Hyundai Kona 2024 review: 2.0 Premium

There are two grades in the new Kona range and ours is the top model, which will cost you $39,500, before on-road costs, with the regular petrol engine tested here.

That makes it a smidge more affordable than its rivals, with the Seltos GT-Line coming in at $41,500 and the CX-30 Astina at $43,710.

The driver enjoys 'comfort access', where the seat and steering wheel slide back to allow easier access, plus the trims are finished in a supple mix of synthetic and genuine leather. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The Kona has a few tricks up its sleeve that make it feel even more affordable and that’s the features list. You get so many bells and whistles that I had to triple check the pricing!

Let’s start with the premium items. Up front you enjoy eight-way electric seats with the driver’s seat sporting a two-position memory function. Heated and ventilated front seats also come standard, as well as, a delightful ‘zero gravity’ relaxation mode if you need to have a quick nap.

There are two grades in the new Kona range and ours is the top model, which will cost you $39,500, before on-road costs, with the regular petrol engine tested here. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The driver enjoys 'comfort access', where the seat and steering wheel slide back to allow easier access, plus the trims are finished in a supple mix of synthetic and genuine leather.

Back seat passengers aren’t forgotten either with their own heated outboard seats. A sunroof is also fitted to our test vehicle, but it costs $1500 extra.

The technology is great with items like dual 12.3-inch digital screens. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

There are some great practical features, as well, like a powered tailgate with proximity opening function, extendable sun visors and retractable cupholders in the front row.

The technology is great with items like wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in satellite navigation and dual 12.3-inch digital screens coming standard but we’ll go into more of the tech stuff later.

It does cost a little extra to choose your paintwork colour with all but 'Atlas White' tacking on an extra $595 to the price tag.

Think comfort and luxury because that’s what you get front and back. It doesn’t hurt that both rows also enjoy an almost indecent amount of head, leg and elbow room! Seriously. I’m. Impressed.

I also like the 170mm ground clearance because it makes it easy-as-pie to get in and out, which is something my six-year-old likes, too.

The electric front seats are wide and comfortable but so is the back seat. Both offer a good amount of under thigh support and comfort for your back.

Individual storage options are very good for this class with front occupants enjoying a large centre console with two retractable cupholders, glove box and an open-style middle console that features a handy tray.

The drink bottle holders in each front door can hold a 1.5L bottle, too, which is awesome.

Back seat occupants get two cupholders in the fold down armrest, drink bottle holders in each door, as well as netted map pockets.

The boot is an okay size at 407L, but you can bump it up to 1241L with the rear seats folded. I really enjoyed using the tie-down cargo net this week because it stopped my gear from rolling around.

There’s a temporary spare tyre underneath the floor and you also get a powered tailgate with a proximity feature. So, if you stand at the rear for long enough with the key, it will open automatically for you!

The amenities are good all round with a total of four USB-C ports (two in each row), a 12-volt port, wireless charging pad, dual-zone climate control (plus direction air vents in the back), and reading lights.

The technology looks upmarket with the 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system and 12.3-inch digital instrument panel taking centre stage. Both are simple to use and look great.

It's easy to use the built-in satellite navigation system and connect to the wired Apple CarPlay but there is also wired Android Auto for those users. 

The 64-colour ambient lighting and premium Bose sound system (with eight speakers) round out the experience.

This version of the new Kona has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with a maximum power output of 110kW and 180Nm of torque.

I’m not gonna lie, you’ll feel those specs when you’re trying to get up to speed or up a mountain and the engine whines at you but this has enough pep that you will (eventually) get there.

This version of the new Kona has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine with a maximum power output of 110kW and 180Nm of torque. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

If you want more grunt, the optional N Line package swaps in a 1.6-litre turbocharged unit with a punchier 146kW and 265Nm for a total of $7000 extra.

Our test vehicle is a front-wheel drive and has a CVT auto, which I found to be a good combination for this car. It’s smooth and relatively even with power distribution.  

The official combined cycle fuel figure is 6.6L/100km and my real-world usage came to 6.9L over a healthy mix of open-road and urban driving, so that’s a solid result.

Based on the official figure and 47L fuel tank, you should be able to get driving range of 712km. 

The new Kona has lots of safety features and I really like the blind-spot view monitor that pops a video feed of your blind spot onto the instrument panel. This is such a handy feature, especially in the city!

Other features that come standard, are blind-spot monitoring, LED daytime running lights, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping aid, lane departure warning and intelligent seat belt reminders.

There's also front and rear parking sensors, a 360-degree view reversing camera, traffic sign recognition, a driver attention monitor, an SOS emergency call button, rear occupant alert, safe exit warning and adaptive cruise control (with stop and go functionality).

The new-generation Kona is yet to receive an ANCAP safety rating, but the previous generation achieved a maximum five-star rating in 2018. It has seven airbags, including the newer front centre airbag. (Image: Glen Sullivan)

The new-generation Kona is yet to receive an ANCAP safety rating, but the previous generation achieved a maximum five-star rating in 2018. It has seven airbags, including the newer front centre airbag.

The automatic emergency braking has car, pedestrian, and cyclist detection, as well as junction-turning assist which is operational from 10 - 180km/h, but it’s usual to see that detection start from around 5.0km/h.

There are ISOFIX child seat mounts in the rear outboard seats and three top-tether anchor points but two seats will fit best.

It was simple to fit my seat because of the wide door apertures and there’s plenty of room to install a 0-4 rearward facing child seat.