Hyundai Motor has entered the B-SUV segment with an all-new vehicle, the Kona compact SUV. The Kona now joins the Grand Santa Fe, Santa Fe and Tucson in Hyundai’s SUV family. The Kona will go on sale in Korea later this month, followed by North America and Europe.

The Kona’s bold front and rear are emphasized by the car’s wide stance and its voluminous, aggressive body styling. The front adopts Hyundai Motor’s new family identity, the cascading grille. New twin headlamps enhance the visual impact, with the LED Daytime Running Lights positioned on top of the LED headlights.

The separated lights at the front deliver a confident, progressive appearance with sleek, sharp shapes. The Kona’s two-tone roof and the choice of ten distinctive exterior colours offer many individual combinations for almost every individual style.

The interior is characterized by considerable roominess and visibility. A very high degree of connectivity for smart devices also adds to the Kona’s appeal. The optional eight-inch infotainment system integrates all navigation, media and connectivity features.  Another Hyundai first in the Kona is Display Audio: passengers have the option of switching their smartphone’s content on to the system’s seven-inch display via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. To ensure that occupants’ phones are always charged, the Kona also provides a wireless inductive charging pad (Qi standard) for mobile phones.

Under the hood, the Kona offers the choice between two turbocharged, small-displacement petrol powertrains with high low-end torque and excellent fuel efficiency: a 1.0-litre T-GDI with a 6-speed manual transmission (MT) and 120 PS (88 kW) as standard and a high-power 1.6-litre T-GDI with 177 PS (130 kW) and Hyundai’s self-developed 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (7DCT) and four-wheel drive.

The optional four-wheel drive of the Kona supports drivers in all kinds of driving situations with up to 50% torque at the rear wheels, e.g. on snow, gravel and of course on regular road surfaces.

In the summer of 2018 Hyundai will be launching its next generation of efficient 1.6-litre diesel powertrains for the Kona, also available with 6-Speed MT or Hyundai’s efficient, direct-responding 7DCT, with optional four-wheel-drive.

For the first time in a Hyundai, the Kona’s new combiner head-up display (HUD) projects relevant driving information directly to the driver’s line of sight . This allows faster processing of information while keeping attention on the road ahead. Similarly, the new high-end sound system by Krell, featuring eight speakers and an amplifier delivers concert hall sound quality to all passengers

The list of safety features on the Kona includes Hyundai’s Autonomous Emergency Braking with Pedestrian Detection, Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lane Keeping Assist, Driver Attention Alert, Static Bending Light and Smart High Beam.

Hyundai Motor is the only car manufacturer to make its own steel for the global production of its vehicles, with great benefits for the Kona, i.e. a strong, light body that enhances the dynamic performance and increases passenger safety through the use of high-strength steel, a broad appliance of hot stamping and 115 metres of structural adhesive.