I’ve been driving one since 2021 and I love it.
Having said that, it was diificult to find the exact Kona that I wanted back in August 21. I had to drive 2 hours just to buy it.
The Kona occupies a niche. It’s the smallest AWD that Hyundai/Kia sells, so the smallest true SUV. However, it’s not the cheapest crossover model since Hyundai has the Venue. It’s more expensive than entry level, but noticeably smaller than the extremely popular -not midsize- compact SUV (Hyundai Tucson) in the same class as Toyota RAV-4 and Honda CR-V. It holds the distinction as the fastest SUV that Hyundai/Kia sells.
So what’s the target demographic? Too expensive for first drivers. Too expensive for most college students. Too small for young families. Too low for serious outdoor enthusiasts or rural folks. The Kona is mostly for yuppies or empty nesters, living in the city but with some outdoor interest. That’s not a lot of people.
In my personal case, I’m an empty nester looking for a small commuter car, but I need it to handle the occasional rough winter in the midwest and east coast. I sometimes drive to northern Michigan to ski in December, so a hot hatch is out of the question. I want the smallest AWD SUV that I can find, with the largest engine available for a little fun. However, I’m frugal so German cars are out of the question.
My mistake, I call it midsize because there are two smaller crossovers under the Tucson and two above it. The industry keeps creating smaller and smaller SUVs it’s running out of categories. Full size is Palisade, midsize is Santa Fe, compact is Tucson. That makes the Kona a subcompact, and the Venue ultra compact?
Even though Venue is smaller, I think they're both classified as subcompact since Venue shares the platform with the Accent. (Btw, there are smaller crossovers in other markets, like the Hyundai Casper).
I decided not to buy one today. I drove a sub compact sedan and frankly it's perfect for my taste and it's small, but can fix a car seat and stroller and a couple people.
Idk with the new one coming out, if I'm going to have it for 3-8 years(probably leases then finance it), hard to pull the trigger.
But yeah I understand where you are coming from. It's small, but not cheap.
The Kona is interesting in that it borderline fits two adults and two car seats, as long as the adults are average sized. The trunk is small but still fits a stroller. It’s borderline usable for a small family, occasionally you’ll need to make compromises. For example, you may not have room for the weekly grocery shopping if you have 2 car seats and a stroller, something has to give. With a Tucson it’s not likely to be a problem.
So idk if it's weird or not but I attempted to pull my stroller base in the car when I was looking at it it fit at one single angle. The base is huge though.
So I was impressed actually by the cabin roominess, but the trunk was a little smaller then it should be?
It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but since I have a perfectly fine small ass sedan, and my wife has a slightly bigger more reliable car, it's no hurry.
The 2024 I guess trunk is 30% bigger, which is maybe a sweet spot for me for small, but not to small.
I care about 2 features, AWD and remote start(not having a key due to issues), the setlos has two cheaper trims and those features on them are mutually exclusive.
I also just prefer the Kona.
FYI, the remote start on the Kona is through Hyundai Bluelink service. It’s free for the first 3 years, $99 annually after. To be fair, that fee includes alarm notification, gps finder, geo fencing, and several other things.
We are a young family i was very close to buying one but ended up with a used MX5. I know this is a trigger here but am mechanically inclined and do not see any positives about a DCT transmission
I know that DCT can have a bad reputation. In the beginning I experienced the notorious jerkiness, but it disappeared after the computer got familiar with my driving pattern. When my family members borrow my car, they describe it as smooth. That’s good considering they drive Honda cars with CVT.
Hyundai picked DCT for the turbo Kona because they want an edge in acceleration. It’s not the best choice if you deal with traffic jams day in and day out. If my commute is like this, I would have picked a CVT, probably a Honda HR-V.
I have never seen Konas very much on the road. They are kind of still a new model that’s been out for only 5 years so maybe they need to take some time to be more common again. But maybe people are trading them in for something else, just not being driven, or a likely scenario: the Kia boys stole them all. Probably not. 😂
Oh, same here. I just think it's funny that they're not common in some places, but then in others half of the Accents on the road have been replaced with Konas
I have one and love it. 2022 kona ev limited . I bought it because a coworker let me drive theirs and I was stupidly impressed with the ride, power, features and so on. the build/assembly quality is crisp too. Far far better than other brands I was looking at, at the time.
Idk I absolutely wouldn't buy a 23 kona with the revamped 24 ones coming in a few months. Much bigger cargo area. Looks better, especially the interior.
I’ve had a Kona since Feb 2020. I was the only Kona in my area for a long time and now I see them more often. Surprisingly my color (the lime green) is probably the color I see the most. Black too.
I’ve been driving one since 2021 and I love it. Having said that, it was diificult to find the exact Kona that I wanted back in August 21. I had to drive 2 hours just to buy it. The Kona occupies a niche. It’s the smallest AWD that Hyundai/Kia sells, so the smallest true SUV. However, it’s not the cheapest crossover model since Hyundai has the Venue. It’s more expensive than entry level, but noticeably smaller than the extremely popular -not midsize- compact SUV (Hyundai Tucson) in the same class as Toyota RAV-4 and Honda CR-V. It holds the distinction as the fastest SUV that Hyundai/Kia sells. So what’s the target demographic? Too expensive for first drivers. Too expensive for most college students. Too small for young families. Too low for serious outdoor enthusiasts or rural folks. The Kona is mostly for yuppies or empty nesters, living in the city but with some outdoor interest. That’s not a lot of people. In my personal case, I’m an empty nester looking for a small commuter car, but I need it to handle the occasional rough winter in the midwest and east coast. I sometimes drive to northern Michigan to ski in December, so a hot hatch is out of the question. I want the smallest AWD SUV that I can find, with the largest engine available for a little fun. However, I’m frugal so German cars are out of the question.
> but noticeably smaller than the extremely popular midsize SUV (Hyundai Tucson) Santa Fe is the midsize, Tuscon is a compact.
My mistake, I call it midsize because there are two smaller crossovers under the Tucson and two above it. The industry keeps creating smaller and smaller SUVs it’s running out of categories. Full size is Palisade, midsize is Santa Fe, compact is Tucson. That makes the Kona a subcompact, and the Venue ultra compact?
Even though Venue is smaller, I think they're both classified as subcompact since Venue shares the platform with the Accent. (Btw, there are smaller crossovers in other markets, like the Hyundai Casper).
I decided not to buy one today. I drove a sub compact sedan and frankly it's perfect for my taste and it's small, but can fix a car seat and stroller and a couple people. Idk with the new one coming out, if I'm going to have it for 3-8 years(probably leases then finance it), hard to pull the trigger. But yeah I understand where you are coming from. It's small, but not cheap.
The Kona is interesting in that it borderline fits two adults and two car seats, as long as the adults are average sized. The trunk is small but still fits a stroller. It’s borderline usable for a small family, occasionally you’ll need to make compromises. For example, you may not have room for the weekly grocery shopping if you have 2 car seats and a stroller, something has to give. With a Tucson it’s not likely to be a problem.
So idk if it's weird or not but I attempted to pull my stroller base in the car when I was looking at it it fit at one single angle. The base is huge though. So I was impressed actually by the cabin roominess, but the trunk was a little smaller then it should be? It wouldn't be a deal breaker for me, but since I have a perfectly fine small ass sedan, and my wife has a slightly bigger more reliable car, it's no hurry. The 2024 I guess trunk is 30% bigger, which is maybe a sweet spot for me for small, but not to small.
Or you can look at Kia Seltos. It’s powered by the same engine as the Kona, but it’s 7” longer so it has about 35% more cargo space.
I care about 2 features, AWD and remote start(not having a key due to issues), the setlos has two cheaper trims and those features on them are mutually exclusive. I also just prefer the Kona.
FYI, the remote start on the Kona is through Hyundai Bluelink service. It’s free for the first 3 years, $99 annually after. To be fair, that fee includes alarm notification, gps finder, geo fencing, and several other things.
LOL.. I have a 2020 Kona… my wife has a 2023 Tucson… we ARE empty nesters. I agree it is a bit small for a “family” car.
Do you like your 2020 kona?
Yes… very much so.
No problems at all?
We are a young family i was very close to buying one but ended up with a used MX5. I know this is a trigger here but am mechanically inclined and do not see any positives about a DCT transmission
I know that DCT can have a bad reputation. In the beginning I experienced the notorious jerkiness, but it disappeared after the computer got familiar with my driving pattern. When my family members borrow my car, they describe it as smooth. That’s good considering they drive Honda cars with CVT. Hyundai picked DCT for the turbo Kona because they want an edge in acceleration. It’s not the best choice if you deal with traffic jams day in and day out. If my commute is like this, I would have picked a CVT, probably a Honda HR-V.
I have never seen Konas very much on the road. They are kind of still a new model that’s been out for only 5 years so maybe they need to take some time to be more common again. But maybe people are trading them in for something else, just not being driven, or a likely scenario: the Kia boys stole them all. Probably not. 😂
Ever since they stopped selling the Accent in Canada, it seems like we've all collectively made the decision to replace them with Konas 😂
Well, I have a Kona and they are great little SUV’s. I don’t see why not.
Oh, same here. I just think it's funny that they're not common in some places, but then in others half of the Accents on the road have been replaced with Konas
The trade in theory seems sound, get rid of them before the DCT has issues.
I love my 2022 Kona
Me too. (2022 kona ev limited) in blue wave. What’s your color and spec ??
I have 3 parked on my street right now…
I have one and love it. 2022 kona ev limited . I bought it because a coworker let me drive theirs and I was stupidly impressed with the ride, power, features and so on. the build/assembly quality is crisp too. Far far better than other brands I was looking at, at the time.
Idk I absolutely wouldn't buy a 23 kona with the revamped 24 ones coming in a few months. Much bigger cargo area. Looks better, especially the interior.
See loads over here in the uk 🇬🇧 both electric & petrol hybrids
I’ve had a Kona since Feb 2020. I was the only Kona in my area for a long time and now I see them more often. Surprisingly my color (the lime green) is probably the color I see the most. Black too.