Hyundai Kona 2017 Review - International

Hyundai is one of the last major car manufacturers to enter the booming compact SUV segment, but being ‘fashionably late’ to the party might not be such a bad thing; especially if you arrive with plenty of presence and some nice presents in hand…

In the case of the all-new Kona – which slots under the bigger Tucson and Santa Fe SUVs respectively – that includes stand-out styling, class-leading safety and tech, a relatively roomy and well-appointed interior, and more turbocharged punch than its main rivals.

The crowded compact SUV segment down under is bursting at the seams with new and not-so-new models, which account for close to 10 per cent of Australian new car sales. Taking on the top-selling Mazda CX-3 and Mitsubishi ASX, along with the popular Honda HR-V and attention grabbers like the Toyota C-HR, Hyundai Australia says it has the potential to boost its local sales by 10 per cent with up to 10,000 annual Kona sales achievable.

As Hyundai Australia chief operating officer Scott Grant said at the South Korean launch: “Kona couldn’t come soon enough for us!”

What to expect down under
Moving Hyundai further away from its traditional ‘cheap and cheerful’ image, Kona will be the first mainstream Hyundai model sold Down Under without a diesel engine or manual transmission.

While final specification and pricing is still to come, Hyundai’s baby SUV will be available in three trim levels, with the entry-level model powered by a 110kW/179Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine driving the front wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission.

Hyundai claims a 0-100km/h time of 10sec and a top speed of 194km/h.

Mid and top-spec models will get a more powerful 130kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine driving all four wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission; with a claimed 0-100km/h time of 7.7 seconds and a top speed of 210km/h.

That will make it one of the quickest and more powerful, small urban crossovers in the $25,000-$35,000 price bracket, in which the Kona is expected to compete.

Time to trump
The Kona will also trump rivals with other Hyundai ‘firsts’ including Hyundai’s first head-up display system, which is bigger and brighter than the pop-up panel on the CX-3. Displaying key driving information including navigation and lane departure alerts directly in the driver’s line of sight, it will be fitted standard to the top-spec Kona.

The range-topping Kona will also benefit from a “comprehensive suite of active safety features”, many of which are not available on rivals. These include active driving aids like autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, blind-spot detection, lane-change assist, high-beam assist, and driver attention warning. Combined with six airbags and a high-strength steel body structure, it should help deliver Kona a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Following the funky styling trend we’ve seen with the latest crop of urban crossovers, including Toyota CH-R and Suzuki Ignis, the Kona’s sporty exterior look is punctuated by short overhangs, bulging wheel-arches, a blunt front end with trapezoidal grille and Jeep Cherokee-style twin-headlight design including a strip of LED daytime running lights perched above low-set LED headlights.

It shares similar underpinnings to the Elantra and i30, and like the latest i30 will benefit from local suspension tuning to make it handle Australian roads better. All Kona models have a MacPherson strut front suspension, with a torsion beam rear axle for 2WD variants and more sophisticated multi-link set-up fitted to 4WD models.

Four wheel disc brakes and a range of 17 or 18-inch alloy wheels are also part of the driving suite.

Room to move
At 4165mm long, 1800mm wide, and 1550mm tall, the Kona is 110mm shorter and 35mm wider (but the same height) as the CX-3. The Kona’s wheelbase, at 2600mm, is just 30mm longer than the Mazda’s.

Despite the option of all-wheel drive, the Kona won’t be going too far into the Outback, although decent ground clearance of 170mm will be good for avoiding kerbs and speed bumps. The large swathes of black plastic ‘armour’ around the lower body should also provide some resistance to inevitable car park knocks and scratches.

Hyundai is claiming “class-leading interior space” with the Kona, and without the full statistics to back it up, we assume they’re referring to passenger and not cargo room.

Sitting in either the front or second-row seats, it certainly doesn’t feel cramped, even for 190cm tall adults. There’s good headroom, and decent legroom in the rear unless two big blokes sit back to back. You’ll struggle to fit three adults across though, but three kids should be fine.

Like some of its rivals there are no rear vents to deliver climate controlled air to the back, but it’s good to see the door pockets are big enough to hold a large drink bottle.

Boot capacity is listed at 361 litres (better than the CX-3 but less than the HR-V) and the Kona’s 60:40 split-folding rear seats fold almost flat, with a two-level loading floor that potentially allows room for larger objects like bikes to fit through the back.

Hyundai claim up to 1143 litres of space with the rear seats not in play.

The boot itself is big enough for the weekly shopping, and a spare tyre resides in a styrene storage compartment for smaller items under the false floor.

Otherwise storage options are what you’d expect in a smaller SUV, with room for odds and end in the centre console box, glove box, and an open tray fore of the transmission lever with room to power up a couple of mobile phones, with 12-volt and USB sockets located there.

Less funky inside
Good news is the interior design bears more than a passing resemblance to the latest i30, with a few differences like rounded air-con vents. It’s more muted than the loud exterior treatment though, and a proliferation of hard albeit textured dash plastics lowers the tone.

But the narrow seats are well padded and contoured, and a nice, grippy leather-wrapped, steering wheel with multiple buttons allows easy toggling of the comprehensive digital trip computer.

Buyers will be able to customised and add some splashes of colour inside, for a price. Some of the options on display included Golf GTI-like tartan cloth trim, and black leather with yellow or red piping and stitching, matching gloss dash highlights, even yellow windscreen wipers!

A two-tone roof and 10 exterior colour options, should also excited the look-at-me crowd.

The left-drive, US market production car we drove was laden with features, including push-button ignition, heated seats, sunroof, HUD display, climate control, and Krell eight-speaker audio system, giving an idea of what might be available Down Under.

The top-spec Kona will also feature a premium infotainment system with Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, sat nav and reversing camera on a tablet-like 8.0-inch colour touchscreen. Other tech like digital radio and smartphone wireless charging, are other potential options.

Class-leading drive?
A brief drive of the Kona – about five minutes around an R&D test facility on mostly smooth bitumen with a few corners thrown in – wasn’t enough to gauge the Kona’s full potential. However, the initial signs are good.

An elevated seating position provides a good view over the bonnet, and the eight-way electric-adjustable seats and two-way adjustable steering ensured a comfortable driving position.

A de-tuned version of the zippy Elantra SR Turbo engine, the 1.6-litre turbo-petrol, makes light work of the 1400kg Kona. It accelerates smoothly and strongly, making claims of a 7.7sec 0-100km/h time appear reasonable.

There’s sufficient low-down grunt (maximum torque is achieved from 1500rpm) for around-town dawdling, but with the foot down will rev quite freely to 6500rpm before shifting (redline is 7000rpm). It’s refined too, with just a hint of engine roar at full pelt.

Left to its own devices the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission shifted smoothly and obediently, with the option of manual gear stick changes. Toggling between Normal and Sport drive modes, delivered a sharper feel to the electric steering, although Comfort mode felt responsive enough for everyday use.

There wasn’t much jiggling over some rougher patches of concrete, and body roll was kept to a minimum unless pushed hard around corners. There was some tyre, wind and engine noise at 100km/h plus but interior quietness appeared on a par with rivals like the CX-3.

It’s certainly not Audi-like, but a solid clunk to the doors, and no rattles on our short test run, provides confidence in regards to build quality.

Kona’s impressive raft of safety, performance and technology features – especially in the up-spec models – raises the bar in the city SUV market and should ensure it steals sales from popular rivals.

How much of a success it becomes Down Under, will largely depend on pricing and whether buyers take to its youth-oriented styling…

2017 Hyundai Kona pricing and specifications:
Price: TBA (local launch September 2017)
Engine: 1.6-litre turbo-petrol
Output: 130kW/265Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel economy: 7.3L/100km
CO2: 169g/km
Safety rating: TBA