FIRST DRIVE IMPRESSION: Kona adds youthful appeal to Hyundai’s SUV range

By Martin Pretorius

Hyundai seems intent on plugging the smallest gap in their local model range – and not just by expanding their existing model ranges, either. Following the recent updates to the Creta and Tucson, a gap of about R40 000 opened up between the most expensive petrol Creta and the least-expensive petrol Tucson. This clearly wouldn’t do, so Hyundai decided to slot their brand-new Kona crossover into this micro-niche.

Named after a district on the Big Island of Hawaii, the new Kona’s appearance evokes a youthful image – it’s clearly meant to appeal to younger (or younger-at-heart) buyers. There’s a certain jauntiness to the Kona’s combination of curves and sharp edges, with an athletic stance and interesting details all around. It looks like it should be quite at ease with a surfboard or mountain bike (or whatever it is that today’s young people ride for thrills) strapped to the roof rails, really. 

Style on a budget?

Unusual design elements abound. Most notable among these is the headlight design, where the main beam clusters are mounted below the DRLs, and housed in black plastic panels with aluminium-look inserts. The DRLs and indicators perch on the top corners of the front bumper in slit-like mountings, and these individual elements combine to frame Hyundai’s corporate grille. It’s not a unique theme (Jeep’s Cherokee and Citroen’s Cactus have tried the same kind of thing), but the Kona’s “face” is infinitely more attractive than either of those.

Moving down the flanks, there are some swage lines which echo the dip in the shoulder line, which in turn takes a sharp turn upwards towards an interesting black insert in the D-pillar. The wheel arches are flared nicely, and in combination with the black fender trim, they endow the Kona with a solid, planted stance. It perhaps most closely recalls the Mazda CX-3, but with a fair amount of added edginess.

It all ends off with a rear end with the same approach regarding distinct light clusters – in this case, tail and brake lights are placed in the sliver-like top locations, and the indicators as well as the reverse and fog lights take up residence in the lower clusters. Again, copious black cladding adds visual contrast, but in comparison to the assertive front end, it’s almost subdued out back.

Inside the Kona

The youthful theme continues in the cabin, where copious amounts of red (or yellow, in cars with the vivid “Acid Yellow” exterior colour) accenting lifts the ambience beyond the ordinary. It’s not extraordinarily boldly styled inside, to be sure, but it’s amazing what some splashes of colour around the air vents, in the safety belts and seat stitching, and on the gear lever surround can do to liven up a car’s atmosphere. Perched in the middle of the dashboard is a 7-inch colour touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with the usual Bluetooth and USB connectivity and steering wheel controls.

Air-con controls are mounted below the central air vents, with the USB and Aux ports, 12V power outlet, and a fairly generous storage bin in front of the gear lever. Space is quite adequate for a vehicle of this size, although that rounded roofline does compromise rear headroom slightly. Rear legroom isn’t especially generous either, but there should be enough room to carry four average-sized adults in reasonable comfort. The luggage compartment has a rated volume of 361 litres, and the rear seats fold flat in a 60/40 ratio to expand on that figure. (Hyundai doesn’t say how much it will take with the seats down.)

Safety and equipment

Regardless of the chosen engine, the Kona comes in a single, comprehensive trim level. Standard kit includes power steering, air conditioning, the aforementioned infotainment system with 6 speakers, cruise control, imitation leather-and-cloth seat trim, blind-spot monitoring, a rear-view camera, rear parking sensors, and rear cross-traffic alert.

Other safety equipment is well sorted as well, with 6 airbags, stability control, hill-start assist, and, weirdly, hill descent control. A 5-star Euro-NCAP safety rating adds even more peace of mind.

Drivetrain and engineering

Although overseas markets receive variants with Hyundai’s 1.6-litre turbo-petrol and diesel engines, the South African range will comprise of only two models: a 1.0-litre turbo 3-cylinder petrol, and a naturally-aspirated 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol.

The small engine delivers 88 kW and 172 Nm and is exclusively mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox, while the 2.0-litre’s 110 kW and 180 Nm can only be sent into a 6-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. Both of them are front-wheel driven, with no prospect of all-wheel drive at all. Then again, the ground clearance of 170 mm is fine for a trip to the nursery, but nowhere near enough for serious off-roading anyway.

The body shell makes extensive use of high-strength steel, which enabled Hyundai to keep the kerb weight below the 1 300 kg mark without compromising on structural stiffness. Refinement also came in for strict scrutiny, which resulted in very well-controlled noise and vibration levels. In fact, I was completely unaware that the 2.0-litre car I tried out first was even idling when I settled behind the wheel, until my foot brushed against the accelerator.

The Drive

Out on the road, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The 2.0-litre engine makes for reasonably brisk propulsion, even at altitude. However, it needs to be worked hard to provide really meaningful acceleration, which introduces some roughness to the otherwise hushed cabin. At least the 6-speed automatic is generally smooth-shifting, and promptly selects the appropriate gear in response to sudden power demands. In gentler use, the power delivery is entirely adequate and refined, and makes for effortless driving in traffic, although the gearbox may hunt for the correct ratio when faced with steeper inclines at freeway speed.

The 1.0T triple is the diametric opposite, because it doles out its torque earlier in the rev range – once it’s inside the turbo’s boost range, that is. In the manner of most such downsized engines, there’s a fair bit of boost lag just above idle speed, with the marked step up in the torque curve only arriving around at the 1 750 r/min mark. Once it’s on the boil, acceleration is reasonably spritely, although the little engine does run out breath somewhat at high engine speeds.

The 6-speed manual gearbox has a notchy feel, and requires a surprising amount of driver effort to shift. This impression is heightened by the oversized shift knob, although the clutch action is nicely progressive and light enough. Overall, the 1.0T is probably the better choice for long-distance trips, while the smoother 2.0-litre will definitely make more sense for city-bound drivers.

The handling and ride quality was a nice surprise in both derivatives, with a reasonably compliant suspension which still managed to give stable cornering and plenty of road grip. A special mention must go to the steering system, which uses a variable-ratio setup to give sharp responses as well as very good directional stability. It’s still not over-endowed with road feel, but the accurate steering and balanced handling helped make the Kona a very confidence-inspiring car to drive, right from the get-go.

Price and value
The Kona 1.0T carries a pricetag of R379 900, with the 2.0-litre costing R20 000 more. We’re talking about fairly serious money here: the 2.0 costs almost as much as the top-spec Mazda CX-3, for instance, and the 1.0T is more expensive than the Toyota C-HR 1.2T Plus (manual). That said, the Kona’s combination of comprehensive standard equipment, overall refinement, sharp handling, impeccable safety credentials, and practicality strikes a nice balance, and creates a well-rounded package to tackle such convincing opponents on every front. It doesn’t hurt that it looks good, either...