The all-new Kona crossover will take on the likes of Nissan’s Juke in international markets. The car will sit below the Santa Fe and Tucson in Hyundai’s SUV line-up.
“The all-new Kona is not just another car among Hyundai Motor’s established SUV range – it is an important milestone on our journey to become the number one Asian automotive brand in Europe by 2021,” said Thomas Schmid, Hyundai Europe’s chief operating officer.
The car shares its platform with Kia’s upcoming Stonic, which will go on sale in Korea next month, and then in North America and Europe. Under the hood will be a choice of two turbocharged petrol engines, with a 1.6-litre diesel likely to follow in mid-2018.
The cars 1.0-litre engine will be mated to a six-speed manual transmission and the 1.6 -litre unit will be mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with all-wheel drive. The 1.0-litre engine0 produces 119.6hp and 172Nm of torque at 1,500-4,000rpm, while the more powerful 1.6-litre petrol unit makes 176hp with 264Nm of torque at 1,500-4,000rpm.
The Kona’s appearance is a new direction as far as Hyundai is concerned. The carmaker says it is designed to merge high-tech looks with sophistication, and is designed to appeal to millennial buyers. The car’s slim LED daytime running lights sit above the main headlights and are a design element similar to the Juke. The rear has wraparound cladding that features the indicator and reversing lights, slim LED rear lights, and a spoiler with an integrated LED brake light. The car comes loaded with tech. There’s a 5.0-inch TFT screen as standard with an optional 8.0-inch colour touchscreen. The Kona allows you to connect your smartphone and sync it using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. There’s an optional wireless smartphone charging pad too.
The Kona is also available with a heads-up display and an eight-speaker sound system as optional add ons. There are a host of active driver assistance systems, including autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, rear-cross traffic alert and blind spot detection.