Hey, you know what? We don’t have enough compact SUV crossover thingies in our market, we need more compact SUV crossover vehicles. Inhale, feel the sarcasm, exhale. Hyundai is all-too-happy to assist us…
What you need to know: The Kona is Hyundai’s fourth (and smallest) SUV in the southern African market and as a funky-looking pavement hopper it competes with the likes of the Nissan Juke, Audi Q2, Honda HR-V and probably a million other compact SUV crossover jobbies that have weird c-pillar designs.
…comfy and predictable.
To keep up with the Joneses, Hyundai finally caved in to the (sometimes misguided) trend of engine down-sizing so this car has a one-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol generating up to 88kW (120hp) or 172Nm for the six-shot manual gearbox to send to the front wheels. The ride is comfy and predictable.
| Compact SUV (Petrol) | Engine | kW/Nm | Warranty / Serv Plan | Price (ZA) |
| Ford Ecosport 1.0T Trend | 1L i3 Trb | 92/170 | 4Y 120k / 4Y 60k | R293,500 |
| Mazda 2.0 Active | 2L i4 | 115/206 | 3Y unlim. / 3Y unlim. | R299,400 |
| Kia Soul 1.6 Start | 1.6 i4 | 91/152 | 5Y unlim. / 4Y 90k | R318,995 |
| Renault Captur 88kW Dyn. | 1.2 i4 Trb | 88/190 | 5Y 150k / 3Y 45k | R320,900 |
| Nissan Juke 1.2T Acenta+ | 1.2 i4 Trb | 85/190 | 6Y 150k / 3Y 90k | R343,900 |
| Honda HR-V 1.5 CVT | 1.5 i4 | 88/145 | 5Y 200k / 4Y 60k | R354,900 |
| Suzuki Vitara GLX AllGrip | 1.6 i4 | 86/151 | 3Y 100k / 4Y 60k | R374,900 |
| Toyota C-HR 1.2T Plus | 1.2 i4 Trb | 85/185 | 3Y 100k / 6 serv. 90k km | R376,600 |
| Hyundai Kona 1.0T Exec. | 1L i3 Trb | 88/172 | 7Y 200k / 5Y 90k | R379,900 |
| VW Tiguan 1.4TSi Trendline | 1.4 i4 Trb | 92/200 | 3Y 120k / 5Y 90k | R412,000 |
| Mini Cooper Countryman | 1.5 i3 Trb | 100/220 | 2Y unlim. / 5Y 100k | R458,024 |
| Audi Q2 30TFSi (DCT) | 1L i3 Trb | 85/200 | 1Y unlim. / 5Y 100k | R461,000 |
| BMW X1 sDrive18i (DCT) | 1.5 i3 Trb | 103/220 | 2Y unlim. / 5Y 100k | R518,539 |
| Lexus Ux Ex | 2L i4 | 126/205 | 7Y 105k / 7Y 105k | R599,000 |
N.B.: Comparitive chart not according to vehicle specifications.
More facts: Our best 0-100 time was 11.3 seconds at sea level (with a fresh tail-wind) and 400m flew by in 17.85 seconds at 127.25km/h. A single emergency stop from 100km/h was absolved in 2.76 seconds and 38.78 metres. All these values are impressive considering the car’s size, weight (1,230kg) and fairly unknown Nexen 215/55R17 tyres.
There’s another model available but our Executive-spec test car arrived with metallic maroon paintwork, cool alloys, a funky interior with Kia-esque touchscreen media system, ferocious (manual) air-con, multiple cup holders and charging ports, red seatbelts and contrast stitching on its half-leather-half-cloth seats.
Where we went: The highways and byways of our hillside home where every driver quickly noted that the teeny-weeny little engine doesn’t have any low-down torque. Duh. It does have serious mid-range punch and with six ratios in its gearbox, you just need to stir the gear lever a bit more to keep the Kona zipping along nicely.
Watch out for: Besides overtaking at high speed or conquering steep hills, the maker’s quoted average fuel use of 6.8L/100km will only be possible if you coast along a quiet highway at 90km/h all day. If, like us, you live in an undulating landscape with countless speed bumps and intersections, you will need to add a few litres to that figure.
Why you’ll want one: Its current novelty factor and the cool design – inside and out – should be this cross-dresser compact SUV’s strong points but it loses out in terms of space, power, fuel consumption and value-for-money to most of its rivals and its dowdier sister, the Hyundai Creta. There’s an excellent warranty and a small service plan, too.
FULL SPECLIST
Engine: 1L i-3 turbo-petrol
Transmission: 6-speed Manual, FWD
Max. Power: 88kW
Max. Torque: 172Nm
Avg cons.: Approx. 8.5L/100km (claimed 6.8)
0-100km/h: 11.30 seconds (claimed 12.0)
Top Speed: (claimed 181km/h)
List Price: R379,900