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Hyundai Kona Price: Hyundai Kona Elite turbo, $41,990 Dimensions: Length, 4165mm; width, 1800mm; height, 1565mm Configuration: Four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive, 1591cc, 130kW, 265Nm, six-speed automatic. Performance: 0-100km/h, 8sec Fuel usage: 6.7l/100km By Ross Kiddie HYUNDAI New Zealand has been well served by an extensive sport utility vehicle range. For many years it has had Santa Fe, IX crossover, and Tucson, all have sold with considerable success in New Zealand. Not a company to rest on its laurels, Hyundai realised the need to explore other segments of the SUV market, and just recently a newcomer landed – the Kona. The Kona is a small SUV, not tiny, but it is a car for those who like to travel light. It arrives here in two four-cylinder petrol engine variations a 2-litre normally aspirated unit and a 1.6-litre turbocharged unit. The latter arrives with four-wheeldrive, the 2-litre model is front wheeldrive only. Prices start at $31,990 for the 2-litre, an extra $5000 will buy you into a high grade Elite version, while the turbocharged models sit at $36,990 and $41,990 (Elite). At the time of print, Hyundai New Zealand has just launched a fully electric Kona, pricing for the EV is yet to be announced. The subject of this review is the Elite turbo and, as mentioned, it has drive to all four wheels. Even with that, the Kona isn’t an off-roader, it will certainly tackle crosscountry tracks with dignity but it isn’t engineered for that role; instead, its fourwheel-drive system is a safety mechanism for when roads are slippery, especially when it’s icy or drenched with rain. However, I can see the Kona appealing to the winter recreational enthusiast. Even though it is just 4.1m, roof rails would happily accept a couple of sets of skis, and its drive system would be adequate for the skifield access road. As you would expect from Hyundai, the driveline is beautifully engineered. The engine drives through a seven-shift dual clutch automatic gearbox. The beauty of that system is that there is little loading on the engine, allowing it to work freely through the rev band. Therein lies another secret, because of the turbocharging process the points of peak power and maximum torque are low in the first instance. Hyundai claims 130kW at just 5500rpm, if you add in 265Nm all of the way from 1500rpm to 4500rpm, it’s easy to fathom out how free-revving and willing the engine is through the midrange. That has a complementary effect on fuel usage. Rated at 6.7-litre per 100km (42mpg), the Kona is a bit of a fuel miser; well, at around 1500kg there’s not a lot of weight to drag around, so that is also beneficial. During my testing time the fuel usage readout was constantly listing at around 7.8l/100km (36mpg) with a 6l/100km (47mpg) instantaneous readout sitting at a steady 100km/h, the engine working over at the bottom end of the rev counter (2000rpm). The engine/gearbox combination is a real treat, the engine is quiet, stroppy and lively when requested, the gearbox ratios are structured for immediate performance and the gears shift quickly. Dual clutch systems aren’t at their best during ratio changes, but the Kona is relatively smooth. There are also three drive modes the driver can select at will. I used the default comfort mode mostly, the sport setting hastens engine urgency, but it is reluctant Page 29 to usher in the tall gears, which, to me, is a bit of a fuel waste. However, in sport mode acceleration is keen, against the stopwatch the Kona turbo will cut out a standstill to 100km/h time of 8sec, and will leap through a highway overtake in 4.8sec (80km/h to 120km/h). Of course, eco mode is there for those who are keen to pursue the highest probable fuel economy. One of the Kona’s greatest attributes is the way it drives, it is taut and feels tightly connected to the road through the steering. That’s an attribute I rate highly in any car, and the Kona doesn’t disappoint. A lot of that is due to its compact stature, the Kona is agile and nimble. Of course, four-wheel-drive adds in a lot of natural grip, the Kona feels sedan-like with its handling and comes without the cost of suspension firming. Occupant comfort is high, the spring and damper rates are a balanced compromise, the Kona has suspension which deals to all road surfaces with positive absorption. In comparison to its 2-litre stablemate, the four-wheel-drive version has to have a fully independent rear end and that provides good freedom of movement at the rear, something that hampers the front-wheel-drive version ever so slightly. That aside, the Kona in both forms still has my seal of approval. In Elite form it wants for nothing in terms of specification, it has a high level of fitment. Personally, I’d opt for the non-Elite model, I’m more of a cloth trim fan as opposed to leather, but that is just a personal preference. However, in all forms the Kona is a worthy addition to the Hyundai stable.