… Hyundai Kona …
There’s an awful lot of these compact SUVs running around the streets and car parks of Britain these days, and it’s easy to see why. Plenty of room inside and with a high up driving position to make negotiating busy streets a little bit easier. And of course, a reasonable price helps a lot too.
Enter the fray, the Hyundai Kona. There is only so much you can do with a high rise, four door hatch back to make it stand out from the crowd. The scope is limited for making a style statement and keeping the price competitive, but Hyundai have done a good job with the Kona.
It wasn’t just the glaring green (Hyundai called it Acid Yellow!) that made it look different, the sculpted front wings and flanks of the car gives it a strong appearance and stance.
The ‘butch’ exterior belies what’s under the bonnet, a wee 1 litre 3 cylinder turbo petrol that emits a fairly healthy 118 bhp. I wouldn’t call it noisy, but you always knows it’s there with the unmistakable thrum of a 3 cylinder spinning up the front wheels. There is a 4WD option, but that only comes with the 1.6 litre engine which has 174 bhp. Oddly enough, although the towing capacity for the 1600 is 1250 kgs, the 1 litre model is only 50 kgs less. Well, I thought that was interesting!
Anyway, the 1 litre copes well in everyday driving conditions in a vehicle that weighs less than 1300 kgs. It rides well too. It’s not as softly sprung as rival crossovers, so it’s actually quite fun to hustle along windy roads. Firm and roll-free, and still quite comfortable.
The front seat occupants will have more room to stretch out than those in the back. Bigger folk might like a bit more headroom and leg room, especially if the front seats are well back to accommodate the front two. If I was being sexist I might say this is a Mum’s car for ferrying weans about, but that’s a dangerous thing to say these days, so better to say it’s a car for parents with younger kids.
The quality of the interior furnishing materials reflects a car that is being built to a strict ‘family budget’ and it does look a bit plasticky.
Having said that, the Kona is not cheap. For sure prices start at just over £13,000 for the base model but this was the Premium SE and topped the list at Just short of 22 and a half thousand quid. That puts it pretty close to more serious rivals.
However, this being Hyundai, they have packed a lot of kit into the car for that sort of money including heated and ventilated front seats. Like heated steering wheels, bum warmers are things you never knew you needed till you get them, or is that just an age thing?
A rear camera and reversing guidance system complements the front and rear parking sensors and the car comes with the now expected plethora of driving safety aids with Driver Attention Alert and Lane Keep Assist, and also Rear Cross Traffic Alert. In addition to the Hill Start Assist Control there is Downhill Brake Control.
The in-car entertainment system is now controlled by the obligatory upright touchscreen in the centre of the dash which also incorporates Android/Apple connectivity with USB, AUX and other 12v connections. The 8 speaker sound system by KRELL is also pretty good .
It’s a well equipped nice little driver and although Hyundai claims an average fuel consumption of 52.3 mpg, I struggled to get over 40. That however seems to be pretty common with all manufacturers’ small capacity engines these days so it’s no worse than anyone else. If you expect to do high mileage and you’d prefer a diesel, that’s only available on special order, but for most folk the 1 litre petrol will be the preferred option.
It’s not for me, but I really liked it.