2018 Hyundai Kona
 

Ive been eyeing a CX-5 but recently came across the Kona. I'ts not in the same class but Kona seems to be somewhere between a CX 3 and a CX 5 in terms of space, technology, value for $.

Any thoughts?

I looked into this car too. Really dig the design, especially the back end. Liked the front end from videos, seen it twice on the road from the front, not as good looking as on videos.

Car is even shorter than a CX3, must be really easy to park.

Low starting price at just 21k (including the auto trans), and the the base model has almost everything I need, I would just get that.

But I bet it could be a bit anemic to drive that small SUV with that 2.0L engine, but hey at least it's not turbocharged, so reliability down the line will be good.



2 things I did not like/worries me:

a) will the design still look good in say 5 to 10 years? Look at the Hyundai Veloster for example

b) not digging the black stuff on the paint above the wheel gaps. You call them the wheel arches?

I would get it only in black or some dark color to hide the black stuff, it looks quite hideous.

a - in 5 years you can trade it in?
b - yah agreed. those make the car look cheap but if you get it in white it can be called "panda bear" :D

There is a 1.6L Turbo.

I test drove the 2.0L yesterday and significant difference in acceleration in eco mode vs sport mode. BUT even in sport mode, it felt slightly less than CX3/5. I'm currently driving a Mazda 3 and HP wise it'll be equivalent but with much better fuel economy.

What do you mean by, since its not turbo'ed reliability will be good? Are turbo cars less reliable down the line?

You have the 3rd gen m3 2.0L? How do you compare your m3 to the kona in terms of handling, acceleration and quickness of the auto trans?


To answer your question, if I buy a new car, I'm gonna keep it for more than 5 years for sure, maybe drive it til it's 150k to 200k km unless I hate driving it so much or it's unreliable that it's giving me headache which I highly doubt of a new car.

The 1.6L sure is nice, the low end torque and all, but I just like tried and true technology of a naturally aspirated engine, sure it's slower but I know it will be cheaper and more reliable down the line, I think the 1.6L also has a dual clutch trans? More expensive and more trouble down the line of ownership. If something breaks in the engine, I think a turbocharged engine will be more expensive to repair.

Also, I don't like turbo lag.


Oh yea 1 more thing, the AWD version for even the base "essential" model has multi-link rear suspension, did you test drive the FWD or the AWD version? How was the handling?

from this thread:

https://www.revscene.net/forums/7146...ggestions.html


Kona

If you care about resale value at all, don't finance this one. Lease it, beat it, ditch it. Handles well for what it is. 1st model year car from a brand that hasn't been super strong in terms of reliability/quality. The main draw is the price - Which can add up because the base comes very base.