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By Jonathan Crouch
Introduction
It's rare to find a really powerful small SUV with all its power directed through its front wheels, but that's what we have here in the rather dynamic shape of Hyundai's Kona N, sold between 2021 and 2023. Ford's Puma ST was the only other class contender in this period that took a similar approach, but this fast Kona also had in its sights 4WD segment performance models like the Audi SQ2 and the Volkswagen T-Roc R. With 280PS on tap and a track tamed team behind this Hyundai, the prospects with this car were intriguing. How is it as a used buy?
Models
5dr SUV [2.0 T-GDi]
History
You need a really clever set of engineers to be able to take a high-sided small SUV, give it a really powerful engine and deliver really engaging drive dynamics. Especially if all the power is to be directed through the front wheels. You'd expect Ford to be able to deliver such a thing - and the Blue Oval brand did with the Puma ST. But that only offered 200PS in volume 1.5-litre form. Until the arrival of this Kona N, if you wanted more than that in a car of this sort, you had to stretch to around £40,000 and get models like the Audi SQ2 and the Volkswagen T-Roc R, which both need 4WD to get around 300PS to the tarmac.
Ex-BMW M car engineer Albert Biermann and his team - the people who brought you the surprising Hyundai i30 N hot hatch - reckoned they could deliver a small front driven performance SUV to plug the gap between those two categories of compact performance crossover. The Kona N was it.
It sold until a new MK2 Kona design arrived in mid-2023.
What You Get
Even the engine gets 'N Turbo' branding and the bodywork gets lots of body-coloured design elements with N-exclusive red accents. From the side, you'll notice the lowered ride-height, the smart N-branded lower side sills and the black-framed glasshouse with its black roof rails. And of course the exaggerated arches house big wheels - dark satin-painted 18-inchers with red N-branded calipers peeping through the spokes.
You'd also want overtaking presence with a car like this - and the Kona N provides it, with large air openings needed to cool the powerful N-tuned engine. The leading edge of the bonnet gets these slim Audi-style nostril outlets, flanked by LED daytime running light slivers. At the rear, a large, double-wing roof spoiler dominates the view, incorporating a triangular third brake light. Lower down, the rear bumper's almost taken over by a large red-accented ribbed diffuser which enhances the airflow departure and minimises turbulence, incorporating two huge tail pipes, one in each lower quarter.
Inside, this cabin's full of serious statements of intent. Like the firmly contoured blue-stitched steering wheel with its silver paddleshifters, blue N mode paddles and prominent red 'N Grin Shift' button. And the N Sport Seats with faux-leather and suede upholstery that grip you properly around the nether regions. All the performance detailing you'd want is present and correct too; a perfectly positioned blue-striped gear lever; race-style silver pedals; and blue stitching to decorate the handbrake and the gearshift gaitor.
Fans of fast, small shopping rockets will love it all. But not perhaps quite as much as what they'll find on the two 10.25-inch screens that dominate the dash. Prod the right hand blue N wheel paddle and the Digital Supervision Cluster transforms from a twin-dial display into a single rev counter gauge, to the rather chintzy accompaniment of a fiery ring. And the complementing Centre Console Display monitor in the middle of the fascia has an 'N mode' section with a home screen for serious drive info: or you can swipe across to Custom screens that allow you to tailor responses for engine, steering, suspension, transmission, the e-LSD limited slip differential, the ESC stability system and exhaust sound. Plus you can also activate Launch Control for Grand Prix getaways and select from a further menu of 'Performance Options'. Brilliant.
The rear seat doesn't do anything clever like slide or recline but by small SUV standards isn't too bad for the carriage of two folk, providing they're not especially lanky of leg. If they are, then compromises will be need to made by the front seat occupants in order to be able to accommodate them. We'll finish with a few words on boot space. The tailgate is light to lift and reveals the same 374-litre luggage area that you'd get in any ordinary Kona, which is 82-litres less than you'd get in a rival Ford Puma ST. Push forward the 60/40 split-folding rear seat and you'll reveal a relatively flat loading floor with as much as 1,143-litres of total fresh air if you load to the roof.
What You Pay
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What to Look For
Generally, most Kona N customers we surveyed seemed very happy with their cars. However, in our ownership survey, we came across a number of issues. One owner advised potential future buyers to always take a test drive at night to check the lights. Moisture can accumulate in the daytime running lights, the fog lamps and the rear combination lamps. Another owner reported that when driving at over 40mph, the vehicle wandered to the left and right without driver input. Another owner had an issue with faulty vehicle speed control with an auto model - the vehicle inexplicably lurched forward when parking and the airbag activated.
Other owners reported rubbing and grating noises from behind the wheel; look out for those on your test drive. A gear in the steering system may be the cause. There have also been reported issues with the blind spot collision warning system cutting down, the BlueLink media set-up not working correctly, the cruise control not operating properly and the forward collision warning system disabling itself during use.
Otherwise, it's just the usual things for an SUV of this type. Check all the media tech on your test drive - and the workings of the navigation system to see if it's been kept up to date. Check the touchscreens and Bluetooth connectivity. Check the upholstery for cuts and stains. And inspect the alloy wheels for kerbing damage. Check all the electrical functions too. And insist on a fully stamped-up service history.
Replacement Parts
(approx based on a 2021 Kona N - Ex Vat) Front brake pads sit in the £22 bracket; rear pad sets are around £32. Front brake discs sit in the £75 bracket; rear discs are around £37. A pollen filter is around £9-£14. A pollen filter is around £18-£21. A wiper blade is in the £8-£26 bracket. An oil filter is around £8.
On the Road
With this wild variant, much was borrowed from Hyundai's well-regarded i30 N hot hatch, including that car's 2.0-litre T-GDi turbo petrol unit, in this case tuned to 280PS. Obvious rivals like Audi's SQ2 and Volkswagen's T-Roc R believed 4WD was necessary to control that kind of output, but the Kona N directs it through its front wheels via an 8-speed DCT paddleshift auto gearbox that incorporates Launch Control, so will (in dry conditions) fire you to 62mph in just 5.5s. On the way to 149mph. All to the rorty melody of the standard Active Exhaust.
But those stats don't really deliver the full story here. For that, you'll need to have properly programmed in what lies behind the blue steering wheel N buttons. The left hand one activates Hyundai's usual 'Eco', 'Normal' and 'Sport' modes. The right hand one is an instant way of accessing
the fieriest 'N' mode - and beyond that two 'N Custom' settings, which can be programmed on the centre screen like you would in a BMW M car, selecting your favoured pre-sets for engine, steering, suspension, transmission, the e-LSD limited slip differential and the ESC stability system. Plus you can alter the bassy note of the big-bore exhaust; and sharpen up gear shifts with selectable 'N Power Shift' and 'N Track Sense' settings; brilliant.
Get all this right and you'll get yourself a really engaging tarmac tool. The steering's sharp, grip from the bespoke Pirelli rubber is prodigious and there's enough traction to make the most of the 2.0-litre T-GDi motor, though it's easy to spin the wheels away from rest if you're not careful with your right foot. Pedal feel from the 'N Performance Braking System' is great. And body roll's kept well in check by the stiff chassis, reinforced to suit this N model's higher performance remit.
Overall
The Kona N usefully widened Hyundai's N performance brand, sitting alongside the full-fat 'N' versions of the i20 and the i30. The sheer limitations of high-sided SUV-ness limited what Albert Biermann and his Nurburgring-based engineers could do here. But it was still some achievement to have brought 280PS to the table, directed it through the front wheels and made the car in question handle with engagement.
You'll need to like a firm ride. And be prepared to get engaged with all of this car's many motorsport-orientated settings. But if both of those things appeal, there's lots to like here as part of a package that can make other fast small SUVs of this period seem a bit contrived and compromised. We'd still prefer a proper hot hatch. But if you must have a small SUV from the 2021-2023 era and it must be this powerful, then the Kona N is worth a look. It probably won't have originally been on your small car performance shopping list, but it's a credible contender. And it'll look great down at the gym.
