Hyundai Bayon review

When it comes to dinky SUVs, you’re pretty spoilt for choice. You’ve got the likes of the Ford Puma, Nissan Juke, VW T-Cross and many others. Now, there’s another to consider — the Hyundai Bayon.

You can imagine the Hyundai Bayon a bit like a pair of Crocs. Beneath the funky styling is a car that’s trying to nail the basics of being a practical, sensible daily runaround.

There’s a lot to unpack with the design of the Bayon. Its thin daytime running light and bulbous headlight combo is eye-catching, and the huge grille almost makes it look as though it’s yawning.

You can have yours with a funky two-tone roof if you’d like, while 16-inch alloys come fitted as standard. That said, if you go for one of the higher-spec models, you’ll get larger 17-inch rims instead. You’ll spot boomerang-ish brake lights at the back, with a gloss black panel back there too, no matter your choice of roof.

Things inside the Hyundai Bayon aren’t quite as abstract, but it looks nice enough.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t feel that great — with a lot of scratchy plastics throughout. Though the build quality is generally good, a VW T-Cross feels way more solid.

You should find the driving position of the Hyundai Bayon suits you nicely, however. You sit high up, but not so much that you feel like you’re behind the wheel of a bus, and there’s plenty of adjustability for the seats and steering wheel.

An 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system comes as standard. Premium models and upwards get you a fancier 10.25-inch system, which is the one you’ll want if you have a penchant for tech.

Underneath the wacky looks of the Bayon is a car that’s nice and sensible when you’re running around town.

The system itself is nothing too special, but it does the basics well and is pretty responsive. If you’d rather plug your phone in, both versions of the infotainment system support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay for no extra cost.

No matter your pick of Hyundai Bayon, you’ll get a crisp digital driver’s display feeding you key driving info. Again, nothing too fancy — but it does its job nicely.

Your passengers in the back will be pretty grateful for your choice of car. The Bayon offers a decent amount of leg and headroom in the back, though there’s quite a hump on the floor so it’ll be tight for three in the back.

With 334 litres of boot space, the Bayon is far from the most practical in its class. A Ford Puma gives you 456 litres for example, and the Skoda Kamiq 400 litres. However, the opening itself is squared off and easy to load stuff into.

You can have a 100hp or 120hp engine with the Bayon, as well as the choice of a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearbox. Hyundai claims up to 53.3mpg, but you can expect to get around 45mpg in reality.

The Bayon is most at home around town. Hyundai i20 underpinnings shine through here — offering light steering that manages to not be overly soft, and suspension that’s comfy enough without shaking you like jelly.

It’s reasonable fun on a back road too, though if sheer driving pleasure is high on your list, a Puma is the way to go.

If you’re keen on a well-kitted urban runabout, the Hyundai Bayon is worth considering. It does lack practicality, but if you can sacrifice space there’s a lot to like about it. Take a look at the latest deals available through carwow.