COVER Hyundai Kona
FIRST LOOK
...Koreans join the party, too, with their own stylish crossover
THIS is the Hyundai Kona, a new small SUV that’s gearing up to take on the Citroen C3 Aircross (Page 12) and Nissan Juke when it arrives at the end of the year. It’s designed to appeal to younger buyers, with striking looks to set it apart from rivals in the popular small SUV class.
“We know we are late to the segment,” head of product management Raf Van Nuffel told us at an exclusive event ahead of the car’s official launch. “So we needed to make a bold statement with the design.”
Bold is right, as the Kona features a large, cascading grille, a twin headlight treatment and black body cladding. Our car also had Acid Yellow paint and 18-inch alloy wheels. Lower-spec cars get 16 or 17-inch rims.
The Kona also has a short rear overhang and a low roofline to give it a distinctive silhouette, plus contrasting accents on the exterior and standard-fit roof bars to add a bit of all-important SUV flavour. It’s more subdued inside, as Van Nuffel told us that key to the brand’s success in Europe is keeping the interiors of its cars consistent. There are lots of recognisable features from the latest i30, albeit with flashes of bright plastic trim to match the exterior paint.
The eight-inch touchscreen sat-nav from the i30 is incorporated into the dash and comes with free map updates for 10 years. If you don’t want to shell out for that, though, the standard seven-inch screen works with Apple Carplay and Android Auto, so you can use your phone and other apps in any Kona.
Hyundai will introduce a head-up display in front of the driver for the first time: a big eight-inch panel that flips up and displays speed and other driving data. In between the dials is a small TFT screen that can be
optionally upgraded to a 4.2-inch colour unit. There’s also a Krell stereo system.
The Kona will launch with just two petrol engines. The entry-level 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo is the same motor found in the new i30 and boasts 118bhp and 175Nm of torque. It’s manual only, using a six-speed box, and this version is front-wheel drive only. The other launch engine is a 1.6-litre four-cylinder with 175bhp, hooked up to a seven-speed dualclutch auto box and four-wheel drive. It promises 0-62mph in 7.9 seconds. The target economy figures are 38.7mpg for the 1.6 and 53.3mpg for the 1.0.
A 1.6-litre diesel will be added to the range shortly after launch with either 113bhp or 131bhp. The lower-powered car is manual and front-drive only, but the more powerful auto-only model can be ordered with front or all-wheel drive.
Instead of torsion beam rear suspension, the Kona uses a more complex multi-link set-up, plus a system called Advanced Traction Cornering Control that improves traction and damping in bends.
Hyundai is also considering EV versions, and the Kona’s platform will support some sort of electrification. Van Nuffel said: “Hyundai is a pioneer of the hydrogen fuel cell, but there’s also the Ioniq with three alternative powertrains. Of course there is more to come from EV from us.”
At 1,800mm wide, 1,550mm high and 4,165mm long, the Kona is slightly longer and wider than the Juke, but it’s not quite as tall. The longer wheelbase means it’s bigger inside, however, while the 361-litre boot is slightly larger than the Nissan’s 354-litre load bay.
The Kona will start at around £15,000 when it launches in the UK in November. That’s for an entry-level 1.0-litre in basic trim, but options will include a heated steering wheel, electric seats and safety kit such as autonomous emergency braking.