The IT Nerd

The 2018 Hyundai Kona 2.0L Luxury is a sub-compact SUV packed with healthy amount of technology in it. Let’s start with the safety aspects of the vehicle:

• It has a back up camera with excellent clarity and a great range of vision. It also has lines on the screen to help you to position your car when backing into a parking space or parallel parking. Plus there’s rear cross traffic alerts and back up distance sensors to make sure that you don’t hit anything.
• You get autonomous emergency braking which will bring the Kona to a stop if it detects an object in front of it, and you take no action to avoid said object.
• Blind spot monitoring is included. Not only does it warn you when you are about to do an ill advised lane change, but it also alerts you based on distance and relative speed.
• One real highlight is that lane departure warning and assist functionality is included. It is one of the better systems that I have tested lately and I say that because any steering corrections that it makes are gentle and don’t freak you out. Plus if it has to make an audible warning, it does so in a way that doesn’t freak out you or your passengers.
• There’s an attention assist feature which monitors your driving and will suggest that you should take a break if it thinks you are getting tired.
• You get automatic headlights so that you never forget to turn the headlights on or off.
• Six airbags are standard.

The only thing that is missing from all this safety tech is tire pressure monitoring. While not required here in Canada, it is odd in 2018 to see a car without it.

The Kona also comes with a lot of technology to make life easier for you:

• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are included which is important as there’s no built in navigation. That sounds like a negative. But it is not because most people I know who have access to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in their cars never use the built in navigation system. Thus nothing is likely lost by its omission. It gets served up on an 7″ screen which is extremely sharp, has great contrast and is viewable in all lighting conditions. The infotainment system user interface was easy to navigate and didn’t display any lag whatsoever. That was completely in line with other Hyundai products that I’ve tried recently.
• There’s a six speaker audio system that sounds good as I had no complaints when I was listening to radio or tunes from my iPhone. You can serve up AM,FM, audio from your phone via USB (which will also charge your phone) or Bluetooth, or SirusXM Radio.

The final part of this review will tie up some loose ends and I’ll give you my closing thoughts on the Hyundai Kona. Stay tuned for that tomorrow.

The interior of the 2018 Hyundai Kona 2.0L Luxury is a utilitarian but well put together one that I believe you will like. Let me walk you through the interior.

The door has all the controls for the mirrors, plus there’s space for a bottle in the map pockets. The catch is that the doors are largely made up of hard plastic which gets dirty.

The seats are leather and heated. The drivers seat is power adjustable as well. It was easy for me to dial in my seating position and be comfortable while driving.

To the left of the steering wheel are the buttons for the electronica overseers. You can also see the dead pedal which is handy for long drives.

The steering wheel is heated and leather wrapped. It has buttons for the infotainment system as sell as the cruse control.

The gauges are bright and easy to read. There’s a monochrome TFT screen that allows you to place the info that you need in plain view.

The Kona comes with push button start which is located to the right of the steering wheel.

There’s a 7″ touchscreen for the infotainment system. Below that are the HVAC controls. The middle part of the dash is made of a soft touch material. Everything else around it is hard plastic.

The shift lever is leather wrapped, and you also have buttons for the heated seats, steering wheel, as well as AWD lock and the drive mode button.

Below that is a cubby that has two 12V outlets, and aux jack as well as a USB port. It holds an iPhone 7 Plus with ease. Above that is a second cubby for storage purposes.

You get a pair of cupholders and you can also see the parking brake.

The cupholders hold a Starbucks Venti sized coffee with ease.

Underneath the armrest is a deep storage area.

There is a decent sized glove box that’s lit.

Above you is a powered moon roof with a manual sunshade.

The back seats fit thee kids or two adults. I’m six feet tall and I could sit behind myself with a tiny bit of room of space for my knees and feet.

If you don’t need to seat three people, you can use these cupholders which are in a flip down armrest.

There is a tiny window in the back which does help with visibility.

The cargo area is surprisingly big and it includes a privacy cover. Folding down the 60/40 split seats gives you a flat surface to load your 65″ TV into.

The cargo area fits our weekly shopping with space left over.

Plus there’s under floor storage to boot.

To the right is another storage area for small items.

There’s a handle to close the hatch without getting your hands dirty.

So I will say that there is a lot of hard plastic inside the Kona. But to me, I think I know why. The people who are part of the target market for this vehicle are not only going to be in the city, but they will likely be doing stuff in the outdoors as well that may mess up the interior. Thus having hard plastic makes the interior easier to clean and it ensures that it will survive for years. I didn’t note any rattles or squeaks. And it all appears to be put together well.

The next part of this review will cover the technology in the vehicle. It has a fair amount of it. Tune in tomorrow to find out what the Kona has to offer from a tech perspective.

This is the engine that powers the 2018 Hyundai Kona 2.0L Luxury. It’s a 2L four cylinder engine that puts out 147 HP and 132 pound feet of torque to all four wheels via a six speed automatic transmission which you can shift yourself if you so choose. You can also push a button to have the AWD system give you continuous 50/50 power split between the front and rear axles as long as you stay below 30 km/h. Otherwise it shunts power where it needs it own its own. The AWD system also uses torque vectoring to allow torque to be redistributed along the rear axle to the wheel that has best traction, and will brake the inside rear wheel to mitigate understeer.

Now the 147 HP and 132 pound feet of torque does not sound like a lot. But don’t be fooled. This engine/transmission combo actually does a pretty good job of getting the Kona off the line, onto a highway, and around slower traffic. Aiding that is a suspension that is firm and controls body roll well without beating you up. That makes this sub-compact SUV very nimble in traffic. It’s also very solid feeling and very good of giving me more than enough road feel to know what the car is doing under me. The only noise that I hear at highway speeds is some tire noise at very muted levels. The accelerator is easy to modulate. Ditto for the brakes. Finally, visibility is excellent in all directions.

Now Hyundai has an optional 1.6L turbocharged engine that puts out 175 HP and 195 pound feet of torque which is mated to a 7 speed dual clutch transmission for those (like me) who want a bit of extra power. If this engine transmission combo sounds familiar, it’s because it’s used in the Hyundai Tucson. I can say from personal experience that it’s a great combo for someone who wants a bit more oomph in their SUV. My advice is to try the base engine first. If you like it, buy it. If you don’t, then go for the upscale engine.

Fuel economy is good. I am currently averaging 9.6L per 100 KM in mixed city and highway driving which is pretty good. I haven’t yet played with the drive mode button which gives you Eco, Normal, and Sport settings. The default being Normal. But by the time I wrap up this review, I will have and I’ll give you my feedback on that.

Next up I’ll take a look at the interior with is functional and good looking. Tune in tomorrow for details on that.

Sub-compact SUVs are the new and hotly contested car space that every car company is trying to get into. If you don’t have an entry into this space, you’re not a player. For that reason there’s a whole lot of choice and car makers have to find some way to stand out from their competition. Hyundai is no different and they are making quite the effort to stand out from the competition with the 2018 Hyundai Kona:

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Clearly Hyundai is trying to make this sub-compact crossover stand out from the competition as the looks are anything but conservative. If that’s not enough, Hyundai has some color choices that can be seen from space. When it comes to the lights, they are arranged like this from the front:

• Top lights: Daytime running lights.
• Center lights: Headlights
• Bottom lights: Foglamps

And from the back:

• Top lights: Brake lights
• Bottom lights Turn signal and backup lights

I’m pointing this out because this seems to be the number 2 question that I am asked about the Kona right after “what is it that you’re driving?” Personally I like the look of this vehicle as I am not into driving cars that look boring. But I can see how some might see this vehicle as polarizing. But at least it does stand out.

My review of the 2018 Hyundai Kona 2.0 Luxury is made up of five parts:

• Exterior
• Engine, transmission, handling, fuel economy, and driving comfort
• Interior
• Technology in the vehicle
• Wrap up

The next part of this review will cover the engine, transmission and driving comfort. All of which are more than you would expect. Tune in tomorrow to find out why.