The all-new Hyundai Kona is intended to build on the company’s SUV credibility and support its goal of becoming the leading Asian automotive brand in Europe by 2021.

“The All-New Kona is not just another car among Hyundai Motor’s established SUV range – it is an important milestone of our journey to become Asian automotive brand number one in Europe by 2021,” says Thomas A. Schmid, Chief Operating Officer at Hyundai Motor Europe. “With its true SUV genes, a progressive design and premium features, Kona reflects the lifestyle of modern customers, enhancing the brand’s appeal and attracting new customers.”

Since the launch of Santa Fe in 2001, Hyundai Motor has sold more than 1.4 Million SUVs in Europe. Now, Hyundai is extending its SUV family to four members including the Grand Santa Fe, Santa Fe and Tucson by entering the B-SUV segment. The new Kona is claimed to be “a real SUV with a bold and progressive design, premium features, accessible connectivity and latest safety technologies.”

The Kona’s front adopts Hyundai Motor’s new family identity, the Cascading Grille. The Kona’s two-tone roof and the choice of ten distinctive exterior colours offer many individual combinations.

Right from the start, 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 and a 1.6-litre T-GDI. 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 manual or Hyundai’s efficient, direct-responding 7DCT with optional four wheel drive.

For the first time in a Hyundai, the Kona’s new head-up display projects relevant driving information directly into the driver’s line of sight. The optional eight-inch infotainment system integrates all navigation, media and connectivity features, supporting both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.. The system comes with a seven-year free subscription to LIVE Services, offering updated information in real time: weather, traffic, speed cameras and online searches for points of interest.

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.

The Kona’s list of safety features includes Hyundai Motor’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.

The Kona also features Hyundai Motor’s new family identity, the Cascading Grille with a mesh pattern designed to enhance its expressive and dynamic appearance.

The Kona’s two-tone roof offers many exterior colour combinations. Ten exterior colours can be combined with two roof designs for a total of twenty colour combinations. The roof and exterior mirrors are available in Phantom Black or Dark Knight (dark grey). The exterior colours available for the Kona are Phantom Black, Chalk White, Lake Silver, Dark Knight, Pulse Red, Tangerine Comet, Acid Yellow, Blue Lagoon, Ceramic Blue and Velvet Dune (light grey).

Inside, the colour theme offers customers the chance to tailor their own style with distinct colours: Orange, Lime and Red. The colour accents are featured on the air vent surrounds, around the gearshift, the engine start button ring, the stitching on the seats and steering wheel. All interior colour options come with a black ceiling. The Lime and Red options are also available with coloured seat belts as well as glossy black interior door handles and steering wheel spoke.

Storage trays and 1.5 litre bottle holders have been integrated into the doors, with luggage space totalling 361 litres (VDA 211). With the seats folded flat, the Kona offers 1,143 litres (VDA 214) of space.

Within a year of the launch, the Kona’s powertrain line-up will be expanded with the addition of a newly developed, efficient 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine available with two power outputs: A regular 113 bhp version with a 6MT and front-wheel drive. The high-power diesel version provides 134 bhp in combination with a 7DCT and the choice between four-wheel and front-wheel drive.

Hyundai says the 7DCT provides an improvement in fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions of up to 20 per cent compared with a conventional six-gear automatic transmission, while acceleration performance was increased by up to 10 per cent.

In combination with the 7-speed dual clutch transmission, the Kona offers two drive modes: normal and sport. In sport mode there is a different shift pattern, with gears being held longer before shifting.

The Kona offers customers advanced connectivity features to enhance seamless integration of smartphones, making operation more intiuituve and safe while driving. Customers can choose between three systems. The Standard Audio system with a five-inch monochrome TFT screen featuring radio, Bluetooth connectivity, AUX-in and USB connection. The Display Audio system with seven-inch capacitive colour LCD touchscreen integrated rear-view camera with dynamic guidelines, Bluetooth connectivity, Apple Car Play and Android Auto or the third option, the eight-inch navigation system includiing rear view camera with dynamic guidelines, Bluetooth connectivity, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, 7-year subscription to LIVE services, 3D maps, and Lifetime Mapcare. Additionally, there is a central information screen located in the center of the instrument cluster between the two dials, available as a 3.5” Mono TFT LCD display (standard) or 4.2” TFT colour display (optional).

The Display Audio is a Hyundai first and offers customers accessibile connectivity with a seven-inch high-resolution colour LCD touchscreen to connect smartphones via both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The optional eight-inch infotainment system in the Kona integrates all navigation, media and connectivity features. It also provides both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

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.

The Kona also offers a high-end sound system by audio manufacturer Krell featuring eight speakers including two 20 mm tweeters, four 160 mm woofer speakers, one 100 mm centre speaker and a 200 mm subwoofer speaker. The eight-channel amplifier delivers 45 Watt per channel to maximise the audio experience inside the car.

The new Kona features several of the latest active safety features, to comply with the highest European safety standards: Autonomous Emergency Braking with pedestrian detection, Lane Keeping Assist (standard), High Beam Assist, Driver Attention Alert (standard), Blind Spot Detection and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

UK vehicle trim specifications may differ and the full UK line-up and pricing will be announced in due course.