Crossovers are hot and small ones are even hotter so Hyundai has added another to their lineup. Ostensibly replacing the Accent hatchback, this is the all-new Kona.
With a starting MSRP of $20,480 including destination and returning up to 30 mpg in mixed driving, the Kona and its counterparts are attractive to customers in search of fun, frugal, fashionable transportation. Smart packaging means these little guys can do more than you’d think and when it comes to our overwhelmed infrastructure and crowded roadways, driving something small is definitely an advantage.
The Kona’s got the look of something new and cool with an interesting front lighting scheme of triple stacked LED running lights, LED headlights and, disappointingly, yellowish fog lights. Its overall appearance looks more rugged and distinguished than most in the class. I really like it. There are 4 trim levels; SE, SEL, Limited and this here, the Ultimate. All-wheel drive is available across the board.
The Kona’s base engine is a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder producing 147 horsepower while paired to a 6-speed automatic but Limited and Ultimate trims like this one go for the gusto with a 1.6-liter turbo-4 producing 175 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque and matched to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
Keep in mind that 2-wheel drive Kona come with a more rudimentary torsion beam rear suspension while all-wheel drive Kona, like this one, come with a more sophisticated independent multi-link design. That means greater ride comfort and wheel articulation if you decide to do a little off-roading.
There’s only about 7” of ground clearance so don’t go crazy, but there is an all-wheel drive lock mode and hill decent control for slow speed driving when maximum traction is needed.
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