Hyundai is no stranger to fun when it comes to design and engineering. It’s had the two generations of the Veloster out in the marketplace, and the Tiburon before that. Now, it had added the Kona to the fun corner of Hyundai showrooms, a subcompact crossover that is cool to look at and a nimble handler on the road.
This subcompact crossover category amuses me sometimes. To those of us who have driven for a few decades, it is a “hatchback,” albeit one that is a little higher off the ground than familiar hatchbacks like Ford Focus, or gone-by models like the Malibu Maxx. If you are looking for today’s competitors to the Kona, it would be Subaru Crosstrek, Honda HR-V and Mazda CX-3. For perspective, the Kona is a full foot shorter than Hyundai’s familiar Hyundai Tucson crossover.
To make its “crossover” bones, the Kona comes in both front-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive. Pricing begins at $19,500 for a front-drive SE with a 2.0-liter engine, while the better (in my book) 1.6-liter turbo-charged engine starts at $24,700 for a front-drive “Limited” trim level. Fuel economy is 28 mpg city and 32 mpg highway. Not great for a vehicle this size.
The top of the line Kona with the 1.6-liter engine, all-wheel-drive, seven-speed dual clutch, a full-blown customizable infotainment system, head-up display with blind-spot and lane departure warnings, three years of Blue Link services (crash and theft notification, integration with Google Home, Amazon Alexa), forward-collision avoidance and more will run you $29,975. That may seem like a steep climb from a base price of $19,500, but not when you consider the amount of technology that’s on-board and the fact that the average price vehicle in the U.S. now is above $33,000.
Driving the Kona: It feels nimble and sporty and light. The ride reminds me of the best Hondas I have driven. To feel like a truly sporty drive, though, I recommend the turbo-charged engine, as the 2.0 liter with a six-speed transmission, at times, lags during acceleration. In fact, at certain points in suburban and highway driving, I switched over to manual-mode and did my own shifting–something I’d normally reserve for mountain driving.
Driving over some fairly crummy roads, as well as properly paved highways, did not phase the Kona, as it seemed to soak up the bumps pretty well. In my second of two Kona test cars, I did not get power seats–something that irks me in any car. Really? It’s 2018. Can we all just agree that a power driver seat is a standard feature for any car?!
Cargo space behind the back seat is adequate for two carry-on roller bags and two school-sized backpacks. But fold-down rear seats are easily engaged. Honestly, this class of cars is rarely bought by anyone who is carrying more than one child, so backseat legroom was adequate for my 5’11 adult-size frame, and we had plenty of room for our stuff.
One beef I have with the test car is the sea of hard plastic surfaces. Yes, it’s textured where it needs to be, but some soft-touch materials on the doors and dash would be a very welcome running improvement.
A 7-inch touch screen comes standard, and the Kona has both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which was plenty adequate for me without buying into the in-car navigation option, which comes with an 8-inch screen.
The exterior design of the Kona is eye-candy to me. One of my test cars came in a light blue that I and my teenage son voted thumbs-up.
Bottom line for the Kona is that this vehicle for price, value and performance stacks up nicely against the growing competition in this category. There is room for improvement, though, and I personally would love to see a manual transmission option added. Fat chance, but I can hope. Running changes should include some more suspension tuning, better interior materials and addition of a standard power driver seat.
