What's the news?
Here, officially, at last is the new Hyundai Kona, the Korean firm's first compact crossover and a rival to the likes of the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur, and Peugeot 2008.
Interior
Inside, there's new tech on offer, including Hyundai's first-ever head-up display, and an optional eight-inch touchscreen with all the usual connectivity refinements of Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and live internet links to search for weather, traffic, speed cameras and points of interest. There's a seven-inch screen for base models, also with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a high-end Krell sound system and an inductive pad for wireless phone charging.
For added comfort, there are optional eight-way power seats, a heated steering wheel and ventilated seats too. The boot can expand from 361 litres to 1,143 litres if you fold the back seats flat.
Mechanicals
"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."
Those 'true SUV genes' include optional four-wheel drive, 170mm ground clearance and a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic gearbox. It's part of a dramatic push by Hyundai to become the No.1-selling Asian car maker in Europe by 2021, and the Korean giant plans to launch a whopping 30 new models and derivatives by that time.
In the meantime, the Kona platform shares with the i20 hatchback (and the upcoming new Kia Stonic compact crossover too), and uses a 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine producing 120hp. Hyundai quotes 53mpg (5.3 litres/100km) and 119g/km CO2 emissions for that engine, while the other early option (and unlikley to be popular or possibly even sold in Ireland), the 177hp 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol, has a CO2 emissions rating of 169g/km.
There will be diesel Konas as well, but not until Hyundai launches its new range of 1.6-litre diesel engines a little later on - one with 115hp, another with 136hp. The optional four-wheel-drive system can send as much as 50 per cent of the engine's output to the rear wheels, making the Kona a relative rarity in the compact crossover segment - a true 4x4 (even if only for the top-spec models).
On the safety front, the Kona can be equipped with 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 claims that, as it makes its own steel in-house (the only car maker to do so), it is able to specify some of the best high-strength, low-weight steel for the Kona, leading to a stronger, more torsionally-rigid body.
Anything else?
We'd expect the Hyundai Kona to arrive on Irish soil in time for the '181' plate in January 2018.