Kona, the barbarian
Dale all out of steam for clash with Rammy
MY HYUNDAI summer is coming to an end after the Korean company launched a ridiculous number of new models during the last few months.
The latest is the Kona N which is a crossover using the powertrain from the i30n hot hatch, giving the car 276bhp.
It’s shorter than the i30n but taller, is front-wheel drive only and – unlike both the i20n and i30n – is not available with a manual gearbox. Instead there’s an eight-speed double clutch unit.
It’s quite likely that all three of these N models will be the last hot Hyundais to feature internal combustion engines. Certainly it seems as if Hyundai’s engineers felt this way, because they’ve thrown the lot at this car. There’s theatre, bad behaviour and lashings of drama.
We’re dealing with a seriously brisk machine here.
Top speed is 149mph and 0-62mph takes only 5.5sec. Another number you need to know is the Hyundai’s official fuel consumption of 33.2mpg.
I’m going to assume that anyone who buys a car this nuts – with its numerous go-faster driving modes – is going to want to give his or her Kona N a decent workout. If you do, you have no hope of seeing 33mpg. Mid 20s is more realistic and during my drive I saw the average dip into the teens – and I didn’t go mad. You’d imagine that turning a regular Kona into a hot one would involve dropping the ride height to bring the centre of gravity a bit lower. That hasn’t been done but there are extra welds to stiffen the shell and keep the suspension geometry accurate. There’s also a limited-slip differential, without which, this front-wheel-drive terrier would struggle for grip.
You can choose from Normal, Sport and Sport+ for the suspension settings.
All of them are very stiff, with Normal absolutely fine for brisk driving. Sport is too stiff and will have you bouncing off line on a bumpy road, and you might as well forget Sport+ completely.
You can also choose settings for the limited-slip diff (Sport is best) and also for the automatic gearbox. There’s even a Grin Mode that speeds up the changes. That’s what I meant by theatre earlier.
In reality the gearbox is so quick and slick that you can let it do its own selecting of ratios. That said, it’s fun to manually change down into a corner using the paddles because you get an automatic blip of the throttle and an accompanying rorty blast from the exhaust.
The i30n has analogue dials but the Kona N gets digital instruments. Flames flash around the rev counter when you fire up the engine and all manner of mad graphics appear when you’re in Sport modes. There’s hours of fun to be had experimenting with all of this.
Part of the test route Hyundai set out for us included a kart track. If you’ve ever raced around in a kart, you’ll know their tracks are tight and narrow, and the one we visited was no exception.
The Kona N was hysterical around it. Brake into a corner and the front end tucks in and the rear breaks away slightly to help you around.
The Kona N would not embarrass itself on a full-size circuit such as Donington but I think you’d get through the brakes quite quickly.
Prices for the Kona N start from £35,395 and since it’s extremely well equipped you’ll not need to spend much more.
The i20n is more my sort of car since being a small hatchback it’s lighter, nimbler and has more than adequate performance.
If, however, you love the crossover lifestyle and want a truly bonkers version of one, you’ll love this car. seem to have thrown everything
at the Kona N
Heartbreak and horror combine this week for the five-part mini series Mazebook.
Will Warren is still grieving the loss of his puzzle-loving daughter a decade ago. But he receives a phone call that throws his life back into disarray, with the caller claiming to be his daughter who is trapped at the centre of a labyrinth.
Convinced it’s her, he finds a map of the city and an unfinished puzzle in one of her journals and sets off to find her.
Written and drawn by Jeff Lemire, Mazebook #1 is out now priced £5.40.
RAMSBOTTOM’S idyllic cricket ground shimmered in the late summer sun last Sunday.
It’s cream and green Victorian pavilion, a listed building candidate if ever there was one, stood as a reminder of league cricket’s golden years.
The verdant outfield, geometrically mowed, contrasted pleasingly with the straw coloured wicket. And if that was enough for the visual senses, the aural ones were equally satisfied by sound of the steam engine Royal Scot puffing in and out of the adjacent railway station at regular intervals.
What else could the local cricket follower want?
Well, to start with, a competitive game to watch, at least if you were a Dale supporter. From the moment that Steve Oddy delivered the first ball a comprehensive victory for the home team, who had won the toss and batted first, seemed inevitable.
The only criticism that could be made was that the track was unduly close to the pavilion boundary and Rammy took full advantage of its proximity. Alex Olpin and Brad Fielding fairly motored along, putting on 67 for the first wicket at over five per over, and it was only when he turned to the left arm spin of deputy professional Hasha Rajapaksha that Rochdale captain Jamie Roche was able to exert anything like control. Fielding, brimming with confidence, gave Rajapakcha the charge, missed one that turned, and was stumped.
His departure had minimal effect on the tempo of the game though. Kieran Grimshaw and home professional Daryn Smit continued the innings apace, with Smit, who has bullied Dale in the past, playing his usual role of keeping the scoreboard ticking over while readying himself for a late innings assault. Rammy cruised past the 200 mark, but just when Smit seemed likely to notch his third ton on the bounce against Dale he holed out to Jack Duffy at deep midwicket.
Thus Ramsbottom, who had been on course of a total of 300 plus, were confined to a mere 261 and Rajapashka, who had been obliged to bowl a third of his overs with the short boundary on the leg side finished with the laudable figures of 4 for 75.
But then, whereas Dale’s seamers had extracted little or no movement, their counterparts Matt Burdaky and Jacob Clarke had the ball doing a bit. James Maurice-scott completed an all round unhappy day by nicking off in the first over, Declan Wilkinson was beaten by another that left him and was stumped, having been adjudged to have left his crease, and Andrew Dawson was then bowled by one that nipped back.
Dale were 27 for 3 and in need of a cricketing miracle. Ali Muzaffar, who played as confidently as he has done all season, and Rajapashka hinted that they might provide it. But having put 40 on for the fourth wiclet Rajapashka and Muzaffar got involved in a “yes, no” interlude and a direct hit from point defeated Muzaffar’s frantic attempt to get back to the bowler’s end.
17 runs later Rajapashka made his second mistake when he attempted to cut one too close to him, and despite a watchable cameo from Jack Duffy, Dale’s last six wickets , characteristically, fell for a humble 25.
And Smit, with his round arm leg spin was principally responsible, claiming four of them in only 15 balls, compensation for his failure to reach three figures with bat.
And so Dale’s innings ended, appropriately in sync with the toot of the Royal Scot’s final whistle as it made its last journey of the day.
Ramsbottom AM Olpin lbw b Rajapaksha B Fielding st Roche b Rajapaksha K Grimshaw b Rajapaksha D Smit c Duffy b Brown HC Caton lbw b Muzaffar J Clarke c Davies b Rajapaksha MN Howarth not out J Thomond not out Extras (10 nb, 6 w) Total (6 wickets, 50 overs) Fall of wickets: 1-67 (Fielding), 2-99 (Olpin), 3-122 (Grimshaw), 4-176 (Caton), 5-221 (Clarke), 6-255 (Smit) Bowling: Oddy 13 2 58 0, Brown 10 0 44 1, Rajapaksha 15 1 75 4, Maurice-scott 2 0 33 0, Muzaffar 10 0 51 1 Rochdale JA Maurice-scott c Caton b Burdaky 4 A Dawson b Burdaky 16 DM Wilkinson st Caton b Clarke 7 HM Rajapaksha c Caton b Clarke 18 A Muzaffar run out (Burdaky) 33 JP Duffy b Smit 16 Haris Hussain c Burdaky b Clarke 0 JA Roche c Burdaky b Smit 3 B Davies st Caton b Smit 1 AJ Brown not out 10 SC Oddy b Smit 0 Extras 2 Total (all out, 26 3 overs) 110 Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Maurice-scott), 2-27 (Dawson), 3-27 ( Wilkinson), 4-67 (Muzaffar), 5-85 (Rajapaksha), 6-95 (Duffy), 7-95 (Haris Hussain), 8-96 (Davies), 9-110 (Roche), 10-110 (Oddy, 26 3 ov) Bowling: Burdaky 7 0 37 2, Clarke 13 6 38 3, Collinge 4 0 34 0, Smit 2 3 1 1 4