Hyundai Kona through the range
It stands out with its bold styling, but Korean SUV is the priciest choice here Which trim level might suit you?
THE Hyundai’s 1.6-litre diesel engine matches the Mazda’s 113bhp output, despite its smaller capacity. In Premium SE trim as tested here, this car costs £23,600, which makes it the most expensive model of our trio in terms of list price.
Design & engineering
THE Kona’s bold styling, with its bright paint colour, bonnet scoop and heavy plastic cladding, means the car stands out from the crowd – but it’s conventional under the skin.
It uses the same Macpherson-strut front and torsion-beam rear suspension set-up as its rivals here, and this version of the car is front-wheel drive. Four-wheel drive is available on higher-spec petrol models, with multi-link rear suspension, but front-wheel-drive-only diesel Konas use this less complex and more cost-effective torsion beam.
There is a higher-powered 134bhp diesel engine available in the Hyundai with a seven-speed dualclutch automatic box, but here we’re testing the six-speed manual version with the 113bhp engine.
In Premium SE trim this variant comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, an eight-inch touchscreen display with sat-nav, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, DAB radio and parking sensors.
You can specify a range of bright exterior colours for the Kona, and some extend inside as well, with coloured accents around the cabin. These coloured parts help to liven up the rather dull interior design, although they do look a bit cheap. The Hyundai is well built and practical inside, but has little visual interest beyond these features, and material quality is just behind the Mazda’s. There’s nothing particularly wrong with the Kona’s cabin, it’s just not exciting.
Driving
DRIVERS’ emotions are unlikely to be stirred behind the wheel of the Hyundai, because it’s neither fun to drive nor particularly comfortable. It’s adequate in both areas, though. The steering is well weighted and it resists roll in corners, but there’s little-to-no steering feel and its test competitors offer more grip.
Its ride is also on the disappointing side, because while it deals with motorways and most faster roads well enough, tarmac with lots of smaller imperfections causes the Kona to jitter. It’s not so much as to be seriously disruptive, but it’s less comfortable overall than both rivals here, especially because the Hyundai thumps into larger potholes.
Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the Kona’s driving experience is its light and precise gearshift action, but next to the Mazda’s tighter-feeling changes, it’s not even the best car here for that.
The diesel engine is punchy and more refined than the smaller 1.5-litre engine in the 2008, and it outgunned the Peugeot in our acceleration tests as well, although that’s to be expected given it has an extra 12bhp and 30Nm of torque. Also, the Hyundai produces its maximum torque figure lower down in the rev range than its rivals, at just 1,500rpm, so you can shift up early for a more relaxed drive.
It wasn’t as quick as the CX-3 from 0-60mph in our tests, because the Mazda had better off-the-line traction and shorter gearing, but its 10.9-second time beat the Peugeot’s 11.3 seconds. In sixth gear the Kona eclipsed both opponents, though, taking 10.9 seconds to go from 50-70mph. The Mazda and Peugeot clocked 11.2 seconds and 13.7 seconds respectively in the same test, although as a result of its shorter top gear, the Kona sits at 2,100rpm at 70mph, which is 100rpm higher than its rivals.
Practicality
THE Kona’s 334-litre boot is a good size and shape, but if you fold the seats down in all three cars then the South Korean model is the smallest inside. It has a total of 1,116 litres in this configuration, while the Mazda has 1,260 litres and the Peugeot offers 1,400 litres. However, owners are likely to set up their cars like this fairly infrequently.
What will be more useful is the raised-up seats that are easy to get in and out of, while there’s lots of leg and headroom in the rear. The Peugeot is more spacious, but the Hyundai is comfortable enough for four adults, and feels less cramped inside than the Mazda.
These three cars have similar towing capacities, although the Peugeot pips the Kona’s 1,250kg rating by 10kg. The Mazda trails its competitors here, but only a little, because it can pull up to 1,200kg, which should still be sufficient for most uses.
Ownership
HYUNDAI achieved a mid-table result in our Driver Power 2018 survey; it finished 15th out of 26 in the manufacturer chart and 12th out of 28 in the dealer poll. That means it beat Peugeot in both areas, but Mazda came ninth overall in the makers’ poll, while its dealers ranked 24th.
Standard safety kit includes six airbags, blind spot warning, driver attention alert, hill-start assist and lane-keep assist. You can also specify a £235 Safety Pack that adds autonomous braking to that list. The Kona scored five out of five in its Euro NCAP crash test when it was rated in 2017.
Running costs
IN our hands, the Hyundai returned 47.3mpg, which puts it behind its rivals. Based on these figures, you’ll pay £1,512 a year to fuel the Kona, and spend £1,347 on the 53.1mpg Peugeot. The 51.2mpg Mazda will cost £1,397.
All three cars are reasonable to insure as well. While the CX-3 was the cheapest, at £483 a year for our example driver, quotes of £507 for the Peugeot and £522 for the Hyundai weren’t far behind.
Testers’ notes
“If you want to have a two-tone roof on your Kona, you’ll have to pay an extra £420 to get it, but if you choose that option then the £420 optional sunroof isn’t available.”
The 1.6-litre diesel version of the Kona is available in three trim levels: Se, Premium and Premium Se.
Se models get 16-inch alloys, cloth upholstery, cruise control and a seven-inch display with a reversing camera, along with parking sensors. Place a £2,300 deposit on a three-year PCP limited to 10,000 miles, and it’ll cost you £319 a month.
hyundai is offering a £1,250 deposit contribution on Premium trim, so move up to that edition and it drops to £277 a month. In this spec you also get 17-inch alloys, keyless operation and an eight-inch touchscreen with smartphone connectivity.
Premium Se trim adds a head-up display, cross traffic alert, electric heated seats and part-leather upholstery, plus front parking sensors, for £396 a month. our choice: Kona 1.6 CRDI 115 Premium