But without the N version, the most radical.
The second generation of the successful B-SUV, the Hyundai Kona 2023, has been presented in Europe. And it has done so with great arguments to continue being one of the most successful SUVs. The most important? The wide variety of propulsion options: pure electric (EV) with more and less autonomy, hybrid (HEV) and with a gasoline engine. In addition, you can adopt a sporty look, in each of them, with the N Line version. Of course, unfortunately the most radical will not be available, the N.
It also stands out for its design. It has been completely redone, but is totally recognizable as a Hyundai Kona. I have been lucky enough to attend the international presentation and I can assure you that the car is very attractive and wins many integers live and direct.
It looks bigger, and it is. It has a length of 4,355 mm, a width of 1,825 mm, a height of 1,575 mm and a wheelbase of 2,660 mm, so it has grown 175 mm, 25 mm, 20 mm and 60 mm, respectively, when compared to the model of 2017.
Unlike the ‘normal’ design process, in which the combustion variant is created first and the electric one starts from it, in the new Kona it has been done the other way around. By the way, all of them have a different front. The Hyundai Kona 2023 EV features a shark nose. Although the true protagonist is the daytime running light LED strip that runs transversally across the front, which in the case of the electric car has a series of pixels that give it a distinctive and modern touch; something never seen by these eyes in any other car.
The rest of the lights are located at the ends of the bumper, in the middle area. According to Hyundai, a drag coefficient of just 0.27 has been achieved. More in the center is the charging socket, which as a novelty, at -30 degrees (I hope we never reach this temperature in Spain. If so, the end of the world would be near), the lid is heated to prevent freezing Of the same.
His profile is also very striking. With its very marked wheel arches and tension lines, it reminds me very much of the Hyundai Tucson. I also found it curious, both for its novelty and its success, the chrome line that joins the waist line with the spoiler. And those five-spoke alloy wheels up to 19″.
For its part, the rear of this compact SUV does not go unnoticed either and exhibits the same pattern: a continuous line of LEDs -with pixels in the electric one- and the rest of the lights in a group located below, at the ends of the bumper. The logo is housed in the center of the gate, and above it, the word KONA.
I go inside. It is much more modern and cleaner, and that has not dispensed with the physical buttons for the most important functions. Good Hyundai. Also more technological with the two perfectly integrated 12.3-inch screens that form the ‘Connected Car Navigation Cockpit (ccNC)’, which is how this union has been called by the South Korean firm. And with nothing of piano black in sight. Very good Hyundai. Now the gear selector is behind the wheel, which has resulted in a dashboard with more storage compartments.
A detail that has caught my attention has been that the steering wheel, with a very good touch, by the way, because it does not adopt the logo of the firm but, as in the case of the Ioniq, four small squares.
As I have mentioned a few lines above, it has grown in all its dimensions. And that shows on board. With my 1.78, there are six fingers that separate my head from rubbing against the ceiling, and that the unit in which I have been able to mount equips a panoramic roof, which always remains. The knee box is huge. And on top of that, in the electric version, the floor is totally flat.
The trunk of the new Hyundai Kona holds up to 466 liters -27 the front in the case of the EV-. It can be accessed through an electric opening gate. Additionally, the second-row seatbacks can be moved for passenger comfort or to increase cargo space.
The Kona Electric, with two levels of power and autonomy
The electric Hyundai Kona 2023 is available with two batteries, one of 65.4 kWh, which allows up to 490 km of autonomy, and the other of 48.4 kWh. The two versions are 4×2, but one yields 160 kW (217 CV) and the other 114 kW (155 CV). Of course, both provide the same torque: 255 Nm.
With OTA updates
One of the great novelties of this second generation of the Hyundai Kona is the possibility of updating the software ‘Over-the-Air (OTA)’. Also the Smart Parking Assist (RSPA) function, which by pressing the button on the smart key, the vehicle moves forwards or backwards, thus helping passengers to enter and exit parking spaces. It can also be locked, unlocked and started via the digital key, using the near field communication (NFC) of phones or smartwatches.
It equips the HUD6 (head-up display), which projects 12 inches on the windshield, something that I have not been able to test in the presentation; bi-directional on-board charging, the new i-PEDAL and Hyundai’s next level of ADAS SmartSense features.
N Line version, but not N
This second generation will not have an N variant; a real shame, because the current one is a real bomb. But to give it a sporty touch, at least in appearance, there is the N Line, which by image could pass for the N. It has black mirrors, a specific spoiler – the one you see in the photos is not the European one, which will be a little more restrained-, more aggressive bumpers, silver side skirt, 19″ wheels, black upholstery with red accents and double exhaust pipes… Yes, real!
It will be in April when we know all the information about the rest of the variants: hybrid (HEV) and the one that is equipped with a gasoline engine. These two will be marketed before August and the electric one, after.
