Live thread: One week with a 2024 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD

Wanna ride shotgun with the GRM crew?

Welcome to this week’s test vehicle, a 2024 Hyundai Kona Limited AWD.

From the media release:

“In an unconventional move, Hyundai developed the new Kona platform with an electrified powertrain first, in line with the company’s accelerated electrification strategy announcement that will bring 11 new Hyundai EVs to market globally by 2030.”

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First impressions: I love the looks, with Hyundai’s latest design language translating well to a variety of shapes. You can’t miss it coming down the road–I actually passed this very car earlier today and thought, Yep, I know where he’s heading. 

The color is all the wow. It’s close to our old 2019 Honda Civic Si project car. The black trim tones it down enough so it’s not too bright. 

The interior recalls the Ioniq5, and that’s a very good thing. The wide screen integrates well with the rest of the dash yet the center stack still enough buttons and knobs for us traditionalists. Tradional-looking gauges, too. 

The column shifter also reminds me of the Ioniq5. It’s unlike anything else out there yet, at the same time, is intuitive. Just twist the end. 

Driving impressions? So far, I have only put about a mile on it–just enough to get the photos as we have storms moving through the area today–but, so far, I really like it. No CVT softness–looking at you, Subaru Impreza RS–and fairly responsive steering. Seats back and bottom cushions aren’t lacking. 

The new Kona is the right size, too, as it feels bigger on the inside than the outside.

More to come once the weather cooperates, but what would you like to know? 

How's the new 8-spd feel? Is it as awkward as the 7-spd dct?

No particular order:

Is the tester ICE, hybrid or electric?

Does it fall into the refuse to insure/poor theft prevention category of some of their recent offerings?

Will a dishwasher, clothes washer or clothes dryer sized appliance fit in the rear?

Will 4 relatively normal sized adult humans be comfortable for a 2-3 hour trip in one?

Peppy? Sluggish? OK? Meh?

Real world fuel economy?

Edit: I missed the link at the top, so at least one of my questions is redundant...

I wouldn't say the shifter is unlike anything else out there-- BMW i3 used something almost identical, and yeah, it's super intuitive. 
 

Does it come in any brighter colors? I'd like to blind people on the sun. =P

Kidding aside, I hope that yellow doesn't fade like a lot of fluorescent colors tend to. At the altitude I'm at, not much survives the sun for many years.

Put some miles on it yesterday–headed south to watch the rocket launch. (Which was, sadly, mostly blocked by the clouds.)

The eight-speed auto feels good: no weirdness, no waiting, no hunting, no issues. It’s crisp. Put it in the Sport mode, and it’ll downshift when you want it to. I haven’t tried the paddle shifters yet. If you can just a transmission on a simple pass/fail basis, this one’s a solid pass. 

I’d call power plenty good–peppy would be a good adjective. In normal, around-town driving–city and highway–I never found myself  in a jam. 

A little bit of wind noise on the highway, but I was driving with the radio off. Radio on and it’s not nearly as noticeable. (I know, big surprise.)

I like the seats: plenty of bottom and back cushion, good support, enough bolster. 

The switches have a good, solid click to them. Interior styling is way upmarket. Lots of Ioniq5 influence here. 

I need to hop in the back seat, so more on that later. 

Not sure if the way back would house a major appliance. I doubt it but this really isn’t the vehicle for that. No problem with two camera bags, but not a high bar there. 

It’s not a huge car but it doesn’t feel small. I could daily this and be happy–and, yes, in this color. 

There's still alot of Hyundai haters out there, but all my experiences have been good. That said, isn't the 1.6 turbo the engine that they've had problems with?

Ready?

Bam.

that thing is so ugly its mother would throw it back

Something that I think helps tie this all together: The steering feels a bit on the heavy side. It’s not over-boosted, it’s not vague. Dare call it just right? 

Another beach photo because we live near the beach. 

I was finally starting to think that Hyundai was going in the right direction, they seem to have made a complete 360 and made the ugliest suv I've ever seen.

I’d daily this. And in this color. :) 

I had someone ask if it’s electric. That’s a compliment, right? 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I'd take it as a compliment. The new Kona certainly looks the part.

livinon2wheels said:

that thing is so ugly its mother would throw it back

but they're not testing the renegade..... 

Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

There's still alot of Hyundai haters out there, but all my experiences have been good. That said, isn't the 1.6 turbo the engine that they've had problems with?

No. Those have been solid. The 2.0T and the 2.4 in the sonata/Optima/santefe/Tucson etc

bobzilla said:

livinon2wheels said:

that thing is so ugly its mother would throw it back

but they're not testing the renegade..... 

I saw the top of the yellow Renegade as we pulled into the parking lot and thought, Please, please be parked next to an open space.

And it was. 

You asked about room in the back seat.

I can easily sit behind myself along with plenty of headroom. Plus those little way-back windows make the rear seat feel pretty open. They’re more effective than they look. Not sure about three back there but I could easily do a road trip back there. 

I don’t think I shared this yet, either: lots of buttons. Knobs, too! Controls that just make sense. 

And this almost a throw-back these days: a cable-actuated fuel door release. 

Lots of center storage, too. The more I drove this, the more I liked it. It just all makes sense.