (Tourneo Custom), Toyota (Proace Verso) and Vauxhall (Vivaro Life), but many only have seven seats, as do traditional people carriers of the day like the Ford Galaxy and S-Max, Seat Alhambra, Citroen C4 Grand Picasso or Vauxhall Zafira Tourer.

The Hyundai i800, however, is a full eight-seater, which instantly gives it an air of desirability for particularly large families. As the number of seats suggests, this is a pretty big vehicle, based as it is on the Hyundai iLoad van. It’s more than five metres long (5,125mm, to be exact), and 1,925mm high and 1,920mm wide, so it looks almost square when looking at it front-on.

Launched in 2008, the i800 had a relatively long life in the UK, finally bowing out of showrooms just over a decade later in 2019. During that time there were virtually no changes to the car, with only the very subtlest of refreshes in 2016, although you’ll need to be a dedicated i800 fan to spot the differences.

How practical is it?

Space and practicality are what the i800 does best: few cars offer as much space or can carry so many. And the dimensions don’t lie, because not only are there eight seats, there’s also 851 litres of boot space with all those seats in place, a figure that most rivals are unable to match.

It’s not just the number of seats, either, but the amount of space they offer for occupants. Where most MPVs will leave those sitting in the third row feeling shortchanged, not to mention cramped, those in the i800 have as much room to stretch out as anyone else. All six seats in the rear are full-sized items that will be comfortable even for the tallest of adults, plus they recline for added relaxation. Bear in mind, however, that only the middle row gets Isofix mountings for child seats.

Access to the interior is good, too, with large sliding side doors that make it a doddle to load and unload passengers, even in tight parking spaces. And while the vast tailgate can be tricky to open when parked too close to vehicles behind, it does deliver a huge opening and low load lip.

However, the age of the i800’s design and its van-based roots do pose some problems. While it is tall and airy inside, the seating layout is fairly inflexible. The seatbacks of the second and third rows have a 60/40 split/fold function, but the bases themselves stay in place. You can remove the seats completely to make use of that commercial vehicle carrying capacity, but you’ll need a set of spanners, an assistant and an hour or so of your time.

Up front there are cup holders, door bins and even a double glove box, but elsewhere the i800 lacks the clever storage solutions that mark out the best dedicated MPVs. The interior also feels a little low-rent, having barely changed in design and material quality since 2008.

What's it like to drive?

The i800 is, fundamentally, the same vehicle as the iLoad van, but a few mechanical concessions have been made to carrying people instead of cargo, including fitting a different rear suspension to increase comfort levels. Beyond that, the i800 does drive like a van in many respects, but a decent one, with steering that is tidily accurate, so it’s easy to drive.

In fact, like all vans, there’s a curious sense of fun to be had behind the wheel, the feeling of being so high up helping to offset its dynamic deficiencies. There’s enough grip when driven sensibly, and while the ride can get bouncy it never becomes uncomfortable. Wind- and road noise are also decently muted, provided you stick to the motorway limit and don’t stray higher.

Perhaps most surprising is how confidence-inspiring the big Hyundai feels around town. Again, that commanding driving position helps, as does the excellent visibility, light controls and standard rear parking sensors.

There’s only one engine option, a 2.5-litre diesel with either 134bhp or 168bhp. The former comes with a six-speed manual and the latter with a sluggish five-speed automatic. There’s some clatter at idle and it sounds noisy and strained when worked hard, but driven more sedately the four-cylinder unit is quiet enough. In fact, sedate is the only way you’ll be driving the Hyundai, with the lower powered version requiring a yawning 17.6 seconds for the 0-62mph sprint. The automatic is faster, but at 14.4 seconds, you’ll always be finishing second in the traffic light grand prix.

Technology, equipment and infotainment

It’s based on a van, but the i800 feels far from utilitarian when it comes to standard kit, with all models getting everything you’re likely to need. The entry-level SE features air-conditioning (with functionality that means it can be adjusted from the second row of seats), remote central locking, rear parking sensors and a stereo that includes MP3, USB and aux-in connection capability. Curiously, only the driver is entitled to a heated seat.

There’s also an SE Nav, which added a fairly basic touchscreen infotainment system with sat-nav and reversing camera, although this did delete the CD player. Also included were automatic headlamps.

The i800 was never crash tested by Euro NCAP, which is probably a good thing for Hyundai, because its list of safety features feels almost prehistorically short. For example, there are only two airbags (one each for the driver and front seat passenger), while the driver aids are limited to electronic stability control and anti-lock brakes.

Hyundai i800 running costs

When it comes to assessing the costs surrounding ownership of an i800, there’s good news and bad news.

The good news is that the i800 costs less to buy than most of its rivals, especially when you consider all the equipment that is fitted as standard, compared to the additional cost of comparable kit on many rival models. Used prices are as low as £4,000 at time of writing.

Not such good news is the i800’s fuel consumption. The block-like, unaerodynamic shape does it no favours, and neither does the ancient 2.5-litre CRDi diesel engine, or the fact that this is a van-based vehicle. The lower-powered 134bhp version, with a six-speed manual gearbox, returns 31mpg, while the more powerful 168bhp version, with its five-speed automatic ’box, returns a few mpg less. Obviously, in real-world use, the i800 is likely to return even lower fuel consumption figures.

The i800’s insurance groupings are between 28 and 30 (out of 50) for the 134bhp version, or between 31 and 35 for the more powerful version, so insurance won’t be excessive, but it might not be that cheap, either.

Servicing will be required every 10,000 miles, alternating between major and minor services. Usefully, Hyundai offers fixed-price servicing plans across three- or five years.

Hyundai i800 reliability

The i800 didn’t sell in huge numbers in the UK, so it hasn’t really made an impression on reliability- or customer satisfaction surveys. The Hyundai brand, though, is one that does consistently well in such studies. In 2019, when the i800 was still on sale as a new car, Hyundai finished third in the brand standings of the JD Power UK Vehicle Dependability Study, which ranks the major manufacturers.

It also inspires confidence that Hyundai offers a generous five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty package on all its cars that also includes roadside assistance and vehicle health checks. Most rivals will offer three years of cover with mileage restrictions. However, even the youngest i800s will now be too old for that cover to still apply.

The i800, being based on a van, is relatively non-complex when it comes to its engineering, so we'd be fairly confident that reliability woes should be kept to a minimum.