By my estimation, the Hyundai Kona had a very sudden launch in Sudbury, Ont., where I live.
I saw the press release, looked at the pics, heard it was coming to market and checked the announcement details on Hyundai’s littlest crossover as Kona was gearing up for arrival.
“So, it’s like the Tuscon’s little brother,” I remember thinking to myself.
“Weird face, though.”
About five hours later, I started seeing Konas everywhere. Everywhere. I went shopping and there were four of them in the parking lot.
Two more later at the gym. They’d only been on sale a week and everyone seemed to be snatching them up. Turns out, Hyundai had to ask their Kona factory to ramp up output to meet the surprisingly strong demand.
As I wrote this in early January, Kona was also the best-selling all-new vehicle in Canada.
If you’re wondering, Kona is a place in Hawaii. In China, the Kona will be called the Encino, for some reason. And in Portugal the Kona is called the Kauai because “Kona” sounds similar to a Portugese slang word referring to a certain part of the genitals.
Weird face, though.
Still, that one-of-a-kind mug does something important by standing out and conveying Kona’s identity, from a glance, in a very crowded sales segment that’s exploding and swelling and bloating like the judging panel at a baked beans competition.
On board, it’s a mostly economy-car feel to the trimmings: it’s hard plastic everywhere, but assembled nicely with good use of textures and accenting colours to liven things up.
If you like goodies, you will like a Kona Ultimate, like my tester, very much. The steering wheel is heated, finished with accent stitching, and sits behind a modern and informative set of instruments that are nicely lit and easy to read. There’s even a little display screen that’s customizable, even and repeats your selection for lights and wipers.
The central touch screen is bright and nicely animated, colourful, vivid, very responsive and very straightforward. Pair your phone and spend 10 minutes learning the system, and it won’t cause you any stress.
The screen doubles as a high-resolution backup camera and radar alerts are provided if you’re backing up when there’s traffic approaching from the side, which is also a nice touch.
There’s a power driver seat, big sunroof, punchy Infinity stereo, heated leather, push-button start and automatic lights, too. And I loved the wireless charging pad, which recharges your (compatible) handset, sans cord, when you toss it into its little cubby on the centre console.
The cargo hold is not enormous. It’s small car’s and should swallow three or four small bags easily. Seatbacks fold 60/40 and almost fully flat. Lift the cargo cover out of the way and you can stuff some taller gear in as needed.
At about five-foot-10, your writer could “just” fit in the rear seat of the Kona without feeling like he was wearing it, but larger adults than I will do best in the front.
Here, there’s adequate room for you and your things, and clever nearby storage galore. You feel like you’re sitting in an average-sized small car, but in a more upright position, with a better forward view, and higher off the ground.
The best thing about the Kona is that it’s little and light and comes with a beasty little turbo engine, if you like. The available 1.6-litre turbo engine (1.6T) is good for 175 horsepower and nearly 200 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers make Kona the sportiest thing in the segment (by a hefty margin in most cases) and also make it properly saucy when you give it a big ol’ boot full of gas.
If that’s not your style, the 1.6T is also relatively quiet, very smooth and otherwise nicely-behaved if you’re just putting around town.
The ride is another very strong point. Sporty looks and engine aside, Kona doesn’t ride as if it’s been overly-stiffened to jack up the handling. Simply, what feels to be a carefully-specified layer of softness around the very edges of the suspension feel add refinement and smoothness to areas of the road-condition spectrum that can often coax smashing and crashing sensations from beneath. Against most similar models I’ve driven, Kona feels more comfortable, on more surfaces, more of the time (other ride-quality favourites include Subaru Crosstrek and Toyota C-HR).
In the snow, Kona’s AWD system acts fast and predictably. Mostly, it just does a great job at finding any available traction on any surface, using it well, and doing that without you feeling, hearing or sensing much of anything from the driver’s seat. There’s an AWD Lock mode that drivers can engage for additional pre-emptive traction when required.
I took one of these around an off-road testing course back in the fall. If you’ll use your Kona on an off-road trail (unlikely, but try it), you’ll find it’s easy to manoeuvrer, easy to evade obstacles with, and stiff enough to pivot on three wheels without any creaking from the bodywork.
A few final points. First, Kona is just fine in side-winds and not easily pushed around. Second, if you’re cross-shopping, you’ll find its noise levels at higher speeds land at about the average in this segment.
Finally, outward sight lines are good up front and most drivers will be able to see the edge of the hood. Outward sight lines to the rear aren’t as good, but the clear and bright backup camera display compensate.
I left Kona without any major gripes. I figure the interior could do with some more upscale materials to replace some of the crisp plastic and on some surfaces, though the suspension stays relatively refined, it can become fairly noisy.
Here’s a machine that just does what it’s supposed to do and does it well. It does it with an eye for unique looks, a refined and sporty drive and plenty of great content.
Kona AWD starts at $23,000.
The specs
- Model: Hyundai Kona 1.6T Ultimate
- Engine: 1.6L turbo four-cylinder, 175 horsepower
- Drivetrain: AWD with AWD LOCK mode
- Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch
- Features: Blind spot monitoring, heated leather, rear-view camera, sunroof, full driver computer, automatic lights, automatic climate control, wireless Smartphone recharging
- What’s hot: sporty and refined, great winter performance, unique looks, easy to manoeuvrer, overall bang for the buck
- What’s not: interior materials are adequate at best, rougher surfaces can degrade ride comfort
- Starting price (2.0 FWD): $21,099
- As tested (1.6T Ultimate AWD): $31,899
