No pricing data available at this time. Our Opinion - 2025 Hyundai Kona Review The second-generation Hyundai Kona enhances comfort and practicality, offering a more balanced driving experience while maintaining impressive speed. The Kona has a four-cylinder engine choice again, but the 190-hp turbocharged 1.6-liter engine works better than the standard 2.0-liter four. We love the Star Wars helmet design, and the inside is well-thought-out, with a good mix of screens and physical buttons. The Kona comes with a lot of built-in and available tech, and all-wheel drive can be added to any trim level. On the same base as this car is the Kia Niro, which comes as either a plug-in hybrid or a regular hybrid. You should also think about the Mazda CX-30 small, which is quick and almost luxurious, and the Chevrolet Trax, which is completely new and has been a Best-Seller for 10 years. Hyundai also has the Kona Electric, which runs on batteries, and we talk about it in more depth. What's New? As of 2024, the Kona has been completely redesigned. It now has a new trim level called N Line S that sits below the N Line. The four-cylinder engine with 190 horsepower is still there, but the sunroof, adaptive cruise control, and high-end sound system are gone. The SEL trim that comes with the convenience package is now called SEL Convenience, which makes sense for a trim that stands on its own. Pros and Cons Pros Style with edge. A strong group of techs. Roomy for the part. Cons Disappointed by the Kona N’s Delay. Expensive Higher Trim Levels. No Hybrid Option Available. Engine, Transmission, and Performance The Kona comes with a 2.0-liter engine that makes 147 horsepower and a continuously variable transmission as standard. You can also get an eight-speed automatic gearbox and a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine that makes 190 horsepower. All-wheel drive is offered on all levels of the models. The bigger second-generation model isn’t as good on the road as the smaller model, but the Kona still handles quickly despite being bigger. Safety Every Kona model comes with a number of tools that help the driver. The Kona can also have a driver-monitoring system and the ability to park itself. Some of these features, like automatic emergency braking and blind-spot tracking, are standard. The following are important safety features: It comes with automatic emergency brakes. Lane-keeping assistance and standards lane departure warning. You can get adaptive speed control. Internal and External Cargo Capacity The Kona’s interior is fine for a car this size, even though the back seat isn’t very roomy for people. The inside is tastefully modern and well-organized, with a shifter placed on the column and a widescreen showing entertainment and instrumentation. Leather can be used for upholstery. The space behind the second row of seats can hold 20 boxes and seven carry-on-sized boxes when the back seat is folded down. Fuel Economy and Actual MPG According to the EPA, the Kona gets 29 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the highway. With all-wheel drive and the more powerful turbo engine, those numbers drop to 24 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway. The Kona N Line with turbocharger did better than expected, getting 31 mpg on the highway at 75 mph. Infotainment and Connectivity Two 12.3-inch screens placed behind a single piece of continuous glass take up most of the dashboard. Behind the glass is a big touchscreen for entertainment and a gauge panel that can be moved around. It has a better version of Hyundai’s user interface and works wirelessly with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Range, Charging, and Battery Life On our test track, a Kona with the available turbo engine and all-wheel drive went from 0 to 60 mph in 7.5 seconds, which was faster than the preceding generation’s time of 7.3 seconds. The old model was lighter and had a dual-clutch automatic transmission instead of the basic auto transmission in the new model. We like that the new model’s automatic transmission makes acceleration and getting out of traffic lights easier and smarter. We haven’t tried a Kona with the basic 2.0-liter engine yet, but we don’t think it will speed up much from the last generation’s 9.2-second 60-mph time. Price and How to Choose To get the N Line with its stock turbo-four, we would have to pay more. The SE and SEL models come with the base engine. Other than the upgraded engine, the N Line has all the same features as the SEL Convenience trim. It has heated front seats, a wireless charging pad for smartphones, onboard Wi-Fi, adaptive cruise control with lane-centering, a 12.3-inch infotainment display, and a separate 12.3-inch digital gauge display. The N Line S is a good choice if you don’t need extras like a sunroof. It has a strong turbocharged 190-hp four-cylinder engine.
