Hyundai Kona Review & Prices

The Kona is one of Hyundai’s smaller SUVs, but it’s also one of its most head-turning. It combines futuristic styling and a spacious interior with a range of sensible engine options, but it’s not as exciting to drive as it is to look at, and it’s not all that comfortable, either.

Think of it a bit like those cutting-edge, razor-thin TVs with ambient LEDs around the edge. It does the same job as the other options out there, but it’s a bit sleeker and more futuristic - with some very funky lights for a bit more drama.

Like a modern TV, though, there are a near-endless number of alternatives out there. From household names like the Ford Puma, Toyota Yaris Cross and Renault Captur to better-equipped options from lesser-known brands such as the Jaecoo 5 and all-electric BYD Atto 3.

None look quite as sharp as the Kona, that being said, because it’s a proper little headturner of an SUV. The dead-straight LED light bars front and rear and uber-curvy silhouette are just the start, because it’s the aggressive creases down the sides and the chunky wheel arches - containing both the headlights and taillights - which really steal the show.

The cabin is a bit more plain than the exterior, but it’s still a handsome interior to find yourself in. The set-back dashboard helps the interior look and feel open and airy, especially if you opt for your Kona with light-coloured upholstery and plastics.

Tap and scroll through the two-in-one infotainment and driver display panel, you’ll find it’s responsive to the touch and features crisp graphics. Real, physical climate controls and clicky steering wheel switches are a pleasant addition to the Kona, avoiding the irritating touch-sensitive-only controls which plague so many small SUVs these days.

You won’t struggle to find a comfortable seating position in the Kona, as the seats and steering wheel offer a lot of adjustment, while there’s loads of space for passengers both front and rear. Plenty of interior space for odds and ends and an enormous boot add to the Hyundai’s family-friendly credentials.

The Kona’s engine choices are less inspiring than the styling, with options including a 1.0-litre or 1.6-litre petrol, as well as two 1.6-litre hybrid units. Another contrast to its futuristic styling, you can even have a manual gearbox with a petrol version.

It’s a great car to drive around town, especially if you opt for a hybrid which makes smooth, steady progress. The light, responsive steering, excellent all-round visibility and large side mirrors make manoeuvring a piece of cake. You can feel the tall tyres taking the edge off of potholes, but it feels a bit unsettled over rough sections of road, jostling you about.

Nonetheless, the Kona eases into a quiet, composed motorway cruise, even if the suspension thuds over ruts at high speeds. It feels surprisingly agile on a twisty road, but it’s not as fun or level around bends as a Ford Puma.

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Starting at just over £27,000, the Kona is priced well compared to alternatives. It’s more expensive than the Skoda Kamiq and Volkswagen T-Cross, which aren’t quite as well-equipped as standard. It’s similarly priced to the posher, more stylish Peugeot 2008 and the sportier Ford Puma.

Prices climb as you go up the trim levels, with the entry-level Advance model coming equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, LED lights and parking sensors both front and rear. The N-Line is around £1,500 more expensive but features body-coloured wheel arches, 18-inch wheels, sportier bumpers and heated seats front and back.

The N-Line S adds ventilation to the front seats, a full suite of blind spot monitors and 360-degree parking cameras, BOSE sound system and sportier interior trim - at just under £32,000. For those of you not interested in sport-ifying your family SUV, the Ultimate trim costs the same but features leather upholstery and the two-tone wheel arches.

The Hyundai Kona is a refined motorway cruiser, but it’s a bit jiggly over bumps

In town

Because of the commanding driving position, visibility is pretty good so the Hyundai Kona is easy to place in busy traffic. You also get front and rear parking sensors with a rear-view camera as standard, which is helpful.

Comfort is generally fine, because the suspension doesn’t thwack into sharp bumps in the road. However, the car does jiggle about a bit and can feel like it’s never quite settled over particularly poor roads, which means it can’t match the Skoda Kamiq for comfort.

The hybrid is at its best in town, where the electric motor means you get good response from the throttle pedal and can dart in and out of junctions with ease. Economy is better around town where the electric motors can be used more, but the petrol engine chimes in earlier than you expect, which can be frustrating and means it’s not as economical as it could be.

Speaking of frustrating things, the driver assistance systems can be really annoying. While some are more useful than others, the constant binging and bonging can actually be quite distracting, especially when you can’t figure out what you’re being warned about. You can create a menu shortcut to turn them off quickly, because they all reactivate every time you start the car, but that sort of defeats the purpose of having them.

On the motorway

While the hybrid’s petrol engine can be a bit noisy when you accelerate, it settles down quietly at a cruise. Couple this with the fact that there’s little wind and road noise, and it’s a comfortable place to roll the odometer on. It’s not perfect though, as some bumps in the road will make a noticeable thud sound, even if it doesn’t actually unsettle the car.

Of the two non-hybrid petrol engines, you will want the more powerful option if you do a lot of motorway driving. The basic engine isn’t particularly powerful and won’t be as adept at getting up to speed.

Despite the annoying assistance alerts, the standard-fit lane-keeping assistant – which keeps you between the lines – is pretty good and only interferes if you really stray too far. Smart cruise control is also fitted to all models – except manual transmissions – which isn’t a given among alternatives at this price.

On a twisty road

Point the Hyundai Kona down a twisty road and it’s perfectly capable, if not the last word in fun. The steering is light, so you don’t get much confidence in how much grip your tyres have, but it’s fairly direct and doesn’t feel like it’s about to fall over. A Ford Puma is more agile here, but you have to accept it’s less comfortable the rest of the time.

And sorry to sound like a broken record, but the assistance systems raise their ugly heads again here. The lane assist that works so well on the motorway where the lanes are well-defined is annoyingly intrusive on countryside roads. From time to time it will tug at the wheel to keep you away from the grass verge, which isn’t ideal on narrow roads with poor visibility around corners ahead, or if you’re trying to leave more space for oncoming traffic.

There’s loads of space and storage wherever you sit in the Kona, and the boot’s really big, but small items can rattle in the door bins

While the driving experience of the Hyundai Kona is a touch hit and miss, there can be absolutely no complaints about the space and practicality of the cabin. The driving position is good with lots of adjustability so you can get a good view of the road ahead, and there’s little issue with space for taller drivers.

Storage is ample, with a long area between the passengers to store bits and bobs, as well as being home to the retractable cupholders, so you can have more space when you don’t need to keep a cup secure. The armrest cubby hole is usefully large, there’s an area for your phone beneath the dashboard, and the door bins are big – though it’s a bit of a shame they’re not felt-lined to stop items rattling around on the move.

Space in the back seats

Space in the back is impressive, too. Even taller passengers will find they have plenty of legroom and headroom, and because it’s fairly wide it’s not too cramped for three people side-by-side, either.

The door bin is less impressive in the back, but it’s big enough to hold a typical fizzy drink bottle, and there’s another small storage compartment between the seats in front, where you will also find a couple of USB-C slots.

Because of all that space it’s really easy to fit a child seat inside without having to move the seats in front forward. And to make things even better the doors open to around 90 degrees, making access a breeze. The ISOFIX mounting points are easy to get to, but aren’t quite flush with the seat cushion so it can be a bit fiddly to line things up. Far from a deal breaker, though.

Boot space

There’s more good news in the boot: the capacity is 466 litres, which makes the Kona one of the most spacious small SUVs you can buy. The Ford Puma isn’t far behind with 456 litres, while you can get up to 455 litres in the Volkswagen T-Cross if you push the rear seats forward. But then you can’t put people in them.

Again, the Citroen C5 Aircross feels like an outlier as a bigger car, but it’s worth considering because it’s such good value. And it’s practical, with a 580-litre boot as standard, or up to 720 litres with the rear bench forward. That’s massive by any measure.

Making a further case for the Kona’s practical boot is the fact that it’s also really easy to get things in and out, because the bumper sits quite low and there’s no lip to slide items over. You also get loads of space under the floor if you want to keep things out of sight or just need to maximise capacity.

It is a bit of a shame that you have to reach in to fold the rear seats down, though, rather than having a lever in the boot. But at least the boot isn’t so deep as to make this impossible. Do this, and you get 1,300 litres of space, which is beaten only by the Skoda Kamiq and, you guessed it, the Citroen C5 Aircross.

The Hyundai Kona has a fresh, fuss-free interior design, but there are cheap plastics to be found

Most modern cars have big touchscreen displays that you have to use for everything from choosing radio stations to adjusting the cabin temperature. For some things, that can be annoyingly fiddly and distracting, but fortunately, the Hyundai Kona suffers no such issue.

The dashboard is festooned with buttons that make it quick and easy to navigate through menus, or tweak the temperature quickly on the move. The result is a curious mix of the old and new school with the twin-screen setup above, but it has a pleasingly retro feel rather than looking dull and dated.

When you do need to use the screens, they’re sharp and responsive, with intuitive menus that mean you’re not digging around for hours to change a simple setting. The instrument display is a 12.3-inch unit, while the infotainment screen is 10.25 inches, and you can use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for quick integration with your playlists and maps.

The pleasingly responsive infotainment tech is matched by a general feeling of quality in the cabin. Particularly in higher-spec trims, everything you touch feels upmarket and built to last, though there are some cheaper plastics if you go looking for them.

On-board technology is impressive whichever trim you go for, with the only features that aren’t standard-fit being the Bose sound system (N Line S and above) and wireless charging pad (N Line and above).

There are three engine options for the Hyundai Kona, in the form of two petrols and a petrol-electric hybrid, plus the all-electric Hyundai Kona Electric.

The first engine is a 1.0-litre unit with 120hp, which is available with a six-speed manual transmission and a seven-speed automatic. Both options are pretty sluggish, taking more than 11 seconds to hit 62mph from a standstill, though economy of up to 47.9mpg makes the smaller engine more efficient than the more powerful option.

That would be a 1.6-litre engine that makes a healthier 198hp. It will go from 0-62mph in 8.7 seconds with the manual, or 7.8 seconds with the auto, so both are more sprightly – useful for darting out of junctions or getting up to speed on the motorway. The trade off is that you use more fuel, at up to 44.1mpg.

Want maximum economy? The hybrid is your best bet. Although official figures put it at 60.1mpg, we saw around 50mpg during our time with the car, though this is still better than you will see with the non-hybrid engines. With 141hp it’s got enough get up and go when you need it, but it’s far from exciting.

For road tax and company car drivers, the hybrid is your best option, because it will cost the least. The price difference between the petrols and hybrid isn’t huge, but the latter will provide savings for both road tax and company car tax.

When tested by Euro NCAP the Hyundai Kona scored a not-quite-perfect four stars. Though Adult and Child Occupant protection scores were good, it suffered from low marks for protecting vulnerable road users and in the safety assist category.

Standard safety kit is good, with forward collision avoidance, lane-keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control fitted to all cars – though Konas with a manual transmission only get the regular cruise control that doesn’t automatically adjust its speed to the traffic ahead.

You need to step up to N Line S to get the full suite of safety kit, though. This adds a blind spot monitor with collision avoidance, as well as a system to warn of traffic crossing the rear while reversing, a parking collision avoidance system, and a 360-degree parking camera.

Although this new model hasn’t been on sale long enough to know just how reliable it is, the outgoing version had a pretty good reputation in this regard.

Hyundai offers one of the best warranties in the business, at five years with unlimited mileage. Only MG and Kia’s seven-year offerings, and Toyota’s 10-year warranty, can beat it.