Hyundai Kona
The Kona is Hyundai’s third and smallest SUV. Does it deserve to be its best-selling, too? On sale Now Price from £16,195
Nissan Juke rival is priced from £16,195
AFTER A YEAR jam-packed with new examples, it’s fair to say that What Car? is looking more like What Small SUV? of late. The Hyundai Kona is the latest to grace our pages and is a rival to cars such as the Citroën C3 Aircross, Kia Stonic, Renault Captur and Seat Arona.
Initially, the Kona is available with a 118bhp 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine with a six-speed manual gearbox or a turbocharged 175bhp 1.6-litre unit with a sevenspeed automatic. Next year, a 1.6-litre diesel will join the range, followed by an electric model.
We’ve tried the likely bestselling model, the 1.0 T-GDI petrol. It’s sprightly enough to feel comfortable around town but certainly never outright quick, especially on the motorway among faster traffic. A big part of the problem is its relatively narrow band of shove; you’re often changing down a gear in search of its sweet spot.
At least the manual gearshift is fairly slick and the little engine remains decently quiet and vibration-free even when you push it hard – which you’ll be doing more than you’d like.
The Kona isn’t particularly agile, either. Its steering is short on communication (although the same can be said of all of its rivals) and quite heavy. This, along with the slowness of the steering and noticeable body lean in corners, makes for an uninspiring car to thread along a country B-road at speed.
That would be fine if the Kona’s ride was spot on, but it isn’t. Admittedly, our test cars were fitted with the range-largest 18in alloys, but over urban ruts and bumps they send a thump through the interior. Things improve marginally on the motorway, but the ride never truly settles down.
The Kona’s driving position is good. The seat is set at a natural height and has a decent range of adjustment, as does the steering wheel, so people of all sizes should be able to get comfortable. There’s also good head and leg room for a couple of tall adults in the front seats.
The rear seats will be a squeeze for another couple of tall adults, though, and three would be uncomfortable. While no car in this class is truly spacious in the back, the C3 Aircross and Captur both have roomier rear quarters. The Kona’s boot is nothing to write home about, either. At 334 litres, it’s stingy compared with those rivals’, while the Captur also gets folding and sliding rear seats; the Kona has a regular fixed 60/40 split-folding arrangement.
Interior quality is a good effort, with lots of soft plastics, slick switches and a generally solid feel to the dashboard. Hyundai’s infotainment system is among the best in the class. We tried the range-topping
8.0in touchscreen system with sat-nav. This screen has impressive clarity and quick reaction times and is easy to operate, even if the sat-nav can be a little slow to keep up.
Entry-level S trim’s equipment list includes 16in alloy wheels, air conditioning, cruise control, all-round electric windows and automatic emergency braking. SE adds 17in alloys, LED daytime running lights, automatic headlights, rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera; it would be our pick.
The Kona is generally slightly cheaper than the equivalent Arona but a little more than a similarly specced Captur at list price. However, most buyers will be buying on PCP finance, and Hyundai has yet to confirm its deals.
So, at this stage, we will have to hope that, armed with some competitive finance quotes and a more comfortable ride on smaller wheels, the Kona will give us more to recommend.
SAYS Poor-riding, lacklustre to drive and not that practical. Good interior quality and kit, though