Best Motorbuys: August 17, 2018

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
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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.