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The make new 2018 Hyundai Kona is a fun little SUV to drive with excellent handling. It's a expert choice in the booming market place for subcompact SUVs, the ones typically less than 170 inches. In that location are really ii Konas, so to speak: a pair affordable models with low-key four-cylinder engines priced in the lower twenties, and some other pair of well-equipped turbo-4 Konas with driver assists that can put the car in the upper twenties. Either way, the grille and trunk lines make Kona distinctive, as practice colors such as Lime Twist and Surf Blue (pictured).

The Kona's lane departure alert system is stellar. Merely even the $29K all-bike-drive Kona Ultimate lacks adaptive cruise control in 2018, which isn't peachy if this is to be the class-leading subcompact. As well, near-$30K pricing moves you shut to Mini Cooper territory as well as expectations of getting all the major driver assists.

I spent a summer week driving the top-of-the-line Kona Ultimate with the quicker engine, all-cycle-bulldoze, navigation, driver assists, and the arresting blue paint task. It was a good week that went speedily, equally did the Kona. 60 mph comes up in less than seven seconds if you tromp the throttle. Conversely, if you baby the throttle for a gentle start, especially going uphill or on gravel, the seven-speed dual-clutch transmission lurches one time in a while. Other testers take noted the issue with the DCT Kona. If drivers experience initially jerky acceleration, Hyundai says, enable the l/fifty all-wheel-drive on AWD cars, and when on gravel roads, temporarily disable traction control and apply a gentle throttle.

The Kona is fine for 2 people, any size, in front end, and two people upwardly to about five-foot-ix in back, across which it gets a petty snug on headroom. The cargo bay is adequate for a couple on a long weekend, or a foursome choosing their wearing apparel and packing thoughtfully. The difference between a subcompact and compact SUV is mostly in cargo capacity, secondly in 2d-row legroom.

Y'all will be hard-pressed to practice less than Hyundai'southward EPA rating of 25 mpg city, 29 mpg highway, 27 mpg combined for the all-cycle-drive Kona turbo. On two legs of a 600-mile trip, I got 30 and 32 mpg driving mostly highway miles, and 34 mpg on a 25-mile segment driving a stock-still 65 mph. The smaller-engine Kona is rated 3 mpg better.

The Hyundai Kona is a new (spring 2018) subcompact crossover/SUV. It measures 164 inches long with a 102-inch wheelbase, 71 inches wide, 62 inches high — what internationals call the B-segment. Weight ranges from ii,890 to 3,344 pounds.

Kona Steers Itself Merely Tin't Pace Machine Alee

The Kona I tested was well-equipped with driver assists, the alone exception being that lack of adaptive prowl control. Kona's lane centering help, substantially lane deviation alarm on steroids, was stone solid. Press the button and it keeps you centered exactly in the eye of the lane, including effectually the kinds of (gentle) curves you discover on interstates. I institute the lane centering assistance equally as good as the same characteristic on Nissan'southward Level 2 democratic ProPilot Aid I drove on a Nissan Rogue an next week.

In a thunderstorm at night on the interstate, the Kona's LDW optical sensor mounted in the windshield mirror cluster saw farther down the route than I did. Most optical sensors shut down, with a warning, in heavy rainfall; Hyundai's didn't until the rain was and so heavy cars were slowing to 30-40 mph. What I did was 1 of those don't-try-this-at-home tests. Only still. Kudos to Hyundai.

Adaptive cruise control is no longer unheard of on mainstream compact and subcompact SUVs. The competing Nissan Rogue Sport subcompact has full-range ACC at present and volition go ProPilot Assist, Level 2 democratic driving, afterward this year. Hyundai's manager of production planning, Trevor Lai, says, "We're working closely with our R&D teams to curl this feature every bit quickly as possible without sacrificing safety." He notes the new-model 2019 Santa Fe, a midsize SUV, has total-range adaptive cruise control standard.

Sheer genius: Hyundai MID shows the status of instrument controls. Know how y'all're not certain if your headlights are on? (Because possibly it's just the DRLs but no tail lamps.) The Kona tells you lot. Many GM cars do this, also. Everyone should.

Kona's 4 Trim Lines

The Kona has two trim lines for the 147-hp normally aspirated (no turbo) engine with six-speed automatic and two more for the 175-hp turbo-4 with DCT. In that location are no options other than drivetrain, paint color, and dealer-installed accessories. There is no CD role player.

Kona SE is $xx,480 ($nineteen,500 plus $980 freight), $1,300 more than for all-wheel-drive combined with the non-turbo four. It has a 3.v-inch multi-information display in the musical instrument panel. It is weak on commuter assists, has fabric seats, and manual air conditioning.

Kona SEL is $22,130 front-bulldoze, $23,430 with AWD. The SEL and up become bullheaded spot detection standard and rear cross-traffic warning, plus Hard disk radio and satellite radio, and roof rail. The SEL (just) offers three paint colors with contrasting black roofs (Mini-similar) for $150. The tech package (recommended, as we'll go into presently) adds $1,500.

Kona Limited is $25,680 front-drive, $26,980 AWD. The Express has the larger turbo engine, leather seats, privacy glass on rear side windows, auto-dimming inside mirror, and a proximity key with push button-button start. The tech package is not offered.

Kona Ultimate is $28,380 front-bulldoze, $29,680 AWD, and incorporates the contents of the SEL'due south $ane,500 tech package in the base price, making the comparably equipped price delta over Limited be $ane,200. That gets you Hyundai'south BlueLink telematics organization, an 8- not 7-inch touch-screen display with Android-based navigation, Infinity premium sound, a head-upwards brandish, a rearview mirror with a compass, integrated garage door openers, and a larger, 4.two-inch, color MID.

The Kona Ultimate includes a head-up brandish. Information technology uses a collimator, a pop-up slice of mirrored plastic (see bluish outline) that reflects data in the driver'due south line of sight. It's simpler than a reflective patch on the windshield. Hyundai lets you change colors and set three speedometer sizes, although the largest (shown in orangish at 55 mph) would exist better at twice the size.

Infotainment, Tech, Safety Features

Every Kona gets at least a vii-inch color touchscreen in the middle stack, Android Apple, Apple CarPlay, one one-amp USB jack and two 12-volt outlets all at the base of the center stack, Bluetooth for phones, dynamic parking guidelines on the now-mandatory rearview camera, and remote keyless entry. In that location are no rear-seat USB or 12-volt connections. Hyundai offers a second Bluetooth jack, with 2.1 amps of power, for $50 plus installation through dealers (a 5-minute chore, max, with a special Hyundai tool), or dealers tin can order the machine so equipped when comes into the U.s.a. port of entry.

The upper-grade trim level for both engine types (SEL and Ultimate) has a tech package comprising lane go along assistance, forward collision-avoidance assist with pedestrian detection, drowsy commuter alarm, and three non-tech items: fog lamps, a sunroof, and an eight-way power driver seat with power lumbar back up.

Hyundai now has an umbrella proper noun for its safety suite, Smart Sense, similar Honda (Honda Sensing) and Toyota (Toyota Safety Organisation). With Hyundai, it can include total-range adaptive cruise control ("Smart Cruise Command with Cease & Become" in Hyundai parlance), blind spot detection ("Blind-Spot Collision Warning"), forward standoff warning and braking ("Forward Standoff-Avoidance Assist"), rear cross-traffic alert ("Rear Cross-Traffic Standoff-Avoidance Assistance"), lane continue assist, drowsy commuter alert ("Driver Attending Alarm"), rear photographic camera with parking lines and tailgate prophylactic-open guide ("Rear View Monitor"), surround view monitor ("Around View Monitor"), Rubber Go out Help (sounds warning, won't unlock doors if a automobile is approaching from backside), rear parking sonar ("Parking Distance Alarm Opposite"), and automatic high beams. It appears Hyundai will vary the Safety Sense offerings based by model. For automobile enthusiasts recommending mainstream cars to friends and neighbors, they'd rather see the aforementioned core offerings across a brand'south models, those existence adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring plus rear cross traffic alarm (same sensors), and lane departure alarm plus forward collision warning (aforementioned sensors). Information technology'due south okay if a surround view monitor or a head-up display is an option.

Hyundai Blue Link, the OnStar-similar telematics system on the Kona Ultimate just, includes 3 years of the Connected Care, Remote, and Guidance packages. For those who want the nuts afterward, Hyundai offers a $100-a-year package with emergency crash notification and an emergency phone call button.

Lime Twist is the signature color of the subcompact Kona crossover. Xi inches shorter than the Hyundai Tucson, the Kona helps Hyundai beef up its non-sedan offerings. Kona offers 147-hp iv or 175-hp turbo four engines and front end- or all-wheel-drive. Hyundai Smart Sense bundle provides driver alerts and intervention. The Kona competes with the Honda HR-V, Kia Soul, Mazda CX-3, Nissan Kicks and Nissan Rogue Sport, and the Subaru Crosstrek.

Should You Buy?

There are little problems that volition more probable annoy than persuade you non to buy, such as the unmarried USB jack in front and nothing, not fifty-fifty a 12-volt socket, in back. Some issues are also brusque-term. A 2nd USB jack will be on 2019 models that brainstorm production at the beginning of August; start cars arrive about a calendar month later. Adaptive prowl control should come at some point in calendar 2019.

The Hyundai Kona is bonny because of its handling, style, availability of all-wheel-bulldoze, available head-upwardly display, and simplified ordering construction. Some drivers volition find the steering numb and some will wish there were more seat color and door fabric choices than black, black with gray, and black with lime green stripes.

Among trim lines, featherbed the entry Kona SE, lacking blind spot detection, HD and satellite radio, an external temperature brandish, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a proximity key. All these features are on the other trim lines. The SEL with the tech parcel is a decent buy if you don't mind an easygoing engine. The Limited has the preferable turbo-four engine but yous can't get the tech package. Which makes the costliest Kona, the Ultimate, the best of the bunch. The $one,200 you pay across the price of the Limited plus its tech package option gets yous a lot of features. All in with all-bicycle-bulldoze, list is $29,680, although dealers as of our posting engagement were discounting almost $1,500 (combination of $500 incentive and about $1,000 dealer discount) making the all-everything Kona a $28,000 vehicle.

As for the competition, if you want performance, look to the Kia Soul (front end-drive only, $28K for the meridian trim line) and the sporty Mazda CX-3. The Subaru Crosstrek is as well highly regarded, especially amongst outdoors enthusiasts who spend fourth dimension on dirt roads. If you're looking to pay in the low twenties, the front-drive-simply Nissan Kicks, just out every bit a replacement for the Nissan Juke, is quite good, and wisely doesn't offer navigation; that's what Android Auto and Apple tree CarPlay are for on $20K cars. The almost you can pay for Kicks is $22,265. Other elevation sellers include the Jeep Renegade, Honda Hr-Five (due for a refresh this fall), Buick Encore, Nissan Rogue Sport (3 inches longer than Kicks), and Chevrolet Trax. All sold about lxxx,000-120,000 units last twelvemonth. (Rogue Sport rolls into Rogue sales reporting; combined they topped 400,000 final year.) Ane other new model is the Toyota C-60 minutes, with typical Toyota reliability and adequate performance and treatment.

For Hyundai, the Kona is important because the visitor has been overly dependent on sedans when buyers want SUVs, and on sedans that look more alike than different among small and large versions. Kona is an important next step for Hyundai, and for a market that wants a smaller car for on-street city parking, maneuverability on crowded streets, and driving fun.

Lesser line: The Hyundai Kona starts out cheap but you don't desire the entry Kona SE, which was decontented to give dealers a sub-$20K price. Become look at the Nissan Kicks instead. But if you want to stay nether $25K, the Kona SEL with the non-turbo engine and tech package is the way to get. The loaded Kona Ultimate sounds costly for a non-premium SUV (it is) but there'south a lot of value you'll appreciate. And the turbo-engine Ultimate over the turbo Express is a no-brainer at but $1,200 extra (plus the imputed $1,500 value of the integrated tech package). And so: Go for the two Konas, SEL or Ultimate, that have the technology package. Do not leave the dealer lot in a 2018 Kona without the extra-USB-jacks accessory installed.