If you need a cushty, well-equipped, and classy crossover with a price ticket from the decrease finish of the market, the Hyundai Kona is without doubt one of the higher selections. However Hyundai additionally believes it may be one thing extra, which is why the Korean model is giving it the total N therapy.
There’s methodology to the insanity of making a fearsome little SUV. The recent hatch by no means actually took off within the US and has nearly utterly been relegated to the historical past books. The Golf GTI and R stay, as does the Honda Civic Kind R, whereas Hyundai’s personal Veloster N is seemingly on borrowed time. However the subcompact crossover could possibly be simply the substitute for the new hatch, particularly when it has 280 horsepower, an digital restricted slip differential, and has been engineered by Albert Biermann, the person who constructed the perfect BMW M automobiles for 34 years.
Whereas on the launch of the brand new Santa Cruz, Hyundai gave us a style of what is to return on a California backroad. We had been shoved behind the wheel of a late-stage growth prototype and pointed to the closest twisty street with the sound of a flatulent 2.0-liter turbo four-pot left in our wake.
Exterior Design: Carrying Its Badge On Its Sleeve
The Kona is a divisive automotive with regards to seems to be with its slitted eyes and grille that make it look taller than it’s. The Kona N is not going to vary that, however prolonged body-colored fenders and N-specific 19-inch light-weight cast wheels assist make for a extra grown-up look. Added sophistication comes from a entrance lip spoiler and aspect skirts, extensive decrease entrance air intakes, and a double-wing roof spoiler. Hyundai has completed nicely to withstand going to the cartoonish route Honda took with the Civic Kind R and go together with a extra Germanic route of delicate fashion akin to a Golf GTI.
Efficiency: Shockingly Fierce
The benefit of being a cynic is paradoxical as a result of you may as well count on to get pleasure from being shocked rather a lot. Climbing within the Kona N and rolling onto a again street, then instantly giving the accelerator a tough jab, introduced on one of many larger surprises this reviewer has had shortly. On paper, 276 horsepower and 289 lb-ft of torque should not make an skilled automotive reviewer toss out a shocked expletive from behind the wheel. Nevertheless, it is loads of energy from a small automotive. It is delivered to the entrance wheels by an eight-speed moist dual-clutch transmission that has been reworked by the N division. The N-spec transmission has distinctive gear ratios and a recalibrated management unit that shifts these gears with a sharpness you do not count on in a automotive that like will not have a price ticket of far more than $34,000. Within the settings, you will discover three map settings for shifting gears, or you may management them your self with the chunky paddles behind the wheel.
Hyundai believes an N automotive must be about enjoyable greater than efficiency, which is why it makes no claims of 0 to 60 sprints, however now we have little doubt it is a six-second automotive in that division.
The Kona N’s drivetrain has one other trick up its sleeve, although. On the steering wheel is a giant purple button marked “NGS.” The “N Grin Shift” button provides 10 hp to the engine’s output by way of an overboost perform. It is available in arduous for 20 seconds like KITT from Knight Rider’s turbo enhance, or for youthful readers, like working over a star in Mario Kart, whereas a timer counts you down and the transmission retains the revs excessive. It is arduous to inform how a lot sooner it pushes the Kona N on a decent street, however the G within the acronym is true. There’s loads of noise from the turbos and exhaust, and it feels such as you’ve simply completely unhinged the automotive.
Driving Impressions: Nook-Carving Perfection
The Kona N retains its front-wheel-drive-only dynamic within the spirit of an old-school, pure sizzling hatch expertise. The concept of a sizzling hatch was initially to maintain the price down whereas delivering the largest driving thrill potential when getting out of city. Trendy know-how has solved one of many huge issues of placing nicely over 200 hp by means of simply the entrance wheels – torque steer. Torque steer is enjoyable up till the purpose it turns into unmanageable and extra prone to put you headfirst in a ditch or wrap the entrance finish round a tree. The Kona N squirms round beneath acceleration, however an digital limited-slip differential and a radical strategy to suspension tuning retains it to a minimal.
The N suspension setup additionally helps the tires maximize their grip, and there is a ton of it obtainable. We weren’t ready to check precisely the place the Kona N would lose grip on a public street lined with redwood timber, nevertheless, we had no worry of the automotive shaking free when tossing it round and having fun with the tight turn-in and composed rotation. In full N mode, it isn’t fairly as critical as a BMW M automotive, but it surely’s an absolute riot like a BMW M automotive of outdated. Assume Golf GTI if it had an M badge. The suspension is difficult in full N mode, the chassis is strengthened, the acceleration is fiercer than the numbers recommend, and it twists, turns, and grips like a sizzling hatch ought to. Besides it has extra floor clearance because the N division already has the Veloster N and desires the Kona N to retain the options individuals need from a small crossover, together with the journey top.
Inside Design
Many of the inside is shared with the common Kona, which is an efficient factor. It means good construct high quality and supplies, a excessive degree of ordinary tech, and considerate space for storing. Variations for the N model embrace added shade accents, sport bucket seats, customizable N buttons on the steering a-la M3, a particular shift knob, and metallic pedals. The ten-inch infotainment show and the digital gauge cluster will probably be commonplace. The latter has new dynamic shows for N or customized sport modes, placing up a tachometer within the heart and altering colours. In N mode, the tachometer is surrounded by info like engine temperature, oil temperature, turbo stress, and present torque getting used. None of which anybody will take note of when cackling their approach down a again street or giving far more costly automobiles a shock at observe days.
Verdict: This Is No Joke
The Kona N is loads of enjoyable, but it surely’s no joke. As soon as we had cursed in shock, the grins got here and stayed in the course of our drive. In N mode, it hits all of the senses, full with the form of steering suggestions we miss from BMW recently. It is frantic and fierce and reminded us of how good sizzling hatches could be. Our journey out within the Kona wasn’t lengthy, so we did not get to play with it in additional sedate modes. That should await a full check drive overview, however now we have little doubt it can quiet down when instructed and turn into a slighter more durable tackle the common Kona round city.
Make no mistake; the Kona N is a contemporary sizzling hatch that sits someplace between a Golf GTI and a BMW M2. Hyundai is at the moment pondering extra outdoors the field than automakers we count on this sort of pondering from which can be as a substitute taking part in it protected to the purpose of boredom with their lineups. And sure, we’re taking a look at you, Honda, as a result of Hyundai is at the moment reminding everybody that passenger automobiles and vans generally is a ton of enjoyable in each class.