WRITTEN BY HENRY PAYNE – The Detroit News (TNS)
Like a St. Bernard, my Hyundai Kona tester is two-toned and funky-looking outside — fiercely loyal on the inside.
Its looks may not be for everybody, but it’s got everything you need.
Hyundai has been one of the industry’s most creative stylists with lookers like the Lego-brick Santa Fe and bar-of-soap Ioniq 6 EV. The 2025 Kona goes ultra-modern with a design right off a Mars movie lot. Wraparound running lights like a Tesla Cybertruck, low headlights/taillights integrated into black fender cases, abstract Mondrian wheels, sharply-angled hatchback like a Bladerunner spinner.
My 32-year-old son thought it was cool.
My 34-year-old son hated it.
Let’s call it polarizing. Otherwise, Kona proved a welcoming companion. On a dark, rainy Wednesday night, I slipped into the interior of my Neoteric Yellow (a color made for Florida) $28K Enterprise rental in Orlando International Airport and surveyed an interior that wouldn’t be out of place in a $60K luxury car: molded console and hoodless 22-inch screen arching across the dash housing twin digital instrument/infotainment displays. Yum.
It’s a common sight in Hyundai models these days in both internal combustion engine and electric vehicles — including the Kona EV across the Enterprise aisle across from my gas mule. With 261 miles of range, the Kona EV could theoretically make the 260-mile round-trip to my Sebring International Raceway destination. With rain and highway travel in the forecast, I knew that range could be cut by 25%.
And Sebring is in the middle of rural Florida.
With a tight, busy weekend racing schedule ahead and Sunday return flights out of Orlando, I opted for the Kona ICE with its 422 miles of range and ease of use. Though a small ‘burg two hours from everywhere, Sebring did have charging infrastructure: two fast chargers at its Lakeshore Mall, a pair of 240-volt chargers at our destination hotel and … an eight-stall Tesla Supercharger in Route 98 through town.
The latter was particularly significant as Hyundai now has access to Tesla chargers, and — beginning with the ‘25 model year — Kona EV models are equipped with Tesla-style NACS charge ports so you don’t need to worry if there is an adaptor in the trunk.
Still, the convenience and efficiency of gas power made the Kona ICE the obvious choice for this trip.
Also worth noting was the electric Kona SE model ($34,952 market price) would have cost $16.50 to fuel every 100 miles at 50 cents/per kWh versus $9.50 for the 31-mpg Kona SEL model ($28,085) at $3-a-gallon regular gas. Indeed, I never visited a gas station until it was time to top up the Hyundai outside the airport at weekend’s end for return to the rental lot.
Like the Kona experience, gas power was carefree.
Kona fit like a glove. For the drive into Florida’s interior, I synced the car wirelessly to my phone’s Android Auto app then barked my destination:
Navigate to Sebring International Raceway.
Done. Hyundai was one of the first automakers to adopt smartphone apps, and Kona paired like it was old pals with my phone. Other brands can be less certain, their screens spinning before finally making a connection.
I exited the rental garage into a black, wet monsoon. While I navigated the conditions outside, Kona’s ergonomics helped me easily navigate interior controls. Climate buttons on the dash were horizontal, logically laid out between twin temperature dials.
Hyundai has adopted GM’s philosophy on raised steering wheel controls, so I could set cruise control with one button, then finger a scroll wheel next to it to adjust speed. All by touch so that I didn’t need take my eyes off the road. Similar buttons on the wheel’s right spoke controlled radio and volume while other switches (voice control, lane-centering) were nicely segregated when needed.
The subcompact SUV class is a shark tank of competitors, and Hyundai — long a value brand — trails some rivals in standard safety equipment. Both the Mazda CX-30 and Volkswagen Taos, for example, offer adaptive cruise control and blind-spot assist standard for fewer rubles than Kona. Kona, however, does match the palatial V-dub in rear-seat space with knee room that bests a compact BMW X3.
The Kona design may look Chunky Monkey, but under the hood it’s all vanilla.
The 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Hyundai has about the same horsepower — 147 — as my 1,000-pound, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder Lola sports racer. Yet, the SUV weighs three times as much (3,053 pounds). Mate those horses to a CVT and there were few thrills to be had on rural Sebring roads.
Want more grunt? Kona offers an N Line model starting at $31K with a punchy turbocharged 1.6-liter mill making 190 horsepower. For harsher climates than Florida in February, Kona also offers all-wheel drive for an extra $1,500.
My Kona SEL satisfied with its 31 mpg and quiet interior — deftly isolating the drone of the CVT. My son’s eyes may have been burning looking at the Kona’s lime exterior, but after a long day of racing across Sebring’s brutal bumps and high-g load turns, the Kona offered comfy seats, lots of hatch space for our gear, and a spare tire if needed.
Nice to have a St. Bernard on call.
2025 Hyundai Kona
Vehicle type: Front-engine, gas-powered, front- and-all-wheel-drive, five-passenger SUV
Price: $25,745, including $1,450 destination fee ($28,085 SEL as tested)
Powerplant: 2.0-liter inline-4 cylinder; 1.6-liter turbo-4
Power: 147 horsepower, 132 pound-feet torque (2.0L); 190 horsepower, 195 pound-feet torque (1.6L)
Transmission: Continuously-variable (2.0L); eight-speed, dual-clutch automatic (1.6L)
Performance: 0-60 mph, 9.2 seconds (Car and Driver est.); top speed: 110 mph
Weight: 3,053 pounds (FWD as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA fuel economy: 29 city/34 highway/31 combined (FWD 2.0L); 26 city/32 highway/28 combined (FWD 1.6L)
Report card
Highs: Sci-fi styling; A-plus ergonomics
Lows: Polarizing styling; vanilla performance
Overall: 3 stars
