New-look Hyundai Kona revealed

The new Hyundai Kona has been unveiled and it’s gunning for top spot in the small SUV segment.

Coming to Australia from around February 2021, the mid-life update for the popular Hyundai Kona brings a more mature exterior design, restyled cabin with more (and bigger) digital screens, improved safety features and a sporty new N Line variant to headline the range.

Currently Australia's second best selling small SUV behind the Mitsubishi ASX, the Hyundai Kona scores a revised front-end with more modern headlight and front bumper designs, plus a new-look grille and lower fascia.

Named after the Hawaiian town of Kona, on the Big Island, the compact Korean SUV maintains its unique design via slimmer LED daytime running lights that add a touch of sophistication.

The rear bumper gets the same silver ‘body armour’ lower cladding as seen at the front, while new-look tail-lights add a bit more razzle-dazzle to the Kona’s rump.

Up-spec Hyundai Kona N Line models get body-colour wheel-arch extensions and side skirts, unique 18-inch alloy wheels and a sportier front bumper design with bonnet vents above the grille and enlarged lower air-intakes instead of the silver body armour.

At the rear it gets twin exhaust outlets, a small diffuser and a redesigned rear bumper. And to match the sportier look there's an upgraded 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that takes peak power from 130kW to 145kW, although torque expected to remain the same at 265Nm.

Hyundai Australia will offer the boosted 145kW 1.6 turbo engine across the regular model range, along with the carryover entry-level 110kW/180Nm 2.0-litre petrol engine and six-speed automatic pairing, which may also get a tweak.

European markets get a new a 88kW 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, plus there’s a 100kW 1.6-litre turbo-diesel, both with 48-volt mild-hybrid systems. There’s also a new 103kW 1.6-litre petrol-electric hybrid powertrain backed by a small 32kW electric motor and a 1.5kWh lithium battery.

These powertrains are unlikely for Australia, except for the hybrid.

“We are interested in all electrified powertrains and will always study new products carefully, but at this time no decision has been made to introduce Kona Hybrid,” said Guido Schenken, Hyundai Australia PR senior manager.

“With no Australian government-regulated corporate/fleet emissions targets in place, we are not considered a priority market for electrified powertrains. This does not rule us out for any products, but it puts us lower down the list than we might otherwise be.”

However, the tech-leading zero-emissions battery-powered Hyundai Kona Electric (150kW/395Nm) will continue to be sold in Australia.

There’s also a top-secret, high-performance Hyundai Kona N model in the works, which has been spied testing at the legendary 21km Nurburgring road course in Germany.

The first full-fat N-badged SUV from Hyundai could arrive late in 2021 and is all but certain to be powered by the i30 N hot hatch's scorching 202kW/378Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four.

It will be paired to Hyundai N’s new eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

The interior of the 2021 Hyundai Kona has been upgraded with a new 10.2-inch digital instrument cluster that will replace the analogue speedo and tacho on top-spec models.

This is joined by a bigger 8.0-inch touch-screen infotainment system (up from the previous 7.0-inch unit) that is now visually detached from the dashboard.

Top-spec models get an even larger 10.2-inch touch-screen set-up with all the latest gadgets and split-screen functionality.

Australian specifications will be confirmed closer to the upgraded Kona's local launch in early 2021, but Hyundai is promising the latest in-car technology and functionality, which will include Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The cabin design has been modified to bring a more contemporary look while making controls easier to manipulate. An electric park brake has been added together illuminated cup-holders, new seat upholstery options including fabric and leather options, plus new two-tone light beige and khaki leather finishes.

Hyundai reckons the Kona is now roomier inside, by virtue of height-adjustable front seats. The rear seats now offer a heated function and second-row USB ports have been added.

Hyundai claims “Extra cargo capacity and rear-seat legroom offer more accommodation and comfort,” but doesn’t detail how much extra room is offered and how it was achieved.

The Hyundai Kona’s safety suite gets a big upgrade in this mid-life upgrade, with several new tech features added to the list as part of the Hyundai SmartSense Active Safety system, which allows the vehicle to accelerate, brake and steer itself without input from the driver -- like bigger, more expensive SUVs.

These will elevate the Kona from being so-so on the safety front to almost class-leading.

New additions include blind-spot collision-avoidance assist (BCA), rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist (RCTCAS), smart cruise control (SCC) with stop and go, leading vehicle departure alert (LVDA), lane following assist (LFA), intelligent speed limit (ISLW), safe exit warning (SEW), rear-seat alert (RSA) and upgraded autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with cyclist detection.

It should be noted that some of these new features are only available with the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

When it arrives in Australia in the first quarter of 2021, the new Hyundai Kona is likely to remain available in four automatic-only variants – Go, Active, Elite and Highlander – and with 2WD or AWD drivelines.

Pricing for the current small SUV range spans $24,300 for the 2.0-litre Kona Go to $65,290 for the Kona Electric Highlander, which gets all the trimmings like heated and cooled leather seats.

At the time of writing the Kona was Australia’s second most popular small SUV with a 12 per cent market share or 6264 sales to the end of July. Only the Mitsubishi ASX outsold it, with 15 per cent market share and 7847 sales.

Hyundai is confident its facelifted small SUV will help it close the gap to the Mitsubishi, and with Kona N Line and, later, Kona N hero models set to generate more interest, the 2021 small SUV sales race is set to be closer than ever.